Welcome, Professor Guntram Wolff!

A PhD in economics, he has been Director of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) since August 2022. From 2013 to 2022, he was Director of Bruegel, a Brussels-based institute for economic policy in Europe, which he developed into a leading global think tank. He was also a part-time professor at the Solvay School of Economics and Management at the Université Libre de Bruxelles.

Wolff's research foci are European political economy, economic statecraft, geo-economics, climate policy and Germany's geopolitical strategy, and his work has been published in numerous prestigious journals. In addition, he is an experienced public speaker. In 2020, Guntram Wolff was ranked one of the 28 most influential power players in Europe by "Business Insider".

Wolff speaks twice a year at the informal Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN), the meeting of EU finance ministers and central bank governors. In the past, he has also advised the French Prime Minister, the G20 and the IMF, among others.

"We are proud that with Guntram Wolff we have been able to attract such a well-known and renowned personality to teach at the University of Erfurt and especially at the Brandt School," explains its director, Professor Andreas Goldthau. "Our students can already look forward to his courses on the economic aspects of climate change and on 'European integration' – as well as to his 'Welcome Lecture' at the start of the academic year on 11 October. And we colleagues are also looking forward to the professional exchange."