The Hon. Dirk Niebel

(Former Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development)

Biography

The Hon. Dirk Niebel served as Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development from 2009 to 2013. Furthermore from 2005 to 2009 he was secretary general of the FDP.

Academic Career

After completing 8 years of service as an airborne infantry officer in the Bundeswehr, he studied at the German College of Public Administration in Mannheim, graduating in 1993. He then went on to work at an employment bureau as part of the Federal Employment Office of Heidelberg.

Career

In 1990 The Hon. Dirk Niebel joined the FDP and co-founded the Heidelberg division of the Junge Liberale. He became a member of the Federal Board of the FDP in 2003 and became its secretary general in May 2005. He became a member of the Bundestag in 1998 and from 2002 to 2005 he was chairman of the State group of Baden- Württemberg in the parliamentary group of the FDP. He was the speaker for the parliamentary group on Labor Policy and a member of the German-Israeli cooperation group. From 2000 to 2010 he served as vice president of the Deutsch-Israelische Gesellschaft.

"Welcome Address"

The Annual Conference on Cultural Diplomacy 2014 (Berlin; November 8th, 2014)