Press Release
DATE: March 20, 2009
CONTACT: Masarah Van Eyck, (608) 262-5590, mvaneyck2@international.wisc.edu
Madison-German Ambassador Klaus Scharioth will give a public lecture on April 1 at UW-Madison entitled “The Transatlantic Agenda – A German Perspective.” He will also deliver the keynote address at the German-American International Symposium “Excursions in German-American Studies: Celebrating 25 Years at the Max Kade Institute.”
Ambassador Scharioth’s public lecture will take place in the Plenary Room, 1305, of Grainger Hall from 1:30pm – 2:30pm (map). A question and answer session will follow.
This event is sponsored by the Division of International Studies, the International Institute, the Max Kade Institute, the Department of German, the Madison Eric M. Warburg Chapter of the American Council on Germany, and the Center for German and European Studies.
Germany’s highest ranking representative to the United States, Scharioth holds undergraduate degrees in political science, sociology, and psychology, and obtained his law degree in 1973 in Bonn, Geneva, and Freiburg. He went on to study international relations, international law, and international finance and economics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Harvard Law School, and the John F. Kennedy School of Government. He earned M.A., M.A.L.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the Fletcher School in 1974, 1975, and 1978 respectively.
Since joining the German Foreign Service in 1976, Scharioth has served at the United Nations in New York as delegate to the Sixth Committee and the Security Council, and as Vice Chairman of the UN Legal and Charter Committees. He also worked in the International Law Division of the German Federal Foreign Office, and was appointed Chef de Cabinet to the NATO Secretary-General in Brussels. He then served as Foreign Office’s Head of the Defense and Security Policy Division, helping to prepare for the Madrid NATO-summit.
From 2002 until March 2006, Scharioth served as State Secretary, the highest civil service post in the German Foreign Office. His responsibilities included security and defense policy, transatlantic relations, European policy, crisis management, arms control and disarmament, and negotiations with Iran, Russia, and the G8. After June 2005 his responsibilities also included the United Nations, human rights, and bilateral relations between Germany and all other countries.
The evening of April 1, the Ambassador will give the keynote address at the German-American International Symposium. Celebrating the Max Kade Institute’s 25th anniversary, the symposium consists of three days of lectures and discussions exploring the German-American experience from various perspectives and its implications for today.
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