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Niels Annen

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Niels Annen
Minister of Stateat theFederal Foreign Office
In office
2018–2021
Member of theBundestagforHamburg-Eimsbüttel
Personal details
Born(1973-04-06)6 April 1973(age 51)
Eimsbüttel,Hamburg,West Germany
Political partySPD
Alma mater
OccupationPolitician, Member of the German Bundestag (MP)
Signature

Niels Annen(born 6 April 1973) is a German politician of theSocial Democratic Party(SPD) who has been serving asParliamentary State Secretaryat theFederal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Developmentin thecoalition governmentofChancellorOlaf Scholzsince 2021.[1]He served asMinister of Stateat theFederal Foreign Officefrom 2018 to 2021 in thegovernmentof ChancellorAngela Merkel.

He has served as member of theBundestagsince 2013. After his first term in the Bundestag from 2005 to 2009, Annen was a Senior Transatlantic Resident at theGerman Marshall Fundin Washington between 2010 and 2011. From 2011 until 2013 he worked for the department for International Policy Analysis of theFriedrich Ebert Foundationin Berlin. Annen has served on the executive board of the SPD since 2003 after being chairman of the Young Socialists, the youth organization of the SPD, from 2001 to 2004.

Early life and education

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Born to a works council member ofLufthansa,[2]Annen graduated from high school in 1992.

In 2009, Annen obtained a bachelor's degree in history from the Humboldt University of Berlin, with a thesis on the resettlement of Baltic Germans during World War 2.[3]Subsequently, he obtained a master's degree in International Public Policy from thePaul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studiesat Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C. in 2011.[4]

During his first term in the Bundestag from 2005 to 2009, Annen had been criticised as "an eternal student in the Bundestag", after quitting a history degree in which he had been enrolled for 14 years.[4]

Besides his native language German, Annen speaks English and Spanish fluently.[5]

Political career

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Chairman of the Young Socialists, 2001-2004

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Annen served as national chairman of the SPD's youth organization[6]from 2001 to 2004.[7]

Career in national politics

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Annen was elected to theBundestag,the German federal parliament, at the2005 election,representing the districtHamburg-Eimsbüttel.[7]In parliament, he serves on the Committee on Foreign Affairs.[7]

As a member of Committee on Foreign Affairs, Annen established himself as a left-wing SPD foreign policy expert,[8]focusing largely on the German engagement in Afghanistan and the Middle East. Within the committee he has served on the Subcommittee for Arms Control and Non Proliferation as well as the Subcommittee for the United Nations.[5]

Within the SPD parliamentary group, he was co-chairman of the Parliamentary Left, the largest political coalition within the SPD.[9]Between 2005 and 2009, he also served as Deputy Chairman of the German-Spanish Parliamentary Friendship Group.

Under controversial circumstances[10]Annen was deselected for the2009 election,losing a primary election toDanial Ilkhanipourby 45 votes to 44.[7]Ilkhanipour lost the seat at the 2009 election to theCDUcandidateRüdiger Kruse.In March 2010, Annen joined theGerman Marshall Fundas a Senior Fellow in Washington, D.C., for a six-month term.[5]Between 2011 and 2013, he served as director of European policy analysis at the Berlin headquarters of theFriedrich Ebert Foundation,whose aim is to promote democracy, political education, and promote students of outstanding intellectual abilities and personality[11][12]

Annen returned to the Bundestag at the2013 election,regaining the Hamburg-Eimsbüttel district from the CDU. He soon re-entered the leadership of the Parliamentary Left in 2014.[13]He also serves as chairman of the Parliamentary Friendship Group for Relations with the States of South Asia, includingAfghanistan,Bangladesh,Bhutan,Maldives,Nepal,Pakistan,andSri Lanka.[14]Between 2014 and 2015, he represented his parliamentary group in a crossparty committee headed by former defense ministerVolker Rüheto review the country's parliamentary rules on military deployments.[15]

Within the SPD, Annen serves as chairman of the SPD's Commission for International Politics, alongsideMartin Schulz.[16]In the negotiations to form acoalition governmentunder the leadership ofChancellorAngela Merkelfollowing the2017 federal elections,he was part of the working group on foreign policy, led byUrsula von der Leyen,Gerd MüllerandSigmar Gabriel.

Annen co-chaired the SPD's national conventions inDortmund(2017)[17]Wiesbaden(2018)[18]and Berlin (2019).[19]

Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office, 2018-2021

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In March 2018, Annen was appointed Minister of State at the German Federal Foreign Office in thefourth Merkel Cabinet,alongsideMichael RothandMichelle Müntefering.[20]

Parliamentary State Secretary to the Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development

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In December 2021, Annen was appointed Parliamentary State Secretary to the Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development.[21]


In June 2024, Annen announced that he would not stand in the2025 federal electionsbut instead resign from active politics by the end of the parliamentary term.[22]

Candidate for United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

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In September 2024, the German government nominated Niels Annen for the position of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. This role, among the most critical within the United Nations due to the escalating global refugee crisis, has been held by Italian diplomat Filippo Grandi since January 2016.[23]


Other activities

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Corporate boards

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International organizations

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Non-profit organizations

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Editorial boards

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  • spw – Zeitschrift für sozialistische Politik und Wirtschaft,Member of the Editorial Board (since 2006)

Political positions

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On Afghanistan and Pakistan

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Annen is an advocate of continued German commitment in Afghanistan and has visited the country on multiple occasions during both of his terms in the Bundestag.[5]Amid discussions in the Social Democratic Party on whether to terminate Germany's mandate for German elite commando troops within the US-runOperation Enduring Freedom(OEF) againstTalibanfighters, Annen in 2007 said many SPD members were questioning Germany's continued role in the anti-terror battle in Afghanistan. He stated that "[m]any say [the SPD] is losing its way as a party oriented to finding peaceful solutions to international problems".[8]Along with Green MPJürgen Trittin,Annen claimed that the American counterinsurgency mission was hindering civilian reconstruction under the umbrella of the second mission, theInternational Security Assistance Force,because of what they called a heavy-handed approach by the U.S. military on the ground that was alienating the local population.[31]In 2014, he voted in favor of continuing German participation in ISAF.

In April 2014, Annen accompaniedNorbert Lammertas well as fellow members of the German ParliamentMarieluise BeckandHans-Peter Uhlon a visit to Pakistan, where they met with PresidentMamnoon Hussain,Chairman of the SenateNayyar Hussain Bukhariand Interior MinisterNisar Ali Khan.[32]

In April 2015, Annen went on another trip to the region with the German-South-Asian Parliamentary Group.[33]In Afghanistan, the group met with delegates of both the upper and lower houses of parliament[33]and it met with President Mamnoon Hussain during its trip to Pakistan.[34]A central point of discussion in both countries was the security in the region.[33]In a speech on 23 April 2015, after his return from the visit, Annen stated that, amidst some negative developments, there were clear positive trends visible in Afghanistan especially regarding rising rates of school enrolment and the state of democratic elections.[35]

Transatlantic relations

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Annen has frequently expressed dissatisfaction with the information provided byNATOheadquarters. Following statements by theSupreme Allied Commander Europe(SACEUR), GeneralPhilip M. Breedlove,on troop advances on the border betweenRussiaandUkrainein early 2015, Annen publicly complained that "NATO in the past has always announced a new Russian offensive just as, from our point of view, the time had come for cautious optimism." He added that "we parliamentarians were often confused by information regarding alleged troop movements that were inconsistent with the information we had."[36]

In 2008, Annen called on the United States to remove allnuclear weaponsstored in military bases in Germany after aU.S. Air Forcereport found that safety standards at most sites for nuclear weapons in Europe fall well short ofPentagonrequirements.[37]

In July 2015, Annen joined Germany'sForeign MinisterFrank-Walter Steinmeieron a trip toCuba;it was the first time a German foreign minister had visited the country since German reunification in 1990.[38][39]

On military engagement on the African continent

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Annen has in the past voted in favor of German participation inUnited Nations peacekeeping missionsas well as in United Nations-mandated European Union peacekeeping missions on the African continent, such as inSomalia–Operation Atalanta(2014) andEUTM Somalia(2015 and 2016) –,Darfur/Sudan(2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018),South Sudan(2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018), theCentral African Republic(2014) andMali– bothMINUSMA(2014, 2017 and 2018) andEUTM Mali(2015 and 2018).

On the Russo-Ukrainian war

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Regarding the conflict inUkraineAnnen has advocated for continued dialogue with theRussian Federationin order to facilitate "good neighbourly relations."[40]However, he supportedeconomic sanctions against Russiaas well as its exclusion from theG7saying that "Russia un-invited itself" with the internationally wrongful annexation of Crimea.[41]Moreover, he supported the absence ofChancellorAngela Merkelfrom the festivities for the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Russia on 9 May 2015 stating that "the political conditions for a German participation in the festivities are currently not fulfilled."[42]

Annen also responded angrily to statements by U.S. SenatorJohn McCainwho alleged that Germany was pursuingappeasement policiesakin to those of the 1930s.[43]Furthermore, he stated that "nobody in Europe did as much to support peace in Europe asSteinmeierand Merkel "(the German Foreign Minister and Chancellor) and demanded a public apology from the Senator.[43]Annen rejected American plans to supply arms to Ukrainian forces stating that it "would be a dangerous step towards the escalation of the Ukraine conflict."[44]

On the Middle East

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Annen has made public statements about the transnational conflict againstIslamic StateinSyriaandIraq.In an interview withDas Parlamenton 15 September 2014, he underlined the relevance of the conflict for Germany, stating that the risk of terrorist attacks had risen as the result of German IS-fighters returning from the battlefield.[45]Moreover, he supported the supply of German arms to the Kurdish Peshmerga forces claiming that he was well aware of the danger of future misuse of the weapons but saw no other way to help defend the city of Erbil from IS forces.[45]Annen also made the Syrian PresidentBashar al-Assadpartially responsible for the formation and strength of Islamic State and warned of legitimizing Assad as the lesser evil in the conflict.[46]

In April 2014, Annen visited theZaatari refugee campinJordanto learn more about the plight ofSyriansfleeing the violence in the ongoingSyrian civil warthat erupted in 2011.[47]

Controversy

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In 2014, news media revealed that Annen had not paid taxes for his second home in Berlin during his first term as a member of the Bundestag from 2005 to 2009.[48]

References

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  1. ^Peter Ulrich Meyer (8 December 2021),Bundestag: Hamburger wird Staatssekretär für EntwicklungshilfeHamburger Abendblatt.
  2. ^Martina Goy (18 December 2005),Junger Wilder auf dem Weg nach obenWelt am Sonntag.
  3. ^Neils Annen,Der Spiegel,8 February 2010
  4. ^abPersonalien,Der Spiegel,5 September 2011, p11
  5. ^abcdExpert Directory: Niels AnnenGerman Marshall Fund.
  6. ^Studenten als Kandidaten: Alte Hasen unter jungen Wilden,Der Spiegel,15 September 2005
  7. ^abcdSPD düpiert Annen,Süddeutsche Zeitung,17 May 2010
  8. ^abHugh Williamson (6 July 2007),Afghanistan splits German partiesFinancial Times.
  9. ^"Über Uns".Parlamentarische Linke.Retrieved12 June2015.
  10. ^"Hamburg: Niels Annen verliert sein Direktmandat".Spiegel Online. 15 November 2008.Retrieved15 June2015.
  11. ^Judy Dempsey (20 August 2012),Merkel Enlists Kohl as an Unlikely AllyInternational Herald Tribune.
  12. ^"Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung – Für Soziale Demokratie!".Friedrich Ebert Foundation.Retrieved15 June2015.
  13. ^Annen (15 June 2014)."Niels".Niels Annen.Retrieved12 June2015.
  14. ^Annen, Niels (15 June 2014)."Niels Annen: Über Mich".Niels Annen Homepage.
  15. ^Jan Techau (17 June 2014),Germany's Budding Defense DebateCarnegie Endowment for International Peace.
  16. ^"Kommission Internationale Politik: Vorstand".SPD-Fraktion.Archived fromthe originalon 26 June 2015.Retrieved12 June2015.
  17. ^Protokoll des außerordentlichen Bundesparteitages in Dortmund, 2017Social Democratic Party of Germany(SPD).
  18. ^Protokoll des außerordentlichen Bundesparteitages Wiesbaden, 2018Social Democratic Party of Germany(SPD).
  19. ^Protokoll des ordentlichen Bundesparteitages in Berlin, 2019Social Democratic Party of Germany(SPD).
  20. ^SPD-Staatsminister: Niels Annen wechselt ins Auswärtige AmtSpiegel Online,9 March 2018.
  21. ^https:// bmz.de/en/ministry/leadership-ministry/annen-100038
  22. ^Markus Arndt (30 June 2024),SPD-Staatssekretär tritt nicht mehr an: Niels Annen zieht sich aus der Politik zurückBild.
  23. ^https:// tagesschau.de/inland/innenpolitik/annen-un-fluechtlingskommissar-100.html
  24. ^Supervisory BoardGerman Investment Corporation(DEG).
  25. ^Board of GovernorsAsian Development Bank(ADB)
  26. ^Board of GovernorsArchived20 October 2022 at theWayback MachineInter-American Development Bank(IDB).
  27. ^Supervisory BoardCentre for International Peace Operations (ZIF).
  28. ^Board of TrusteesGerman Foundation for Peace Research (DSF).
  29. ^Board of TrusteesGustav Heinemann Civic Award of the SPD.
  30. ^Board of TrusteesArchived15 April 2018 at theWayback MachineFederal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt Foundation.
  31. ^Judy Dempsey (23 May 2007),Merkel party urges caution on Afghan missionInternational Herald Tribune.
  32. ^Lammert würdigt Demokratie in PakistanDeutscher Bundestag,press release of 2 May 2014.
  33. ^abc"Delegationsreise der Deutsch-Südasiatischen Parlamentariergruppe".Deutscher Bundestag.Retrieved15 June2015.
  34. ^Annen."Eindrücke meiner Reise nach Afghanistan und Pakistan".Niels Annen Homepage.Archived fromthe originalon 18 June 2015.Retrieved15 June2015.
  35. ^Annen, Niels."100. Sitzung vom 23.04.2015 - Annen, Niels (SPD)".Deutscher Bundestag - Mediathek.Deutscher Bundestag.Retrieved15 June2015.
  36. ^'Shadow Foreign Policy': Somali Warlord Hires German Mercenaries to Provide Security ServicesSpiegel Online,25 May 2010.
  37. ^Judy Dempsey (23 June 2008),German parties press U.S. to withdraw nuclear armsInternational Herald Tribune.
  38. ^Foreign Minister Steinmeier's first visit to Cuba paves way for stronger tiesDeutsche Welle,17 July 2015.
  39. ^Ivo Oliveira (16 July 2015),Germany's Steinmeier visits CubaPolitico Europe.
  40. ^"Bürgerkrieg in der Ukraine:" Russland lässt seine Partner im Unklaren "".n-tv.Retrieved15 June2015.
  41. ^"Macht keinen Sinn, Russland einzuladen".Deutschlandfunk.Retrieved15 June2015.
  42. ^Schuler, Volker; Katharina, Pausch (11 March 2015)."Linke kritisiert" kleinkarierte Geschichtsvergessenheit "".Die Zeit Online.Retrieved15 June2015.
  43. ^ab"John McCain wirft Merkel Appeasement-Politik vor".Die Zeit Online. 6 February 2015.Retrieved15 June2015.
  44. ^"Koalition warnt vor US-Waffenlieferungen an Ukraine".Reuters.2 February 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 5 February 2015.Retrieved15 June2015.
  45. ^ab"Niels Annen: Wir müssen Europa zusammenhalten".Deutscher Bundestag. 15 September 2014.Retrieved15 June2015.
  46. ^Annen, Niels."45. Sitzung vom 02.07.2014 - Annen, Niels (SPD)".Deutscher Bundestag - Mediathek.Deutscher Bundestag.Retrieved15 June2015.
  47. ^MdB Annen trifft Außenminister Judehpress release of 12 April 2014, German Embassy to Jordan, Amman.
  48. ^Auch SPD-Politiker Annen räumt Steuervergehen einSüddeutsche Zeitung,12 May 2014.
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