Speaker Bios

Dr. Henry A. Kissinger was the 56th Secretary of State. He also served as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs from 1969 until 1975. In July 1983, he was appointed by President Reagan to chair the National Bipartisan Commission on Central America until it ceased operation in January 1985, and from 1984 to 1990, he served as a member of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. At present, Dr. Kissinger is Chairman of Kissinger Associates Inc. and a Board Member of the American Council on Germany, among other organizations.

Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft, USAF (ret.), is the Founder and President of The Scowcroft Group, Inc. Previously, he was National Security Advisor to President Gerald Ford and later to George H.W. Bush. He also served as Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs in the Ford and Nixon Administrations. He serves as a Trustee on numerous corporate and nonprofit organizations, including the American Council on Germany. His most recent book, “America and the World: Conversations on the Future of American Foreign Policy,” written along with former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, was released earlier this month.

Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier has been the German Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs since November 2005, and Vice Chancellor since November 2007. Prior to his appointment as Foreign Minister, he served as Head of the Federal Chancellery (1999-2005). Minister Steinmeier is the first SPD Foreign Minister since Willy Brandt (1966-1969). He is also the Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and his party’s candidate for Chancellor in the election scheduled for September 2009.