Historian; studied history, Eastern European studies and law, first at the University of Bremen, later in Hamburg. Member of Bündnis 90/Die Grünen Hamburg since 1998; deputy state chairman from 2011 to 2015. Member of the Bundestag from 2008 to 2021.

Board member of Europäische Bewegung Deutschland e.V. from 2014 to 2018. Vice-President of Europäische Bewegung Deutschland e.V. since 2018. Chairman of the Polish-German Parliamentary Group in the Bundestag from 2018 to 2021.

Chairman of Südosteuropa Gesellschaft since February 2020. Federal Government Special Envoy for the Western Balkans since 1 March 2022.

Member of the leadership of Zentrum Liberale Moderne, a think tank working in the field of civic education and international cooperation. She has worked as an expert and head of office for the European policy spokesperson of the Bündnis90/Die Grünen parliamentary group in the Bundestag, collaborated with the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) and the European University Viadrina, and most recently headed the Warsaw office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation.

She focuses on democratisation processes, cultural and social exchange, working to overcome national stereotypes and promote European integration.

Irene Hahn-Fuhr publishes in various media and, in addition to her work on the FWPN Board, is a member of the Board of the “Krzyżowa” Foundation for European Understanding and the Copernicus Group.

Politician and diplomat. Since 1982 she studied applied linguistics at the universities of Leipzig and Warsaw; certified translator of Polish and Russian. Active in politics at state and federal level since 1990.

Secretary General of the FDP from 2001 to 2005. Member of the Bundestag for the FDP from 1998 to 2013, Vice-Chair of the Education, Research and Technology Assessment Committee, and FDP spokesperson for research policy.

State Secretary at the German Federal Foreign Office and Federal Government Coordinator for Polish-German Intersocietal Relations from 2009 to 2013. Since August 2014 Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Gdańsk.

Awarded an honorary doctorate by Dokkyo University in Japan in 2010 and an honorary professorship by Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce in 2011.

Diplomat. From 1995 to 1997 she studied at the Diplomatic Academy, where she subsequently served as tutor from 1997 to 1999. From 1999 to 2001 she was a desk officer in the Public Diplomacy and Germany’s Image Abroad Section at the German Federal Foreign Office. From 2001 to 2004 she was a political affairs officer at the German Embassy in Paris, and from 2004 to 2007 she worked in the embassy’s personnel department.

From 2008 to 2011 she headed the economic section at the German Embassy in Kyiv. From 2011 to 2015 she was deputy head of the Communication and Germany’s Image Abroad Section at the Federal Foreign Office, and from 2015 to 2018 she headed the Culture and Media Section for Latin America, Africa, Asia, Australia and Oceania. From 2018 to 2022 she headed the political section of the German Embassy in Madrid.

Since August 2022 she has been Ambassador and the Federal Foreign Office’s Commissioner for relations with EU member states, cross-border and regional cooperation, and the EU’s external relations.

Diplomat and civil servant. Graduate of sociology, international relations and the National School of Public Administration (2004–2006). Since 2006 she has worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including at the Polish embassies in Ljubljana and London. Since December 2023 she has headed the European Policy Department, responsible among other things for Polish-German political cooperation.