Axel Berg (diplomat)

Axel Berg (born May 19, 1951 in Frankfurt am Main ) is a retired German diplomat . From 2008 to 2011 he was ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein and from 2012 to 2016 ambassador to Norway .

biography

In 1969 Berg began studying law at the University of Heidelberg , which he completed in 1974 with the first state examination in law. He then worked as a research assistant at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg; from 1977 to 1979 he completed his legal clerkship (2nd state examination in law). In 1983 he left the university and switched to the higher foreign service.

After completing the attaché course, he started as a consultant in the central department and in 1986 moved to the Beijing embassy as a consultant for economic policy. In 1987 he was at the Law Faculty of the University of Heidelberg Dr. iur. utr. PhD . In 1989, Berg switched to the UN Representation in New York as a German representative on the Legal Affairs Committee. In 1992 he became a consultant in the planning staff of the Foreign Office with a focus on the UN, human rights and security policy. In 1994 he moved to the OSCE Representation in Vienna as Counselor and returned in 1996 to the headquarters of the Foreign Office as Deputy Head of the “ European Union Unit (Fundamental Issues)”. In 2000, Berg headed the task force for the Nice Intergovernmental Conference (EU institutional reforms). From 2001 onwards he was Head of the European Union Unit (Policy Issues). In 2002 Berg became the representative for visa and immigration issues in the legal department and in 2003 deputy head of the European department.

In 2005 Berg returned to Vienna as Permanent Representative of the Federal Republic of Germany to the OSCE. His successor was the previous chief inspector of the Foreign Office, Heiner Horsten .

From August 2008 he was the successor to Andreas von Stechow as Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Switzerland and Liechtenstein . He was replaced in these offices in August 2011 by Peter Gottwald , who was previously the Federal Government Commissioner for questions of disarmament and arms control.

Berg was Ambassador to Norway from 2012 until he retired in 2016. Since his retirement, Berg has been involved in international diplomatic training at the Federal Foreign Office and is its program director for the international diplomatic course.

Berg is married and has two children. His daughter Jenny Berg is an advisor to the General Secretary at the Kulturstiftung der Länder in Berlin.

Publications

• The Nordic Council and the Nordic Council of Ministers: bodies for the cooperation of the Nordic countries; a representation from a legal point of view , Lang: Frankfurt am Main u. a. (European University publications: Series 2; 669) ISBN 3-8204-1026-0

Web links

• CV at the embassy in Bern. ( Memento from June 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
• Sandro Brotz , Othmar von Matt: The model diplomat Interview in: The Sunday of October 2, 2010
• Resume. In: Website of the International Diplomatic Training of the Federal Foreign Office. Accessed January 27, 2020 (English). 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ team. In: Website of the International Diplomatic Training of the Federal Foreign Office. Retrieved January 27, 2020 . 

predecessor	Office	successor
Dieter Boden	Permanent Representative to the OSCE 2005–2008	Heiner Horsten
Andreas von Stechow	Ambassador to Switzerland 2008–2011	Peter Gottwald
Detlev Rünger	Ambassador to Norway 2012–2016	Thomas Götz