Andreas Michaelis (born 24 July 1959 in

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

) is a German

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

who served as State Secretary of the

Federal Foreign Office The Federal Foreign Office (, ; abbreviated AA) is the Foreign minister, foreign ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany, a federal agency (Germany), federal agency responsible for both the country's foreign policy and its relationship with ...

in the government of

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

Olaf Scholz Olaf Scholz (; born 14 June 1958) is a German politician who served as the Chancellor of Germany from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party (SPD), he previously served as Vice-Chancellor of Ge ...

, and was previously the German Ambassador to the Court of St James from May 2020 until January 2022. Since August 2023, he has been the German Ambassador to the United States.

Early life and education

After attending school in

and completing his military service, he studied in Hanover and

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, gaining a Master's and a Master of Letters.

Career

Michaelis joined the German diplomatic service in 1989. From 1991 to 1992 he worked in the office of Minister of State Helmut Schäfer at the Federal Foreign Office, and from 1992 to 1995 he was First Secretary Political Affairs at the German Embassy in Tel Aviv. From 1995 to 1998 he was in the Human Rights Task Force at the Federal Foreign Office. Under

Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

Joschka Fischer Joseph Martin "Joschka" Fischer (born 12 April 1948) is a German former politician of the Alliance 90/The Greens party. He served as the foreign minister and as the vice chancellor of Germany in the cabinet of Gerhard Schröder from 1998 to 200 ...

, he served from 1998 as Deputy Spokesman and from 1999 as Spokesman of the Federal Foreign Office. From 2002 to 2006 Michaelis was the German Ambassador to Singapore. From 2006 to 2007 he served as Director for Asian and Pacific Affairs and from 2007 to 2011 as Director for Middle Eastern Affairs and North Africa in Berlin. From July 2011 to July 2015 he was German Ambassador to Israel. From 2015 to March 2018 Michaelis was Political Director of the Federal Foreign Office. In this role his responsibilities included the negotiations on the

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

dossier, on the implementation of the nuclear agreement with Iran and on a political solution to the

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

conflict. From March 2018 to April 2020 Michaelis was one of two State Secretaries of the Federal Foreign Office. His predecessor Markus Ederer moved to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

as EU Ambassador. As State Secretary, Michaelis was responsible for, among other things, the Political Directorates-General at the Federal Foreign Office, and hence for European policy, relations with the

USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, as well as Middle Eastern, Asian and African affairs. In autumn 2019, Michaelis, together with the Federal Chancellor’s foreign policy advisor, Jan Hecker, set up and led the Berlin Process, which in January 2020 led to the Berlin Conference on Libya, which established a ceasefire and created a roadmap for a transitional administration in Libya.In January 2020 it was announced that Michaelis would succeed Peter Wittig as Ambassador in London. He took up the post in London in May 2020. He was succeeded as State Secretary by the Director-General for Economic Affairs at the Federal Foreign Office, Miguel Berger. On 3 January, Michaelis was again appointed State Secretary of the Federal Foreign Office under Foreign Minister

Annalena Baerbock Annalena Charlotte Alma Baerbock (; born 15 December 1980) is a German politician and diplomat of the Alliance 90/The Greens party. She served as Minister for Foreign Affairs (Germany), Germany's minister for foreign affairs from 2021 to 2025. I ...

. In August 2023, he became the German Ambassador to the United States, succeeding Emily Haber. He formally presented his credentials to Ethan Rosenzweig, Acting Chief of Protocol of the United States'

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

, on August 3rd, 2023. According to

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

, in an article published on 19 January, 2025, Michaelis warned that the incoming Trump administration would rob U.S. law enforcement and the media of their independence and hand big tech companies co-governing power. Reuters said a confidential briefing document, dated January 14 and signed by Michaelis, described

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

's agenda for his second White House term as one of maximum disruption that would bring about "a redefinition of the constitutional order - maximum concentration of power with the president at the expense of Congress and the federal states."

Recognition

Michaelis is an Honorary Fellow of

Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, University Museum a ...

. He has received various decorations and honours including the Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy, the Order of Civil Merit of Spain and the French Legion of Honour.

Personal life

Michaelis is married with three children. He is a fan and member of

1. FC Union Berlin 1. Fußballclub Union Berlin e. V., commonly known as Union Berlin (), is a professional German football club based in Berlin. The club's origins can be traced to 1906, when its predecessor FC Olympia Oberschöneweide was founded. During the Co ...

References

External links

CV from the website of the Federal Foreign OfficeGerman government looking for quick fix on circumcision ban
{{DEFAULTSORT:Michaelis, Andreas Ambassadors of Germany to the United Kingdom Ambassadors of Germany to Singapore Ambassadors of Germany to Israel People from Hanover 1959 births Living people Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic