Hubertus Hoffmann is a German

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

, geostrategist, author, and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

. He is the founder and president of the NGOs The World Security Network Foundation, Mission Future, and The Human Codes of Tolerance.

Activities as university student, and young scientist

Hoffmann was born in

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

. He studied Law, History, and Political Science at the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

and worked as an advisor in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

(Office of Prof. Hans-Gert Poettering, later President of the European Parliament), the

German Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the lower house of the German federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag was established by Title III of the Basic Law for ...

(State Secretary of Defense Peter Kurt Würzbach, MP) and the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

(

Sam Nunn Samuel Augustus Nunn Jr. (born September 8, 1938) is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Georgia (1972–1997) as a member of the Democratic Party. After leaving Congress, Nunn co-founded the Nuclear Threat Initi ...

Gary Hart Gary Warren Hart (''né'' Hartpence; born November 28, 1936) is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. He was the front-runner for the 1984 and 1988 Democratic presidential nominations, until in 1988, he dropped out amid revelations of ex ...

) in defense and foreign affairs. Hoffmann was

Research Fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a p ...

at the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS),

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

. Hoffmann holds a Ph.D. in

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

with ''

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' (Prof.

Karl Dietrich Bracher Karl Dietrich Bracher (13 March 1922 – 19 September 2016) was a German political scientist and historian of the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany, born in Stuttgart. During World War II, he served in the Wehrmacht and was captured by the Americ ...

, University of Bonn, Germany) and is a lawyer as well. He is a reserve officer in the German Army (Bundeswehr).

Journalist, manager, and investor

In his early years he worked as a journalist in the

White House Press Corps White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wavele ...

, as an editor for

ZDF ZDF (), short for (; ), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany ( ...

(1988-1990), the largest TV station in Europe. Since 1995 Hoffmann has worked as an entrepreneur and investor in different funds. His entrepreneurial track record includes New Media Digital GmbH (1996), MBI/MBO, Loewe Opta GmbH (1996) and Internet Media House AG (1998-2001). From 1996 to 2000 he was founder and CEO of InternetMediaHouse AG and a large investor and member of the Executive Board at Loewe TV company. He then became CEO of the radio business of the Georg von Holtzbrink Publishing Group, and later Managing Director for New Media in the Burda Publishing Group in Munich, building up 15 companies for new media in Europe from 1993 to 1995. In 2005 he became co-founder of German Capital Group (GCG) which invested from 2005 to 2007 Euro 3.3 bn in companies like

Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...

BASF BASF SE (), an initialism of its original name , is a European Multinational corporation, multinational company and the List of largest chemical producers, largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters are located in Ludwigshafen, Ge ...

ThyssenKrupp ThyssenKrupp AG (, ; stylized as thyssenkrupp) is a German industrial engineering and steel production multinational conglomerate. It resulted from the 1999 merger of Thyssen AG and Krupp and has its operational headquarters in Duisburg and E ...

Lanxess Lanxess AG is a German specialty chemicals company based in Cologne, Germany. It was founded in 2004 after Bayer AG spun off its chemicals division and parts of its polymers business. History The company's roots trace back to 1863, with the fou ...

and

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...

. Since 1995 Hoffmann is founder and investor in several internet-companies in Europe,

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...

and China.

Political activities

Aged 25, Hoffmann in 1980 initiated a

CDU/CSU CDU/CSU, unofficially the Union parties ( ) or the Union, is a centre-right Christian democratic and conservative political alliance of two political parties in Germany: the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) and the Christian Social U ...

resolution and Federal Law of the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

for an Annual Report on

Arms Control Arms control is a term for international restrictions upon the development, production, stockpiling, proliferation and usage of small arms, conventional weapons, and weapons of mass destruction. Historically, arms control may apply to melee wea ...

and

Disarmament Disarmament is the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing Weapon, weapons. Disarmament generally refers to a country's military or specific type of weaponry. Disarmament is often taken to mean total elimination of weapons of mass destruction, ...

, which since then has been published by the German Government. For ten years Hoffmann was Chairman of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Committee for Foreign, Defense, European and Inner-German Affairs in his home state of

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

in Germany. In 1984, he initiated the exchange program for young reserve officers from the US and Germany. He was a German member of the Executive Committee of the NATO Reserve Officers Association CIOR. In 1986 Hoffmann was elected member of the City Council in his home town

Goslar Goslar (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Goslär'') is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the Goslar (district), district of Goslar and is located on the northwestern wikt:slope, slopes of the Harz ...

(Harz). He supported the

Mujaheddin ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' (), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' (), an Arabic term that broadly refers to people who engage in '' jihad'' (), interpreted in a jurisprudence of Islam as the fight on behalf of God, religion or the commu ...

from 1985 to 1990 against the

Soviet invasion of Afghanistan The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until it dissolved in 1991. During its existence, it was the largest country by are ...

, visiting them in the mountains in 1985 and writing the Afghanistan Report for the European Parliament. In 1989, he initiated and helped to finance the first Farmers Association of

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

which now has more than 3,000 Polish and German members and runs its own

dairy A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...

. In 1992 he was Chairman of the Eesti Committee Report (requested by Estonian President Tunne Kelam) about the Future of the "Baltic Hanseatic Region" (including Oblast Kaliningrad, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia), which helped to stabilize democracy in the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

after decades of Soviet occupation. In 2002, Hoffmann became founder and president of the World Security Network Foundation, a

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

-based think-tank for global affairs. The WSN was initiated by Pentagon Strategist, Dr Fritz G.A. Kraemer who was Dr Henry Kissinger's and Hoffmann's mentor. In 2010, he initiated the first official "Progress Report on Afghanistan" of the German Government supported by the SPD opposition and the CDU/CSU and FDP groups in the Bundestag. Since 2013, one of his main activities is The Human Codes of Tolerance and Respect Project, promoting universal rules for parents, educators, journalists, religious leaders and politicians on how to promote respect for other religions, races and ethnic minorities, as important soft factors of peacemaking including best practices from all over the world. In June 2020, he started Mission Future'', promoting'' a new Policy 4.0 based on the three pillars humanity – including freedom and tolerance – as well as creativity and effectiveness with comprehensive reforms in all states with a ‘thinking heart and a loving mind’.

Filmmaker and producer

With his global Love Is Tolerance initiative Hoffmann co-produced the '' Watani: My Homeland'' documentary about a family from

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

coming to his hometown

in Germany. This documentary was nominated for

the Oscars The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

2017, won the award for Best Documentary at German Television Awards 2017 (in German state TV

''Das Schicksal der Kinder von Aleppo''), and Audience Award at the Amsterdam International Documentary Festival. As an enthusiastic producer of political Zeitgeist films making a difference in global discussions, in 2018 Hoffmann directed and produced "Love is Tolerance - Tolerance is Love - Make Tolerance Great Again!" It is a global search for the Champions of Tolerance and how we can make tolerance great again to contain all extremists. Describing the value of diversity and respect towards social minorities and other religions. In this feature documentary of 85 minutes the three Nobel Peace Prize Laureates the 14th

Dalai Lama The Dalai Lama (, ; ) is the head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The term is part of the full title "Holiness Knowing Everything Vajradhara Dalai Lama" (圣识一切瓦齐尔达喇达赖喇嘛) given by Altan Khan, the first Shu ...

Malala Yousafzai Malala Yousafzai (; , pronunciation: ; born 12 July 1997) is a Pakistani female education activist, film and television producer, and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate at the age of 17. She is the youngest Nobel Prize laureate in history, ...

and

Kailash Satyarthi Kailash Satyarthi (born 11 January 1954) is an Indian social reformers of India, social reformer who campaigned against child labor in India and advocated the universal right to education. In 2014, he was the co-recipient of the Nobel Peace ...

promote tolerance. The film includes portraits of

Ehud Barak Ehud Barak ( ; born Ehud Brog; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli former general and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Israeli Labor Party, Labor Party between 1997 and 20 ...

, Yusuf Islam (

Cat Stevens Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and musician. He has sold more than 100 million records and has more than two billion st ...

) and many other 'Champions of Tolerance' and young people from all over the world. He is also co-producer of "The Last Supper" (Das Letzte Mahl, 2017), a chamber play about a Jewish family dinner in Berlin on January 30, 1933, the day

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

came into power. This drama was shown at the 13th Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival 2018. Hoffmann has funded before the popular Hollywood films, "Girl, Interrupted" (starring

Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie ( ; born Angelina Jolie Voight, , June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, and humanitarian. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Angelina Jolie, numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards ...

who won her first Oscar as Supporting Actress) and "Hanging Up" (starring

Meg Ryan Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra (born November 19, 1961), known by her stage name Meg Ryan, is an American actress. Known for her leading roles as quirky, charismatic women since the late 1980s, Ryan is particularly recognized for her work in ...

Diane Keaton Diane Keaton (née Hall; born January 5, 1946) is an American actress. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Diane Keaton, various accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, including an Academy Award, a Bri ...

Lisa Kudrow Lisa Valerie Kudrow ( ; born July 30, 1963) is an American actress. She rose to international fame for her role as Phoebe Buffay in the American television sitcom ''Friends'', which aired from 1994 to 2004. The series earned her Primetime Emmy A ...

and

Walter Matthau Walter John Matthau ( Matthow; ; October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an American actor, known for his "hangdog face" and for playing world-weary characters. He starred in 10 films alongside his real-life friend Jack Lemmon, including '' The Od ...

). He financed these films with a personal investment, using his SPV in the Global Entertainment Productions KG company, in cooperation with Sony Picture Studios in Los Angeles.

Arts

Hoffmann presented his international art projects as The Places and the Globes of Tolerance and The Champions of Tolerance, including videos and portraits of the Dalai Lama, Malala and Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), at the Art Cologne and Gallery Weekend Berlin in 2017.

Awards

In 1981 his home town of Goslar awarded him its "Förderpreis" for journalistic merits (Laudatio: General (ret.) Johannes Steinhoff, former Chairman of NATO's Military Committee). In 1998 Schitag Ernst & Young,

SAP Sap is a fluid transported in the xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a s ...

and ''Manager Magazine'' honored Hoffmann as ''Finalist German Entrepreneur of the Year 1998'' for growth and innovation as member of the Board and co-owner of Loewe Opta Holding TV company. In October 2000 he was awarded the

Federal Cross of Merit The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

for "innovative business ideas" by German President

Johannes Rau Johannes Rau (; 16 January 193127 January 2006) was a German politician who served as President of Germany from 1999 to 2004. A member of the Social Democratic Party, he previously served as the Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia fro ...

in Schloss Bellevue (Berlin). In 2002 at

Friedrichsruh Friedrichsruh () is a district in the municipality of Aumühle, Herzogtum Lauenburg district, Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany. Friedrichsruh manor is known as a residence of the princely House of Bismarck, mainly of Chancellor Otto von ...

Palace near

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, Prince Ferdinand von Bismarck bestowed upon Hoffmann the ''Bismarck Medal in Silver with Golden Oak Leaves'' for his "patriotic faithfulness and proven Prussian national consciousness". As founder of the World Security Network Foundation and his Global Tolerance Initiative, developing Codes of Tolerance, Hoffmann was honored February 19, 2020, in Dubai Opera with the first "Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Tolerance Award" of the United Arab Emirates as "a role model who has made a mark on humanity, promoting tolerance, mutual respect, pluralism and peaceful coexistence" for his Codes of Tolerance, using books, art, film, and speeches" (Sheikh Nayan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of State for Tolerance), "establishing "tolerance norms” at the international level, in addition to promoting interfaith dialogue."

Published author

Hoffmann is an author of several standard books on

nuclear strategy Nuclear strategy involves the development of military doctrine, doctrines and strategy, strategies for the production and use of nuclear weapons. As a sub-branch of military strategy, nuclear strategy attempts to match nuclear weapons as means ...

, geopolitics and tolerance. * ''"Mission Future. How to Save our Democracies with Humanity, Creativity and Effectiveness: 200 Reform Proposals with Heart and Mind" , Berlin, London'' 2021 () * ''"Migration Realpolitik with Humanity.: Global Best Practices"'' (Berlin, London 2020; ) * In 2004 he published a first book about his mentor for 25 years, Fritz G. A. Kraemer: ''"Fritz Kraemer On Excellence"''. In 2012 a new, extended edition of this book followed, titled ''True Keeper of the Holy Flame – The Legacy of Pentagon Strategist and Mentor Dr Fritz Kraemer'' with contributions from Alexander M. Haig Jr., Henry A. Kissinger, Madeleine Kraemer Bryant, Wilhelm-Karl von Preussen, Edward L. Rowny,

Donald Rumsfeld Donald Henry Rumsfeld (July 9, 1932 – June 29, 2021) was an American politician, businessman, and naval officer who served as United States Secretary of Defense, secretary of defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and again ...

and others * ''Codes der Toleranz. Eine Anleitung für Weltverbesserer und Pessimisten, streng Gläubige und freie Geister''. Herder, Freiburg / Breisgau 2014, 464 S., . In English ''"Love is Tolerance – Tolerance is Love"'' (2017; ), also published in Polish, Arabic and Urdu (Pakistan). *''"The 10 Commandments of Tolerance in Islam"'', including dialogues with Malala Yousafzai and Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), New York, Berlin 2017 () * ''Die Atompartner Washington-Bonn und die Modernisierung der taktischen Kernwaffen'' (Washington and Bonn as Nuclear Partners and the Issue of Modernization of Tactical Nuclear Weapons),

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

1986, * ''Atomkrieg - Atomfrieden. Technik, Strategie, Abrüstung'' (Nuclear War - Nuclear Peace. Technology, Strategy, Disarmament), Bernard und Graefe, Munich 1980,

References

External links

"True Keeper of the Holy Flame" - Hoffmann's 2012 book about Fritz Kraemer

World Security Network FoundationThe Human Codes of Tolerance and Respect Projectwww.globalo.com - Hoffmann's online magazine on international politics, launched in 2016Oscar Nominees - Documentary (Short Subject) Nominee: "Watani: My Homeland" (oscar.go.com/nominees)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffmann, Hubertus Living people Businesspeople from Göttingen University of Bonn alumni German journalists German male journalists German investors Foreign relations of Germany German philanthropists Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany German male writers Year of birth missing (living people)