The Konrad Adenauer Foundation ('' German: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V.; Abbreviation: KAS'') is a German political party foundation associated with but independent of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The foundation's headquarters are located in Sankt Augustin near

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

, as well as in Berlin. Globally, the KAS has 78 offices and runs programs in over 100 countries. Its current chairman is Norbert Lammert, a former president of the German Parliament. It is a member of the Martens Centre, the official foundation and think tank of the

European People's Party The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian democracy, Christian democratic, liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative, and conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other p ...

(EPP). In 2020, it ranked 15th amongst

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

s globally. In August 2024, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation was declared an undesirable organization in

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 ...

. In November 2024, the Center for Studies in Social Sciences Research (CERSS) in Morocco terminated its partnership with KAS due to a politics-based disagreement.

Establishment and mission

The establishment of a "systematic civic-education program inspired by

Christian democratic Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics. Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo-scholasticism, as well ...

values" began being considered in 1952 by a group of CDU politicians including

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 ...

president Hermann Ehlers, Robert Tillmanns, and Heinrich Krone. On 20 December 1955, the ''Society for Christian Democratic Education'', which would be renamed after

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 ...

Konrad Adenauer Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman and politician who served as the first Chancellor of Germany, chancellor of West Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the first leader of th ...

on 13 October 1964, was opened in Bonn. The aim of the foundation's civic education programs is, according to their official website, the "promotion of freedom and liberty, peace, and justice" through "furthering European unification, improving transatlantic relations, and deepening development cooperation". Their function as a think-tank and consulting agency is intended to provide citizens with a basis for political action through the research and analyses of current political trends. The KAS offers more than 2,500 conferences and events each year worldwide, and actively supports the political involvement and education of intellectually gifted youth through a prestigious scholarship program as well as an ongoing comprehensive seminar program.

Institution

Along with the headquarters in Sankt Augustin and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, the KAS operates two educational centers, sixteen training centers, an Academy, and an international conference center. The KAS consists of six departments: * The aforementioned Academy located in Berlin, which hosts symposia, conferences, meetings, and exhibitions in order to analyze relevant societal and political issues in a public setting. * The Archive for Christian Democratic Policy (ACDP) documents and researches

Christian Democracy Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics. Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo-scholasticism, as well ...

’s historical development. * The department for European and International Cooperation engages itself with international politics through the functions of the foundation's more than 200 projects in around 120 countries. * The Politics and Consulting department is the think tank of the KAS. * The department for Civic Education combats the

status quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, economic, legal, environmental, political, religious, scientific or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the curren ...

, looking to invoke citizen participation in an era where freedom and peace are taken for granted. * The Scholarships and Cultural Activities department provides financial and moral support to roughly 2,000 students. Former president of the

Norbert Lammert is the current president of the KAS. He is joined on the board of directors by 24 other individuals. The KAS currently has 55 members, many of whom are current and former CDU politicians. The board of trustees has 24 members who assist and supervise the work of the KAS.

Finances

Similar to other German political foundations, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation is largely financed by federal and land government funds. 96.8% of the foundation's €120 million budget in 2009 was therefore provided by public funding, while 2.7% was derived from admission charges and miscellaneous revenues, and 0.5% came from private funds and donations.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Christian Democratic Union of Germany Christian democracy in Europe Conservatism in Germany Foundations based in Germany Liberal conservatism Political and economic think tanks based in Germany Political organisations based in Germany Organisations based in Berlin Think tanks established in 1955 Gifted education Konrad Adenauer Organizations listed in Russia as undesirable

Establishment and mission

Institution

Finances

See also

References

Further reading

External links