Federal Academy for Security Policy

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Group.png Federal Academy for Security Policy
(Military academyWebsiteRdf-entity.pngRdf-icon.png
BAKS.png
Formation1992
HeadquartersBerlin, Germany
Membership• Stefan Quandt
• Günter Bannas
• Agnieszka Brugger
• Gertrud Casel
• Fritz Felgentreu
• Tanja Gönner
• Florian Hahn
• Matthias Heimer
• Claudia Kemfert
• Markus Kerber
• Roderich Kiesewetter
• Joachim Krause
• Carlo Masala
• Sönke Neitzel
• Beate Neuss
• . Thomas Paulsen
• Stefan Schmittmann
• Daniela Schwarzer
• Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann
• Patrick Sensburg
• Armgard von Reden
• Eva M. Welskop-Deffaa
• Almut Wieland-Karimi
• Bettina Wiesmann
"Acceptance of Germany’s security policy by the general public is a vital element of security itself. The intensified public debate on security issues requires competent executive personnel within the government, the business sector, the scientific community and the media who are able to take the necessary lead in the formation of opinion.”

The Federal Academy for Security Policy (BAKS) is the Federal Republic of Germany’s interministerial institution for advanced studies, education and training in security policy in the remit of the Federal Ministry of Defence. It has its seat in a complex of buildings on the premises of Schönhausen Palace in Berlin-Niederschönhausen, which was built in the 1950s for the former East German Government.

Tasks and objectives

The Federal Academy for Security Policy is responsible for providing comprehensive advanced training beyond ministerial bounds for current and future executive personnel both from federal and state institutions and from private sectors of relevance to security policy. It covers all areas of security policy and government and personal action. It is also responsible for establishing a network between the above groups of people. The Federal Academy for Security Policy sees itself as a forum for discussing security policy interests and in this function it supports Germany’s role within the international community and international organisations of all kinds, with the objective of establishing a consensus in security policy issues.

The core event of the academy’s programme is its annual six-month Senior Course on Security Policy which is attended by about thirty people from federal and states ministries, the business sector and the scientific community. It is sometimes also attended by people from foreign ministries and supranational organisations.

History

In the mid-1980s, debate arose about the establishment of a national training institution for discussing and disseminating information on security policy issues similar to institutes that already existed in other countries (such as the National Defense University in Washington, the Institut des Hautes Etudes de Défense Nationale in Paris or the Royal College of Defence Studies in London).

In the summer of 1987, the Federal Security Council for the first time discussed the possibility of establishing such an institution and formulated the following fundamental requirements:[1]

  • “Germany’s many and varied international commitments raise the need for professionally trained executive personnel who are capable of representing national interests effectively at international level.”
  • “This requires security policy and a general strategy to extend beyond the bounds of the ministries and be based on a common understanding of national German interests.”
  • “Acceptance of Germany’s security policy by the general public is a vital element of security itself. The intensified public debate on security issues requires competent executive personnel within the government, the business sector, the scientific community and the media who are able to take the necessary lead in the formation of opinion.”
  • “The wish for increased cooperation on security issues with our European allies demands German officials and officers to undergo international standard preparatory training at national level.”

An interministerial committee then addressed the issue and recommended the establishment of an appropriate institution for meeting these fundamental requirements. In 1988, the Federal Security Council endorsed the recommendation of the committee and commissioned it to draw up a curriculum for the institution, which was approved by the committee in the summer of 1989.

In February 1990, the Federal Security Council approved the curriculum, deciding to establish an institution within the remit of the Federal Ministry of Defence. In the summer of that year, the Federal Cabinet agreed on the establishment of the Federal Academy for Security Policy and the Federal Security Council was to form the Board of Trustees of the academy.

The academy began its work in 1992, its first president being Admiral (ret.) Dieter Wellershoff, at its temporary home, the “Rosenburg” in Bonn. At the same time, an advisory board was established to assist the academy in its work, primarily by issuing recommendations regarding its curriculum.

On the recommendation of the Advisory Board and the academy, the Board of Trustees in 2002 decided to permanently relocate the institution to Berlin. Following extensive building and restoration work, the college moved into its new building on the premises of Schönhausen Palace in Berlin Pankow in March 2004.

Since March 2004, the Federal Academy for Security Policy has been located in its own complex, featuring auditoriums, conference rooms and offices, nestled in the park of the premises of Schönhausen Palace in Berlin Pankow.

Council

The members of the Advisory Board are appointed for a period of three year, and contains some interesting connections to the deep state, including to theOpen Society Foundations. On October 16, 2018, the Advisory Board includes[2]:



 

Employee on Wikispooks

EmployeeJobAppointedEnd
Hans RühleCoordinatorOctober 1988October 1989

 

Known members

2 of the 24 of the members already have pages here:

MemberDescription
Roderich KiesewetterFormer Bundeswehr general staff officer turned politician
Marie-Agnes Strack-ZimmermannGerman politician of the Free Democratic Party and proponent of a militarist foreign policy.
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References

  1. Grundforderungen des Bundesssicherheitsrates, BAKS webpage
  2. https://www.baks.bund.de/de/die-baks/der-beirat