Answers by the MSC in response to the questions received from POLITICO on February 8th, 15th, and 16th

Our answers to the questions of the magazine Der Spiegel are available on the German version of this site. These are the questions from POLITICO, together with our answers:

1.)  Has there ever been a discussion by the MSC’s foundation council, advisory council, board of directors or board of trustees regarding the potential for conflicts of interest concerning Amb. Ischinger’s work for Agora Strategy Group, his corporate board mandates or other work he has taken on outside of the MSC?

2.)  Did Amb. Ischinger seek the MSC’s approval before he founded Agora Strategy Group in 2015?

3.)  Is the MSC aware of who Agora Strategy Group’s clients are?

4.)  How did it come to pass that the main founding shareholders in Agora Strategy Group alongside Amb. Ischinger, specifically Kurt Lauk and Christoph Walther, are also affiliated with the MSC?

5.)  Why did Amb. Ischinger resign as Agora’s chairman in 2018? Does he still own a stake in the firm? Agora lists him as one of its “experts.” Is he paid for that role?

6.)  Why did Benedikt Franke resign from Agora Strategy Group? Was there any concern at MSC that his dual roles at Agora and MSC could present a conflict of interest?

7.)  How does Amb. Ischinger respond to suggestions that his work as a lobbyist for Allianz from 2008 to 2015 as well as his affiliation with Agora Strategy Group presented conflicts of interest with his role as chairman of MSC, in particular as regards sovereign clients such as the Republic of Georgia, Qatar and others?

8.)  Does Amb. Ischinger receive a salary from MSC? If so, how much is he paid? How much does he earn from his other non-MSC related business activities (corporate board seats, speeches, consulting, etc)?

9.)  Given the public nature of his role at the MSC and the organization’s public funding and other government support, has Amb. Ischinger taken any steps to create a Chinese wall between his work for the MSC and his private business dealings?

MSC response regarding question 1 to 9:

The Munich Security Conference is a non-profit organisation. Established in 1963 as a private initiative by the founder Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist, the conference has become the world’s leading independent forum for international security policy. In 2008 Ambassador Ischinger was invited to succeed Horst Teltschik who had led MSC for 10 years. In order to preserve the MSC’s independence, Ambassador Ischinger requested a leave of absence without pay from the German government. From 2008 to 2014, Allianz SE, Munich, employed Ambassador Ischinger. His contract stipulated that he was allowed to devote as much time as he deemed necessary to his public service leading the MSC. 

In 2018, Ambassador Ischinger established the MSC Foundation, in order to ensure the independence and long-term sustainability of the MSC and its growing activities in an era of geopolitical uncertainty. The Foundation strives to provide a solid institutional basis for the future development of the MSC which has grown substantially as an independent organization with numerous activities over the past years.

Like his predecessor, Ambassador Ischinger has led the MSC on a pro-bono basis, but he receives a monthly expense allowance for his role as MSC chairman.

The Munich Security Conference is supported by a variety of profit and non-profit institutions, authorities, and organizations, such as Atlantik-Brücke, Brookings, BDI, McKinsey, Körber Stiftung and many others. Among several other consultancies, Agora Strategy Group is one of the many partners of the MSC. As with all partners, a detailed MoU regulates all services, benefits and further details of the cooperation.

Since the Munich Security Conference is solely a non-profit forum and cannot provide advice to companies or other institutions in an increasingly uncertain geopolitical environment, Agora Strategy Group was initiated as an independent and separate legal entity in 2015. Prof. Ischinger relinquished his seat on the Agora supervisory board in 2018, after the start-up phase of the company. He never received a salary or other compensation for his participation in the supervisory board. Today, he occasionally offers advice to Agora Strategy Group on a case by case basis for which he then receives a consultancy fee. There is no operational and structural connection between the two organisations. Neither Ambassador Ischinger nor any other member of the management of the MSC have any operational role within Agora Strategy Group. Dr. Benedikt Franke helped to set up Agora in its early stages and left when business operations were begun. He never received a salary or other compensation.

Both Prof. Lauk and Dr. Walther have been advising Prof. Ischinger and the MSC on a pro-bono basis. They have never received any payment from the MSC or the MSC foundation.

10.)  Did Amb. Ischinger attend the Bilderberg meeting with Kurt Lauk in 2015 in Tyrol?

Ambassador Ischinger has participated in  a number of Bilderberg Conferences. He also attended the 2015 Bilderberg event in Tyrol, but he does not remember whether Prof Lauk was also present.

11.)  Did Amb. Ischinger visit an event organized by Agora in 2019 with Egyptian President Al-Sisi and Christine Lagarde on the sidelines of the MSC in February?

Ambassador Ischinger did not attend such an event organized by Agora Strategy. He did, however, host the traditional MSC CEO Lunch where President Al Sisi spoke.

Additional question from February 16, 2022:

12.)  How long has Agora been a sponsor of the Munich Security Conference?

The contract with Agora was signed on May 31, 2021.