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Sylvie Goulard and Florian Herrmann join the Munich Security Conference Foundation Council
- With the former French Minister of the Armed Services and Member of the European Parliament Sylvie Goulard, the Foundation Council of the MSC is setting a clear French-German and European accent.
- With State Minister and Head of the Bavarian State Chancellery Florian Herrmann, the Free State of Bavaria, home of the MSC, is now also officially represented in the Foundation Council.
In December 2024, the Munich Security Conference (MSC) Foundation added Sylvie Goulard, President of the German-French Institute in Ludwigsburg and former French Minister of the Armed Services, and Florian Herrmann, Head of the State Chancellery and Minister of State for Federal Affairs and Media of the Free State of Bavaria, to its Foundation Council. Wolfgang Ischinger, President of the Foundation Council, emphasized: 'I am extremely pleased that with Sylvie Goulard, the highest steering committee of the MSC is setting a clear accent for the revival of the German-French tandem in Europe. A strong German-French motor is important in order to successfully tackle the major strategic challenges facing Europe. The fact that the Free State of Bavaria will in future be represented on the Foundation Council by Minister of State Dr. Florian Herrmann underlines our close cooperation with Bavaria and its long-standing support for the MSC.’
The Munich Security Conference has developed considerably since it was founded. The private initiative of founder Ewald von Kleist has become a globally renowned institution. The Munich Security Conference Foundation was established by Wolfgang Ischinger in December 2018 to ensure the lasting continuity and independence of the MSC as the world's most important platform for dialogue on foreign and security policy. It thus provides a sustainable institutional foundation for the numerous international activities of the Munich Security Conference (MSC).
Ambassador Dr. Christoph Heusgen has served as Conference Chairman since 2022. He will be succeeded in mid-February 2025 by Jens Stoltenberg, the former Norwegian Prime Minister and long-standing NATO Secretary General.
Over the years, the annual main conference has been supplemented by numerous other formats in order to conduct foreign and security policy dialogue at a high international level throughout the whole year. In addition, the MSC actively contributes to deepening the foreign and security policy culture in Germany and Europe with its own publications and analyses, such as the annual Munich Security Report.
The Foundation Council serves as the primary decision-making body of the Munich Security Conference Foundation. The role of President is held by Wolfgang Ischinger. His deputy is the German diplomat Helga Schmid, former Secretary General of the OSCE in Vienna.
