Jens Stoltenberg to Be the Next Chairman of the Munich Security Conference

Jens Stoltenberg will become the next Chairman of the Munich Security Conference (MSC) following the conference’s 61st edition in February 2025.

Jens Stoltenberg has served as Secretary General of NATO for 10 years, from 2014-2024, he was UN Special Envoy on Climate Change and for more than two decades has held prominent positions in the Norwegian government, including ten years as Prime Minister as well as stints as State Secretary for the Environment and as Minister of Energy, Economy, and Finance. Stoltenberg is a globally respected diplomat, a thought-leader on many key security issues, and one of the few European recipients of the American Medal of Freedom.

Jens Stoltenberg: “I have dedicated my entire political life to maintaining peace. It is a great honor for me to serve as Chairman of the Munich Security Conference and make a contribution to its mission “peace through dialogue.” Few international platforms are as important as the MSC to promote conflict prevention, dialogue, and international cooperation.”

Wolfgang Ischinger, the President of the MSC’s Foundation Council: “I am delighted that Jens Stoltenberg has agreed to chair the Munich Security Conference. With his worldwide reputation and immense experience, Jens will lead the conference into an even more important and global role. There is no one better qualified. The Foundation Council is very grateful for the many contributions that Ambassador Heusgen has made in his three years at the helm.”

Outgoing Chairman Ambassador Christoph Heusgen: “I am immensely grateful to the MSC team for everything that we have achieved over the past three years, including the organization of three outstanding Munich Conferences, the opening of the MSC to the ‚Global South‘, for reaching gender parity in our panels, and for increasing the participation of the next generation across all our activities. I am particularly grateful to the MSC team for initiating the ‚Women Parliamentarians Program’ and for organizing the ‚Zeitenwende on tour‘ by which we carry the debate on foreign and security policy to dozens of cities all over Germany.”

Wolfgang Ischinger will remain President of the Foundation Council of the MSC Foundation. Helga Maria Schmid, the former Secretary-General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), will continue to serve as his deputy.