Born 1963 in Leipzig; Studied History, German and Pedagogics at Friedrich-Schiller University Jena and Karl Marx University Leipzig; Gained a Phd (Dr. phil) in 1991 (area of specialisation: newer history).

Since 2004: Hon. Prof. at the Presidential Academy Tashkent and Al-Chorezmi State University (both Uzbekistan);

Since 2009: Ambassador for Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia for the Swiss-German Institut for Theoretical and Artistic Re-enactment, Zurich/Berlin;

2011: Awarded the medal of the Saxon constitution;

1990–95: Head of the Immigration Department and the Department for the Supervision of Local Authorities in the Leipzig District Administration;

1995–2001: Guest lecturer at Ovidius University and at the College 'Mircea cel Batran' (Constanta/Romania);

Since 2002 working for the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation as Head of the Moscow office (2005-2007), Head of the Europe/Northern America department in the head office of the foundation in Berlin (2007-2010) and as the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation's Regional Representative in Central Asia based in Tashkent (2002-2005, again since 2010).

Numerous publications on German and Eastern European contemporary history including biographies of Nicolae Ceausescu and Erich Honecker. Recently published: 'Russia's underworld. A journey through secret bunkers and forgotten tunnels', Christoph Links Verlag, Berlin, 2008, 'Ostalgie international' (ed. with Thomas Vogel), Christoph Links Verlag, Berlin, 2010 and 'From the Soviet Union to Independence. A journey through 15 former Soviet republics' (Co-Author: Thomas Vogel), Christoph Links Verlag, Berlin, 2011

Information on the book 'Twenty-One. A century's opportunities – a century's dangers' (edited by Thomas Kunze and Wolfgang Maier on behalf of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and published by Finckenstein & Salmuth, Berlin, 2010) is available at www.jahrhundertgefahren.de.

Expertise

• Central Asia
• NATO
• Russia
• Caucasus
• Romania
• History of the GDR