Details

RSVP until Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017 (acceptances only) to the American Council on Germany at 212-826-3636 or events@acgusa.org.

Since January 2017, Nico Lange has been the Head of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation’s Washington office. Prior to this, he was the Head of the Policy and Counseling Department at the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung from 2013 to 2016. During this time, his main focus was on political planning and strategy, analysis, and counseling political parties, as well as addressing populism. From 2006 to 2012, Mr. Lange headed the Ukraine office of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and also taught Political Science and International Relations at the University of Greifswald, the Department of International Relations at the State University of St. Petersburg, and the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. Before joining the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Mr. Lange worked for the CDU/CSU faction in the German Bundestag, and from 2003 to 2006, he was with the Robert Bosch Foundation in St. Petersburg, Russia. Mr. Lange studied Political Science, Communications, and Computer Science after completing his military service in the Bundeswehr, where he had assignments in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo.

Jeffrey Rathke is a Senior Fellow and Deputy Director of the Europe Program at CSIS. Previously, he served as Director of the State Department Press Office, from May 2014 to June 2015 (and acting Deputy Spokesperson in April and May). He joined the Foreign Service in 1991 and retired in June 2015. Mr. Rathke served in Kuala Lumpur as Counselor for Political Affairs from 2011 to 2014. Prior to that, he was Deputy Director of the Private Office of the NATO Secretary General in Brussels. He also served in Berlin as Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs from 2006 to 2009. His Washington assignments have included Deputy Director of the Office of European Security and Political Affairs (EUR/RPM) and Duty Officer in the White House Situation Room and State Department Operations Center. Mr. Rathke was a Weinberg Fellow at Princeton University from 2003 to 2004, winning the Master’s in Public Policy Prize. He served at the U.S. Embassy in Dublin from 2001 to 2003, covering multilateral politics during Ireland’s tenure on the UN Security Council. From 1999 to 2001, he was posted in Moscow and was responsible for relations with the Russian legislative branch in the Political Section. He was assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Berlin from 1994 to 1996 and helped open the U.S. Embassy in Riga from 1992 to 1994. He holds an M.P.P. degree from Princeton University and B.A. and B.S. degrees from Cornell University.