Dr. Hans-Dieter Lucas was a member of the German Foreign Service until the summer of 2025. He studied political science, history, law, and Catholic theology at the University of Bonn, the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris, and the Sorbonne. He received his doctorate from the University of Bonn with a dissertation on de Gaulle's European policy. During his 40-year career, he held prominent positions at the headquarters of the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Chancellery, and at important embassy posts. As Political Director of the Federal Foreign Office, he was, among other things, the German chief negotiator in the negotiations on the nuclear agreement with Iran (JCPoA). He was German ambassador to the EU's Political and Security Committee (PSC), to NATO, and in Paris and Rome. Prior to that, he worked at the German embassies in Moscow and Washington, among other places. In addition to his professional activities, he has published extensively on current issues of security and defense policy, Russia policy, and Germany's relations with France and Italy in particular. From 2026, he will take up a teaching position at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin.

European Politics | Security and Defense | Russia