Prof. Dr. med. Detlev Ganten, Chairman

Born 1941 in Lüneburg. Studied medicine in Germany and France, doctorates in Heidelberg and Montréal. 1974 Habilitation at the Pharmacological Institute of the University of Heidelberg, where he became professor in 1975. 1991 – 2004 Founding Director of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine Berlin-Buch, from 1993 Professor of Clinical Pharmacology at the Charité. 2004 – 2008 Chairman of the Board of Charité, 2005 – 2016 Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Stiftung Charité, now Honorary Chairman. In 2009, Ganten launched the World Health Summit, which takes place annually in Berlin. Here he is committed to improving global health care through alliances between science, policy, business and civil society. Detlev Ganten is one of the central figures of biomedicine in Germany. He holds numerous international honors, editorships and memberships.

Dr. jur. Christina Stresemann, Deputy

Born 1957 in Berlin. Studied law at the Free University of Berlin; doctorate in 1991. From 1987 to 2003 judge in Berlin, since 1997 as judge at the Kammergericht. Secondments to the Senate Department of Justice and as a research assistant to the Federal Constitutional Court. 2003 Appointed judge at the Federal Supreme Court. 2004 to 2012 also judge at the Constitutional Court of the State of Berlin. From 2012 to 2022, she chaired the V. Civil Senate and the Senate for Agricultural Cases of the Federal Supreme Court.

Sabine Bergmann-Pohl, M.D.

Born 1946 in Eisenach. Medical studies at the Humboldt University in Berlin; doctorate in 1980. Head of the Polyclinic Department for Lung Diseases and Tuberculosis in Berlin-Friedrichshain, then Medical Director at the District Office for Lung Diseases and Tuberculosis in East Berlin. 1987 Elected to the district executive committee of the East Berlin CDU. 1990: Elected President of the People’s Chamber. Last head of state of the GDR. 1990: Federal Minister for Special Tasks. 1991 – 1998: Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Health. 2002: Retirement from the Bundestag.

Mandates: 1990 – 2015 Patron of the General Association for the Disabled in Germany. 2003 – 2012 President of the Berlin State Association of the Red Cross, since then Honorary President. Vice President of the International Federation until 2015. 2012: Appointed city elder of Berlin.

Edelgard Bulmahn

Born 1951. Graduated from high school in 1972, followed by a year on a kibbutz; studied political science and English. From 1980, teacher in Hanover. Member of the SPD since 1969 and member of the SPD party executive committee from 1993 – 2011. 1998 – November 2005 Federal Minister of Education and Research. End of 2005 until 2009 Chairwoman of the Committee on Economics and Technology. 1987 to 2017 Member of the German Bundestag, 2009 to 2017 Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee. 2013 to 2017 Vice President of the Bundestag. Honorary activities in associations and foundations, among others: Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees of Humboldt University Berlin since 2017, Deputy Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees of the Deutsche Telekom Foundation, Member of the Board of Trustees of the German Institute for Economic Research.

Moritz Rinke

Born 1967 in Worpswede. Study “Drama, Theater, Media”. His stories and essays (as books: “The Blue Whale in the Cherry Orchard” and “The Great Stumble”) have won several awards. “Republik Vineta” was voted best German-language play in 2001, and was filmed for the cinema in 2008. In 2002, “Die Nibelungen” was premiered. Some of his plays have appeared in the “Trilogy of the Lost.” The play “We love and know nothing”, premiered in 2012, reached 50 productions. ZDF and ARTE dedicated a film to him in 2008: “My Life – Moritz Rinke”. His first novel, “The Man Who Fell Through the Century,” spent weeks on the bestseller list in 2010. Moritz Rinke, co-founder of PEN Berlin, is considered one of the most successful German playwrights.

Prof. Dr. phil. Dr. h.c. Gesine Schwan

Born 1943, childhood in Berlin. 1962 Studied Romance languages and literature, history, philosophy and political science. Doctorate on the Polish philosopher Leszek Kołakowski.
1972 Joined the SPD.

From 1977 Professor of Political Science at the Otto Suhr Institute of the Free University of Berlin. 1999 – 2008 President of the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder), founded in 1991. 2004 – 2009 Coordinator for German-Polish Cooperation of the German Federal Government. 2004 and 2009 candidacy for the office of Federal President. Co-founder of the HUMBOLDT-VIADRINA School of Governance, which closed in 2014. Prof. Dr. phil. Dr. h.c. Gesine Schwan is co-founder, shareholder and president of the Berlin Governance Platform, where she heads the area of trialogues.

Numerous honorary posts and awards.