Global Atlanta Consular Conversations: Luncheon and Interview With Germany’s Consul General

In the seventh event in Global Atlanta’s Consular Conversations Series on March 21, 2017, the editorial team will be interviewing Germany’s Consul General in Atlanta, Detlev Ruenger.

Topics of discussion will likely include:

• Germany’s upcoming elections and the rise of populism
• European integration and Germany’s role in the EU
• German investment in the South
• U.S. trade policy and Germany’s economy
• Future of NATO and European security

…and more.

The format:

• Catered light lunch with soft drinks
• One-on-one conversation with the Global Atlanta editorial team, followed by moderated audience Q&A
• Discussion covered by Global Atlanta and published in a later article

Our speaker:

After his law degree in 1981 at the University of Hannover, Detlev Ruenger joined the Federal Foreign Office in Bonn, Germany. In 1985, he assumed his first posting abroad as Consul at the German Embassy in Cairo, Egypt. Within the same year, he was transferred to Quito, Ecuador, to serve as the German Embassy’s Press and Cultural Attaché. In 1988, he was reassigned to Prague, Czech Republic, where he witnessed the fall of the iron curtain and the German reunification as Consul of the German Embassy.

In 1992, he became Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy in Daressalam, Tanzania. From 1995 until 1999, back at the Federal Foreign Office’s headquarters in Bonn, Germany, Detlev Ruenger held the position of Deputy Head of Division for Export Control. In 1999, he was reassigned to the German Embassy in Canberra, Australia, where he held the position of Deputy Head of Mission until 2002.

In 2002, Mr. Ruenger took up the position of Head of Division for Humanitarian Aid which he held until 2006 when he was promoted Commissioner for Crisis Management. In 2009 he was appointed German Ambassador to Norway and in 2012, German Ambassador to Austria.

In July 2015, Ambassador Ruenger took office as Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Atlanta, USA. He is joined by his wife and two children.