Zeitenwende: Germany’s role in the Transatlantic Partnership

A sitting member of the German Parliament and a member of the Free Democratic Party, Coordinator Link is responsible for Germany’s relationship with Canada and the United States. This talk examined Germany’s relationship with the two countries: the values they share and the issues that unite – and divide –  them.

 

About the Speaker

 

Michael Georg Link has been serving as the German Federal Government’s Coordinator of Transatlantic Cooperation at the Federal Foreign Office since March 2022.

His focus as Coordinator is on deepening political relations with the U.S. and Canada, on both the federal and the state or provincial level respectively. He also works to increase transatlantic people-to-people contact, especially by promoting exchange programs for young people from all walks of life.

 

Link is a Member of the German Bundestag where, now in his fourth legislative term, he represents the Free Democratic Party (FDP) for his home electoral district, Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg. Link is Deputy Chairperson of the Parliamentary Group of the Free Democrats, where he is responsible for international affairs and defense policy.

He has extensive experience in international relations, having previously served as Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office (2012-2013) and as Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) (2014-2017). He is also a member of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, of the party council of the European Liberals (ALDE), and of the FDP national executive board in his capacity as party treasurer.