The Transatlantic Agenda in a Pivotal American Election Year

The transatlantic relationship—a geopolitical and geoeconomic center of gravity—will be influenced by the 2024 U.S. elections. The American presidential election will present the U.S. electorate with a choice: between four more years of President Biden, who has focused on intensifying transatlantic cooperation, or a return to an “America First” foreign policy as represented by former President Trump and the preponderance of contenders for the Republican nomination. The presidential campaign will shine a light on policy debates within the two political parties about America’s role in the world and how domestic politics can shape global priorities. This symposium will deepen understanding of some of the most important issues in the transatlantic partnership, how they are likely to be affected by the election cycle, and what the potential outcomes might mean for Germany, Europe, and the United States.

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Following the event, in-person attendees are invited to a reception from 5:00 – 6:00 pm.

Space is limited and registration is required for in-person participation. The deadline to register to attend in person is February 8, 2024.

Virtual participation is available via Zoom. Contact Ms. Elizabeth Hotary at ehotary@aicgs.org with questions regarding this event.

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Register to Watch Online

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Uwe Becker is State Secretary in the Hesse Ministry of Finance. Since 2019, he has also served as Representative of the Hessian state government for Jewish Life and the Fight against Anti-Semitism. Before joining the state, he held positions in the Frankfurt am Main city government. From 2006-2007, he was a full-time city councilor in the municipal council and head of department for Social Affairs, Youth, and Sport. From 2007-2016 he served as city treasurer and head of department for Finance, Investments, and Church Affairs. From 2016-2021, he was Mayor, city treasurer, and head of department for Finance, Investments, and Church Affairs. He began his career as a bank clerk at Frankfurter Sparkasse.

Brian Egan is Partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. Mr. Egan has advised on CFIUS reviews for clients spanning a wide range of business sectors and jurisdictions, including Asia, Europe and the Middle East. He also has counseled on numerous export controls issues, including compliance, classification, licensing, enforcement, and related due diligence, and has assisted with internal investigations and government disclosures. He held several roles in federal government, serving as the senior-most lawyer at both the National Security Council and the Department of State, as well as deputy White House counsel to then-President Obama and assistant general counsel at the Department of the Treasury. In recognition of his work, he received numerous awards from government agencies, including the National Security Council; the departments of State, Treasury and Justice; and the Central Intelligence Agency.

Emily Margarethe Haber was German Ambassador to the United States from 2018 until 2023. Prior to her transfer to Washington, DC, she served in various leadership functions at the Foreign Office in Berlin. In 2009, she was appointed Political Director and, in 2011, State Secretary, the first woman to hold either post. Thereafter, she was deployed to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, serving as State Secretary in charge of homeland security and migration policy from 2014 until 2018. Emily Haber has many years of experience with Russia and the former Soviet Union. She held various posts at the German Embassy in Moscow, including Head of the Political Department. At the Foreign Office in Berlin, she served as Head of the OSCE Division and as Deputy Director-General for the Western Balkans, among other positions.

Werner Hoyer holds a doctorate in economics from the University of Cologne, where he also began his career. Dr. Hoyer was a member of the German Bundestag for twenty-four years. During this time, he held the office of Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office twice. He was parliamentary group chairman and security policy spokesman for the Free Democratic Party (FDP), deputy chairman of the German-American Parliamentary Group, FDP Secretary General, and President of the European Liberal Democratic Reform Party (ELDR). Following his appointment by the EU Member States, Dr. Hoyer took up his first term as EIB President in January 2012. His mandate was extended for a second term, until December 31, 2023.

Mary E. Lovely is the Anthony M. Solomon Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute. She served as the 2022 Carnegie Chair in US-China Relations with the Kluge Center at the Library of Congress. Lovely is professor emeritus of economics at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, where she was Melvin A. Eggers Economics Faculty Scholar from 2010 to April 2022. She was coeditor of the China Economic Review during 2011-15. Her current research projects investigate the effect of China’s foreign direct investment policies on trade flows and entry mode, strategic reform of US tariffs on China, and recent movements in global supply chains. Lovely earned her PhD in economics at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and a master’s degree in city and regional planning from Harvard University.

Kai Oppermann is Professor of International Politics at the Chemnitz University of Technology. He has previously held positions at the University of Sussex, King’s College London, and the University of Cologne. His research centers on the domestic sources of European integration and foreign policy with a focus on transatlantic relations and British and German foreign policy. Dr. Oppermann won a Marie Curie Fellowship for a research project on EU referendums and worked as a specialist advisor to the House of Lords External Affairs Sub-Committee in the UK. His work has been published in international peer-reviewed journals such as European Journal of International Relations, West European Politics, Foreign Policy Analysis, Journal of European Public Policy, and British Journal of Politics and International Relations. Dr. Oppermann is a co-editor at German Politics and an associate editor of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Foreign Policy Analysis (2018). Dr. Oppermann was a DAAD/AGI Research Fellow from October to December 2021.

Currently CEO of the think and action tank New America, Anne-Marie Slaughter is a global leader, scholar, and public intellectual. She was the J. Sinclair Armstrong Professor of International, Foreign, and Comparative Law at Harvard Law School and served as President of the American Society of International Law. From 2002 to 2009 she was Bert G. Kerstetter ‘66 University Professor of Politics and International Affairs and Dean of the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. In 2009 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appointed her as the first woman Director of Policy Planning in the U.S. State Department. Slaughter has written and lectured widely on global network design and leadership; on gender equality and elevating the value of care for both men and women; and on American renewal. The author or editor of nine books, she is a contributing editor to the Financial Times and a regular columnist for Project Syndicate.

Ludovic Subran is the Chief Economist of Allianz. He is also Chief Economist of Allianz Trade (formerly: Euler Hermes). Prior to joining Allianz, Ludovic worked for the World Bank, the United Nations World Food Program and the French Ministry of Finance. A French national, Ludovic is a Member of the Council of Economic Advisors to the Prime Minister. Ludovic is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, a Millenium Fellow of the Atlantic Council, and a David Rockefeller Fellow of the Trilateral Commission. He has been ranked by Richtopia among the Top 100 most influential economists, and by Institut Choiseul and Le Figaro as one of the Top 100 French leaders of tomorrow. Ludovic also sits on several boards of directors and advisory boards. Ludovic is an Adjunct Professor of economics at HEC Business School and Sciences Po Paris. He has co-authored four books: Hunger and Markets (2006), Désordre dans les Monnaies (2015), Je comprends enfin l’Économie (2020), and Investing in a Changing Climate – Navigating Challenges and Opportunities (2023). Ludovic is a graduate of the École Nationale de la Statistique et de l’Administration Économique and of Sciences Po Paris. Ludovic is fluent in seven languages.

Kenneth R. Weinstein is Japan Chair at Hudson Institute and Founding Chair & CEO of the Indo-Pacific Forum (IPF).  From 2005-2020, Dr. Weinstein served as CEO of Hudson, which he joined in 1991. Under his leadership, the Institute grew significantly in size and influence. In March 2020, Weinstein, who speaks fluent French and German, was nominated to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Japan, receiving unanimous support from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In April 2022, Weinstein and the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe co-founded the IPF to promote Abe’s legacy vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific, gathering thought and business leaders to work on initiatives to further connectivity, resilience, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific. Weinstein graduated from the University of Chicago, received a graduate degree in Soviet Studies from Sciences-Po Paris, and a Ph.D. from Harvard University, writing on the political philosophy of Pierre Bayle (1647-1706). In 2006, Weinstein was named Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters for work on US-French relations. In 2022, he was awarded the Japanese Foreign Minister’s Commendation for “outstanding contributions” to US-Japan relations.  He has served on numerous federal commissions by presidential appointment, including as chair of the US Agency for Global Media, chairing Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe, and Middle East Broadcasting, and as a member of the Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations.