AGI
Jeffrey Rathke

Jeff Rathke

President of AGI

Jeffrey Rathke is the President of the American-German Institute at the Johns Hopkins University in Washington, DC.

Prior to joining AGI, Jeff was a senior fellow and deputy director of the Europe Program at CSIS, where his work focused on transatlantic relations and U.S. security and defense policy. Jeff joined CSIS in 2015 from the State Department, after a 24-year career as a Foreign Service Officer, dedicated primarily to U.S. relations with Europe. He was director of the State Department Press Office from 2014 to 2015, briefing the State Department press corps and managing the Department’s engagement with U.S. print and electronic media. Jeff led the political section of the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur from 2011 to 2014. Prior to that, he was deputy chief of staff to the NATO Secretary General in Brussels. He also served in Berlin as minister-counselor for political affairs (2006–2009), his second tour of duty in Germany. His Washington assignments have included deputy director of the Office of European Security and Political Affairs and duty officer in the White House Situation Room and State Department Operations Center.

Mr. Rathke was a Weinberg Fellow at Princeton University (2003–2004), winning the Master’s in Public Policy Prize. He also served at U.S. Embassies in Dublin, Moscow, and Riga, which he helped open after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Mr. Rathke has been awarded national honors by Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, as well as several State Department awards. He holds an M.P.P. degree from Princeton University and B.A. and B.S. degrees from Cornell University. He speaks German, Russian, and Latvian.

__

jrathke@aicgs.org

Recent Content

Reset

Episode 06: Competing Visions for a New Era of Globalization

The U.S. economic relationship with Europe is the most intense and largest economic relationship on the planet.  Bigger than U.S.-China trade, or any other for that matter. Earlier this week, …

Defending Democracy in the Cybersphere

Strong Democracies Need Strong Partners: Lessons from a German-American Cyber Dialogue Policy Report 69 Foreword by Jeff Rathke President, AGI On the day that President Donald Trump met with Chancellor …

US expected to announce US suspension of landmark INF arms control treaty

On the U.S. suspension of the INF Treaty, AGI President Jeff Rathke told CNN that Europe is “worried about US withdrawal in particular because it takes the pressure off of …

Jeff Rathke on Voice of America’s “Encounter”

Jeff Rathke, AGI President, and Thomas Wright, Director of the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution, join host Carol Castiel on VOA’s “Encounter” program to …

Episode 05: Transatlantic Relations and the Evolving View of China

China has represented opportunity—both geopolitical and economic—since its dramatic openings in the 1970s. There are, of course, the opportunities for China itself:  hundreds of millions of people have escaped poverty …

Episode 04: One of the Largest Deals Ever Made: Talking Trump, China, and Trade

On December 1, President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met during the G-20 summit in Argentina and agreed, it seems, to put the economic disputes on ice.  No raising …

Will Merkel’s Retreat Spark German Foreign Policy Renewal?

The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has ruled Germany since 2005 and for 49 of the past 69 years—its election of a new party leader December 7 will have far-reaching impact …

Episode 03: Burdensharing within NATO: Do more, spend more?

No relationship is without its difficulties and disagreements, not even between societies as close as the U.S. and Europe.  For almost as long as NATO has existed, Washington has wanted …

NATO Then, Now, and In The Future

For nearly 70 years, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has provided a system of collective defense for North American and European Nations. Known as NATO, the alliance has grown from …

Episode 02: The Wall: Legacy of Divided Berlin

When the Berlin Wall fell on November 9, 1989, it was a surprise to many. For an entire generation, the Berlin Wall was the most iconic physical manifestation of the …

A New Approach to Europe?

Jeff Rathke Speaks at Helsinki Commission Briefing November 1, 2018 European countries and institutions like NATO and the European Union are our partners of first resort. And it is clear …

Merkel’s Retreat

Angela Merkel’s name appeared nowhere on the ballot October 28 as voters went to the polls in the western German state of Hesse. But this election sealed the fate of …