Joachim BITTERLICH

Ambassador (ret), CBE

Professor (affiliate) at the ESCP Business School in Paris and at other institutions, until recently member of the Independent Historical Commission to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture Berlin.

Joachim Bitterlich is a consultant in highly sensitive European and international affairs. His other present roles include Chairman of the Franco-German Business Cercle Berlin; and Senior Advisor to Eutop Brussels; BGA-Berlin Global Advisors; CogitoPraxis, Paris.

He is also a board member of the École Nationale d'Administration ENA Paris and of the Institut Jacques Delors Paris, as well as member of the Advisory board of Friends of Europe Brussels, of the Bosporus Institute Paris/Istanbul, as well as Co-Founder of the Club Rhénan Paris/Berlin.

Joachim Bitterlich had joined the German Federal Foreign Office in 1976, being posted to Algiers, Brussels (Permanent Representation to the European Communities), before becoming in 1985 Advisor in the private office of Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher. In 1987 he joined the Chancellors Office, first as European policy advisor to German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, later as his European, International and Security Policy Advisor. In 1998 he first became German Permanent Representative to NATO, later Ambassador to Spain and Andorra.

He joined Veolia Environnement in 2003, appointed Executive Vice-President International Affairs and later in addition Chairman Germany. He served in boards in France and in other European countries in different areas, among them environment, energy, transport and certification.

Education

Law, economics and politics at the University of Saarland in Germany; graduate of the École Nationale d’Administration in Paris.

Publications

His most recent publications include main actual European and international themes such as:

- Reflections on the End of the Cold War
- Sixty years Europeanisation of the Agricultural policy – interests, conflicts, agenda settings – a historical-political view

Most recently his memoirs were published in Germany under the title Grenzgänger : Deutsche Interessen und Verantwortung in und für Europe - Erinnerungen eines Zeitzeugen (Crosser: German Interests and responsibility in and towards Europe – Memoirs of a contemporary witness), Stuttgart 2021.