Professional Luncheon
Volker Stanzel,
Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany

The speech and Q & A will be in English.

Ranging from Afghanistan, Iran and North Korea to non-proliferation, the rise of China and UN-reform; the new governments of Japan and Germany face a lot of challenges in global politics. An expert on these matters is new German ambassador Volker Stanzel. As political director of the Federal Foreign Office -- one of most influential posts the foreign ministry has to offer -- he was directly in charge of, or involved in, these issues.

Stanzel has a strong background in East Asian diplomacy. He not only took Japanese and Chinese Studies and Political Science at universities in Frankfurt, Kyoto and Cologne, but is also fluent in Japanese and Chinese. He served also as Ambassador to China from 2004 to 2007 during the ramp-up of the Olympics.

Stanzel is guaranteed to speak his mind -- a quality that once earned him the role of foreign policy advisor of the Social Democratic Party of Germany. He also understands the needs of the media from his own experience. His first overseas assignment led him to Japan in 1982 -- as press officer at the German embassy.

MENU

Sandwich: Lemongrass swordfish with bean sprouts, coriander, red pepper, carrot, cucumber, tomato, salad & pickles on campagne
Hot Plate: sauteed pork chop with savoy cabbage, bacon, celeriac, lyonnaise potatoes, mushrooms & charcuterie sauce, seasonal salad

Volker Stanzel, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany