The German government’s new North-South Commission will include several prominent international figures, such as Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank, and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization. According to the magazine “Politico”, the commission will also feature Hermann Gröhe, President of the German Red Cross, alongside Mark Greene, the new CEO of the Organization One and former head of the US Development Agency (USAID).
The commission is set to be formally presented by its chairpersons, Olaf Scholz and Laura Chinchilla Miranda, on Monday. Further members of this highly distinguished panel are expected to be announced at the press conference in Berlin around 1 p.m., where the commission’s working goals, timeline, and priorities will also be revealed.
This body reflects an agreement outlined in the coalition agreement and was formally approved by the Federal Cabinet. Its core mandate is to strategically expand international cooperation and bolster global partnerships. Alongside Chinchilla, the commission is co-chaired by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), who has long emphasized the importance of engagement with the Global South during his tenure as Chancellor. Henrik Maihack, formerly the head of the African Department at the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, will direct the commission’s secretariat.
The new commission builds upon the original North-South Commission chaired by Willy Brandt. That earlier committee, established in 1980, had advocated for greater involvement from developing nations in the South and called for increased investment in development over military expenditure.
