Karsten Beneke

Karsten Beneke has been Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of Forschungszentrum Jülich since September 1, 2011. He follows Dr. Ulrich Krafft, who has returned to the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

Born on December 18, 1958 in Potsdam, Karsten Beneke attended high school in Ulm and studied economics at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich until 1984, where he remained until 1987 as a research assistant.

After his involvement in the Enquete Commission "Technology Assessment" in the German Bundestag, the graduate economist worked in the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, from 1995 as head of department.

Beneke got to know the German Aerospace Center in Cologne-Porz very well from 1999: as Head of Corporate Development and International Relations and from 2002 as Director for Space and Transport.

Most recently, Karsten Beneke was State Secretary for Federal and European Affairs and Plenipotentiary of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia at the federal level and, until 2010, Head of the State Chancellery of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.