Germany’s Investment in Defense and Infrastructure

The ACG will host a discussion with Heiko Thoms, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Finance

Heiko Thoms is State Secretary in the German Ministry of Finance. He oversees European policy, international financial policy, financial market policy as well as government holdings and privatization. His responsibilities include serving as the Deputy of the German Minister of Finance at the G7, the G20 and the IMF. He is Alternate Governor of the World Bank Group and the EBRD, as well as Vice President of the Economic and Financial Committee of the European Union (EFC) and Member of the Board of Directors of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). Furthermore, he is Chairman of the Board of the Brussels Institute for Geopolitics (BIG).

At the national level, State Secretary Thoms is Chairman of the Board of the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), Chair of the Financial Stability Committee (Ausschuss für Finanzstabilität), and Member of the Supervisory Board of KfW IPEX Bank. During his tenure, State Secretary Thoms negotiated the new EU fiscal rules, contributing significantly to the establishment of policies aimed at fostering fiscal stability across the European Union. He played a pivotal role in securing the establishment of the EU’s Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) in Frankfurt, strengthening Germany’s position as a financial hub. He also spearheaded the Growth and Innovation Capital Initiative for Germany (WIN Initiative), introducing a comprehensive package of measures designed to improve the framework conditions for growth and venture capital in the country.

State Secretary Thoms is a trained lawyer and diplomat. He started his public service career in 1999 in the Federal Foreign Office and previously served as German Ambassador to Brazil and to the United Nations in New York and as Deputy Ambassador to NATO.