The American Council on Germany was incorporated in 1952 in New York as a private nonprofit organization to promote reconciliation and understanding between Germans and Americans in the aftermath of World War II. General Lucius Clay, Christopher Emmet, Ellen Z. McCloy, and Eric M. Warburg were among its founders. John J. McCloy, the first civilian U.S. High Commissioner in Germany following the war, was the founding Chairman and continued to serve until 1987.
In its early years, the ACG organized educational conferences and collected and published information on political and economic developments in Germany to make Americans aware of Germany’s strides toward democracy and Western integration. Under Mr. McCloy’s guidance, the ACG became a premier forum for high-level German-American discussions and a platform in the United States for Germany’s postwar generation of leaders to discuss Germany’s situation and challenges. In this vein, the ACG began its long tradition of inviting German leaders to the United States for discussions with U.S. policymakers and other concerned Americans. Chancellor Konrad Adenauer came to the United States under the Council’s auspices in 1953.
Since then, Chancellors Kurt-Georg Kiesinger, Willy Brandt, Helmut Schmidt, Helmut Kohl, Gerhard Schröder, Angela Merkel, and Federal Presidents Walter Scheel, Karl Carstens, Richard von Weizsäcker, Roman Herzog, Johannes Rau, Christian Wulff, Joachim Guack, and Frank-Walter Steinmeier have spoken before the Council.
In 1959, the American Council on Germany initiated the American-German Biennial Conferences, where high-level German and American opinion shapers and policymakers from academia, business, government, media, and the military met to discuss the major bilateral and international issues of the day. These conferences helped form professional and personal bonds among participants who served to solidify the bilateral relationship.
One of the ACG’s flagship initiatives is the American-German Young Leaders Conference, which was launched in 1973. These meetings bring together approximately 25 Americans and 25 Germans, from age 28 to 38, from academia, business, government, media, and the military, to discuss global and German-American issues while establishing lasting personal and professional relationships. The conference was conceived and initiated as a biennial meeting by John Diebold, a venture capitalist who also served as Vice Chairman of the American Council on Germany. In collaboration with Christopher Emmet, one of the founders of the ACG and its full-time Director, the idea was proposed as a joint project to the Executive Board of the Atlantik-Brücke. Enthusiastically approved, the first conference was held at Haus Rissen in Hamburg. Until 1988, the conferences were held every other year. They now occur annually because of the importance of the objective and the success of the earlier meetings. The number of U.S. Congress members, German parliamentarians, corporate CEOs, and Ambassadors who have participated as delegates in these conferences attests to the selection process’s effectiveness and the program’s long-term benefit for both countries.
The Council’s efforts were helped immeasurably in 1975 when the West German government presented a $1 million grant to the ACG in recognition of John J. McCloy’s contributions to German-American relations. In establishing the John J. McCloy Fund, the Federal Republic announced that the primary purpose would be “to bring together young people of the two countries.” In the 1980s, the John J. McCloy Fund was supplemented by significant contributions from other organizations.
With this support, the Council was able to expand its activities dramatically. In 1976, the McCloy Fellowships were inaugurated, enabling young German and American professionals to visit each other’s countries and develop personal and working contacts with their transatlantic counterparts. More than 700 fellowships have been awarded in the fields of agriculture, art, environmental policy, journalism, labor, law, and urban affairs.
In 1987, John J. McCloy stepped down as Chairman and was succeeded by Charles McC. Mathias, a former Senator from Maryland. A reorganization of the Council’s structure was also implemented following a Board committee study, establishing a full-time President’s position. David Klein, a former Foreign Service Officer who had served as U.S. Minister in Berlin, was named the Council’s first head. He was followed in 1988 by Carroll Brown, former U.S. Consul General in Munich.
Also in 1987, the Council instituted and organized the Arthur F. Burns Lecture Series to honor the former U.S. Ambassador to Germany and the ACG’s Diplomatic Advisory Committee member. The first lecturer was Karl-Otto Pöhl. Subsequent lecturers included Paul Volcker, Alan Greenspan, Hans Tietmeyer, Ernst Welteke, Dr. Henry A. Kissinger, and Dr. Rolf-E. Breuer.
The ACG’s national outreach program was initiated in 1991 when Lionel Pincus, a former business associate of Eric Warburg, made a five-year grant to the Council to finance the establishment of the Eric M. Warburg Chapters in selected American cities. The ACG sends approximately four to five speakers to each Chapter per year.
Sen. Mathias’ five-year term as ACG Chairman ended in 1993. He was succeeded by General (ret.) John Galvin, a former NATO Supreme Allied Commander for Europe. General Galvin had spent more than 12 years of his Army career in Germany and brought to the ACG chairmanship a deep knowledge of the country, its people, and its language.
On July 1, 1998, the leadership of the Council again changed hands as Gen. John Galvin stepped down after five years as Chairman of the ACG. Garrick Utley of CNN, an ACG Director since March 1997, was chosen by the Board of Directors as Gen. Galvin’s successor. Mr. Utley brought with him a vast knowledge of international affairs, and due to his extensive experience covering European-American issues, he was well-known and highly regarded in Germany. In November 1999, Hugh G. Hamilton, Jr., former U.S. Consul General in Frankfurt, succeeded Carroll Brown as President of the ACG. Mr. Hamilton served until February 2005, when veteran journalist William M. Drozdiak succeeded him. On March 31, 2011, Ambassador Robert M. Kimmitt, who has a distinguished record of government service, including as the U.S. Ambassador to Germany and extensive experience in the private sector, succeeded Mr. Utley as Chairman of the American Council on Germany.
At a crucial time for the German-American and U.S.-European relationship, Dr. Steven E. Sokol became President of the American Council on Germany on May 1, 2015. Dr. Sokol has spent nearly half his life in Europe and demonstrated a deep personal and professional commitment to the transatlantic relationship and broader global issues.
On January 17, 2018, Ambassador John B. Emerson, Vice Chairman of Capital Group International, Inc., who served as the U.S. Ambassador to Germany, was elected Chairman of the American Council on Germany. Ambassador Emerson had long been associated with the ACG, having been a Political Exchange Fellow in 1988. As the Council marked its 70th anniversary in 2022, Ambassador Emerson said: “I am hopeful because young people in particular believe that the best days of the transatlantic relationship are still ahead of us.”
The American Council on Germany can look pridefully at its achievements over the past seven decades. The Council looks forward to playing a continued significant role in strengthening one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world today.