Karl-Ernst Brauner

Karl-Ernst Brauner is Deputy Director-General of WTO since 2013. Before, he was Director General for external economic policy in the German Federal Ministry of Economics, where he was Germany’s member in the EU’s Trade Policy Committee, taking part in WTO ministerial conferences.

He is a lawyer, with degrees from Germany and Cambridge. His career started in the legal department of the Ministry of Economics. He then worked at the German Mission to the UN in New York, Athens and Sydney.

In Berlin, his responsibilities covered budget, human resources and general administration, including cabinet and parliamentary matters. He was involved in the Government move from Bonn to Berlin. As Director General, he administered all the instruments of export promotion, export controls and all bilateral economic relations outside the EU.