Bjoern Seibert
Björn Seibert
Head of Cabinet for the President of the European Commission
Personal details
BornGermany

Bjoern Seibert is a German politician who is the current Head of Cabinet for Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.[1] He's worked with von der Leyen since she was Defence Minister of Germany.[2]

Seibert coordinated the EU's sanctions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine with the United States, with his role being described as "key" by a European diplomat.[1]

Early life

Seibert studied political science at the University of Erfurt and in the United States.[3]

Career

He served for six years on the Policy Planning and Advisory Staff of the German Defence Minister under von der Leyen.[4]

European Commission

In 2020, Seibert and von der Leyen were criticized for creating a large backlog of high-level and senior position vacancies at the Commission due to their insistence on having personal control over the appointments. Over 70 director, director general or deputy director general jobs were unfilled as well as over 80 mid-level positions. Over 21% of senior positions across departments were vacant in mid-October according to Politico.[5] He has been criticized for his role as leader of von der Leyen's advisers due to them not taking much input from people outside this inner circle, including from her commissioners.[6]

After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Seibert was "critical"[2] to the successful European negotiations with the United States regarding international sanctions on Russia.[7] According to an EU diplomat cited by the Financial Times, he was "the only one [that had] an overview on the EU and in constant contact with the US".[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Pop, Valentina; Fleming, Sam; Politi, James (6 April 2022). "Weaponisation of finance: how the west unleashed 'shock and awe' on Russia". Financial Times.
  2. 1 2 "Europe's American president: The paradox of Ursula von der Leyen". POLITICO. 2022-10-06. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
  3. ↑ "Bio". scholar.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  4. ↑ Peeperkorn, Marc (2022-05-04). "Björn Seibert, de sanctieman van Brussel, is de juiste man op de juiste plek". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  5. ↑ "'Berlaymont bottleneck' as senior EU vacancies stack up". POLITICO. 2020-10-19. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
  6. ↑ "Bjoern Seibert". POLITICO. 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
  7. ↑ Fossum, Sam; Diamond, Jeremy (2023-02-24). "US-led sanctions campaign weakened Russia's economy in first year of Ukraine war. Year 2 is about sealing the cracks. | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
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