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Draft:Ralf Beste

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Ralf Beste (born 21 June 1966) is a German diplomat and former journalist. Since 2022 he has served as Director-General for Culture and Society German Federal Foreign Office. He previously served as Germany's Ambassador to Austria from 2019 to 2022. In July 2025, the German government nominated Ralf Beste to become Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia with concurrent accreditation to ASEAN[1].

Early life and education

Beste was born on 21 June 1966 in Witten, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. After completing his Abitur in 1985, he performed mandatory military service at the German Federal Armed Forces in Neumünster. He studied history at Ruhr University Bochum and Bielefeld University in Germany, as well as at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. He earned a Magister Artium degree in history from Bielefeld University in 1991 and a Master of Arts from Johns Hopkins University in 1990. He received scholarships from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and was selected as a Marshall Memorial Fellow by the German Marshall Fund[2].

Career

Journalism (1992–2014)

Beste began his career at the Ruhr Nachrichten in Dortmund in 1992. From 1994 to 1996, he served as press spokesperson for the Finance Ministry of Rhineland-Palatinate in Mainz. Between 1996 and 2000, he worked as a parliamentary correspondent for the Berliner Zeitung, covering federal politics and the Bundestag. In 2001, he joined the Berlin bureau of Der Spiegel, Germany's leading news magazine, where he spent 13 years as a senior correspondent, with particular focus on the Green Party and German foreign and security[3]

Entry into the Federal Foreign Office (2014–2019)

In 2014, then-Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier recruited Beste to the Federal Foreign Office, appointing him as Deputy Head of the Policy Planning Staff. In this role, he was a key contributor to the "Review 2014" initiative, a comprehensive reassessment of German foreign policy priorities in response to global challenges. In 2016, following increased concerns about disinformation and hybrid threats, Beste became Director of the newly established Strategic Communication Unit. He was promoted to Director of the Policy Planning Staff in 2017, where he served until his ambassadorial appointment.

Ambassador to Austria (2019–2022)

Beste was appointed Ambassador to Austria in September 2019, presenting his credentials to Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen on 18 September 2019[4]. During his tenure, he oversaw German-Austrian relations during the COVID-19 pandemic and worked to maintain bilateral cooperation despite border restrictions and economic challenges. Austria remained among Germany's top ten trading partners throughout this period, with bilateral trade exceeding €100 billion annually.. During his term, Austria remained one of Germany’s top ten trading partners. His term concluded in March 2022 when Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock recalled him to Berlin as part of a broader rotation of senior officials.

Director-General for Culture and Society (2022–present)

Since 2022, Beste has has served as Director-General for Culture and Society (Abteilungsleiter Kultur und Gesellschaft) at the Federal Foreign Office. This position oversees Germany's cultural diplomacy, international educational policy, and strategic communication efforts. His portfolio includes supervision of key German cultural and academic institutions abroad: · Goethe-Institut (German cultural centers) · DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) · Alexander von Humboldt Foundation · Network of German schools abroad[5]

During his tenure, he has overseen the adaptation of Germany's cultural diplomacy to what Chancellor Olaf Scholz termed the "Zeitenwende" (turning point) following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the strategic challenges posed by global crises[6]. This included a restructuring of the Goethe Institute's global network, which involved closing some locations while strengthening digital offerings and presence in strategic regions[7]. He also focused on adapting Germany´s soft power instruments and its strategic communication of the Foreign Office to the new situation, particularly by empowering the country’s ambassadors to go public proactively. The German news magazine „Der Spiegel“ called Beste the „driving force behind the new communications strategy“[8].

Counter-disinformation work

Beste has been prominently involved in Germany's response to foreign disinformation campaigns. In an April 2024 interview with the Financial Times, he detailed how Russian disinformation operations targeting Germany had “grown more extensive, sophisticated and invisible”, combining automation with more plausible and subtle messaging[9].

Beste explained that Russia sought to exploit domestic unease in Germany, observing that Moscow’s operatives were “looking for cracks of doubt or feelings of unease and trying to enlarge them.” His department uncovered one of the largest attempts to influence German public opinion, a network of more than 50,000 fake accounts on on X (formerly Twitter) generating up to 200,000 posts a day. The campaign aimed to convince the public that German military support for Ukraine was undermining economic prosperity and increasing the risk of nuclear war. According to Beste, the network attempted to “launder” these claims by imitating reputable German including Der Spiegel and Süddeutsche Zeitung, while amplifying existing anti-Ukrainian narratives.

Beste noted that modern disinformation tactics had evolved from crude "troll farms" to sophisticated "nudging" techniques that subtly distort reality to shift public opinion and reframe debates.

Ambassador to Indonesia

In July 2025, Beste was appointed by the German Government as Ambassador to Indonesia, replacing [Ina Lepel]. His appointment comes at a time of increasing German interest in Southeast Asia as part of Germany's Indo-Pacific strategy. He also holds concurrent accreditation to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), reflecting Germany's commitment to multilateral engagement in the region[10].

Personal life

Beste is married, has two children, and resides in Berlin when not posted abroad. He is a member of Borussia Dortmund football club. (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralf_Beste)

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Official biography at Falling Walls Foundation[11]

LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ralf-beste-b58a1770/

References

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  1. ^ "Koalitionsausschuss: Merz, Klingbeil und die Hitze". POLITICO (in German). 2025-07-02. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  2. ^ "Bundespräsident Steinmeier würdigt den DAAD". www.daad.de (in German). Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  3. ^ Amt, Auswärtiges. "Botschafter Ralf Beste" (in German). Archived from the original on 2021-11-27. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  4. ^ Amt, Auswärtiges. "Botschafter Ralf Beste" (in German). Archived from the original on 2021-11-27. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  5. ^ Beste, Ralf (29 March 2023). "»Auswärtige Kultur- und Bildungspolitik ist Gesellschaftspolitik« - Politik und Kultur". politikkultur.de (in German). Archived from the original on 2025-04-30. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  6. ^ Beste, Ralf (2024-12-02). "Unser Land besser erklären". Politik und Kultur (in German). Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  7. ^ "Goethe-Institut beschließt umfassende Transformation". @GI_weltweit (in German). Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  8. ^ Schult, Christoph (2023-08-27). "(S+) Auswärtiges Amt: Warum Baerbocks Diplomaten jetzt undiplomatisch auftreten sollen". Der Spiegel (in German). ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  9. ^ "Client Challenge". www.ft.com. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  10. ^ Krüger, Paul-Anton (2025-07-02). "Ukraine: Heiko Thoms wird neuer deutscher Botschafter in Kyjiw". Der Spiegel (in German). ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  11. ^ "Ralf Beste | Falling Walls". falling-walls.com. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
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