Niels Annen (born 6 April 1973) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). Since May 2025, he has been serving as a State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). From December 2021 until May 2025, he was Parliamentary State Secretary in the same ministry. Prior to that, from March 2018 to December 2021, he served as Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel.Peter Ulrich Meyer (8 December 2021), Bundestag: Hamburger wird Staatssekretär für Entwicklungshilfe Hamburger Abendblatt.
Niels Annen was elected to the German Bundestag four times, representing the constituency of Hamburg-Eimsbüttel from 2005 to 2009, and again from 2013 to 2025. After his first term in the Bundestag Annen was a Senior Transatlantic Resident at the German Marshall Fund in Washington between 2010 and 2011. From 2011 until 2013 he worked for the department for International Policy Analysis of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Berlin. Annen has served on the executive board of the SPD since 2003 after being chairman of the Young Socialists, the youth organization of the SPD, from 2001 to 2004.
Early life and education Born to a works council member of Lufthansa,Martina Goy (18 December 2005), Junger Wilder auf dem Weg nach oben Welt am Sonntag. Annen graduated from high school in 1992.
In 2009, Annen obtained a bachelor's degree in history from the Humboldt University of Berlin, with a thesis on the resettlement of Baltic Germans during World War 2.Niels Annen, Der Spiegel, 8 February 2010 Subsequently, he obtained a master's degree in International Public Policy from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C. in 2011.
During his first term in the Bundestag from 2005 to 2009, Annen had been criticised as "an eternal student in the Bundestag", after quitting a history degree in which he had been enrolled for 14 years.Personalien, Der Spiegel, 5 September 2011, p11
Besides his native language German, Annen speaks English and Spanish fluently.Expert Directory: Niels Annen German Marshall Fund. Moreover, he has basic knowledge of French and Portuguese.
Political career Chairman of the Young Socialists (2001–2004) Annen served as national chairman of the SPD's youth organizationStudenten als Kandidaten: Alte Hasen unter jungen Wilden, Der Spiegel, 15 September 2005 from 2001 to 2004.SPD düpiert Annen, Süddeutsche Zeitung, 17 May 2010
Career in national politics Annen was elected to the Bundestag, the German federal parliament, at the 2005 election, representing the Hamburg-Eimsbüttel district. In parliament, he serves on the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
As a member of Committee on Foreign Affairs, Annen established himself as a left-wing SPD foreign policy expert,Hugh Williamson (6 July 2007), Afghanistan splits German parties Financial Times. focusing largely on the German engagement in Afghanistan and the Middle East. Within the committee he has served on the Subcommittee for Arms Control and Non Proliferation as well as the Subcommittee for the United Nations.
Within the SPD parliamentary group, he was co-chairman of the Parliamentary Left, the largest political coalition within the SPD. Between 2005 and 2009, he also served as Deputy Chairman of the German-Spanish Parliamentary Friendship Group.
Under controversial circumstances Annen was deselected for the 2009 election, losing a primary election to Danial Ilkhanipour by 45 votes to 44. Ilkhanipour lost the seat at the 2009 election to the CDU candidate Rüdiger Kruse. In March 2010, Annen joined the German Marshall Fund as a Senior Fellow in Washington, D.C., for a six-month term. Between 2011 and 2013, he served as director of European policy analysis at the Berlin headquarters of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, whose aim is to promote democracy, political education, and promote students of outstanding intellectual abilities and personality Judy Dempsey (20 August 2012), Merkel Enlists Kohl as an Unlikely Ally International Herald Tribune.
Annen returned to the Bundestag at the 2013 election, regaining the Hamburg-Eimsbüttel district from the CDU. He soon re-entered the leadership of the Parliamentary Left in 2014. He also serves as chairman of the Parliamentary Friendship Group for Relations with the States of South Asia, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Between 2014 and 2015, he represented his parliamentary group in a crossparty committee headed by former defense minister Volker Rühe to review the country's parliamentary rules on military deployments.Jan Techau (17 June 2014), Germany's Budding Defense Debate Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Within the SPD, Annen serves as chairman of the SPD's Commission for International Politics, alongside Martin Schulz. In the negotiations to form a coalition government under the leadership of Chancellor Angela Merkel following the 2017 federal elections, he was part of the working group on foreign policy, led by Ursula von der Leyen, Gerd Müller and Sigmar Gabriel.
Annen co-chaired the SPD's national conventions in Dortmund (2017)Protokoll des außerordentlichen Bundesparteitages in Dortmund, 2017 Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Wiesbaden (2018)Protokoll des außerordentlichen Bundesparteitages Wiesbaden, 2018 Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). and Berlin (2019).Protokoll des ordentlichen Bundesparteitages in Berlin, 2019 Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).
Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office (2018–2021) In March 2018, Annen was appointed Minister of State at the German Federal Foreign Office in the fourth Merkel Cabinet, alongside Michael Roth and Michelle Müntefering.SPD-Staatsminister: Niels Annen wechselt ins Auswärtige Amt Spiegel Online, 9 March 2018.
Parliamentary State Secretary to the Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development In December 2021, Annen was appointed Parliamentary State Secretary to the Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development.
In June 2024, Annen announced that he would not stand in the 2025 federal elections but instead resign from active politics by the end of the parliamentary term.Markus Arndt (30 June 2024), SPD-Staatssekretär tritt nicht mehr an: Niels Annen zieht sich aus der Politik zurück Bild.
State Secretary to the Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development Since May 2025, Annen is the State Secretary of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. In this function, he is top administrative official and responsible for the ministry's administration and continuity, working closely with the minister to implement policies and manage the ministry's daily affairs.
Candidate for United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) In September 2024, the German government nominated Annen as its candidate to succeed Filippo Grandi in the position of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; the role instead went to Barham Salih.
Other activities Corporate boards GIZ, Member of the Supervisory Board (since 2025)Supervisory Board GIZ. German Investment Corporation (DEG), Chair of the Supervisory Board (2022–2025)
International organizations Asian Development Bank (ADB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2022–2025) Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2022–2025)Board of Governors Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
Non-profit organizations Centre for International Peace Operations (ZIF), Ex-Officio Member of the Supervisory Board (since 2022) German Foundation for Peace Research (DSF), Ex-Officio Member of the Board (since 2022) European Council on Foreign Relations, Member German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), Member of the Presidium German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), Member of the Council German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA), Member of the Board of Trustees Gustav Heinemann Civic Award of the SPD, Member of the Board of Trustees Board of Trustees Gustav Heinemann Civic Award of the SPD. Federal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt Foundation, Substitute Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2017)Board of Trustees Federal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt Foundation. Herbert and Elsbeth Weichmann Foundation, Member of the Board of Trustees Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg, Member of the Board of Trustees German United Services Trade Union (ver.di), Member
Editorial boards spw – Zeitschrift für sozialistische Politik und Wirtschaft, Member of the Editorial Board (since 2006)
Political positions Afghanistan and Pakistan Annen is an advocate of continued German commitment in Afghanistan and has visited the country on multiple occasions during both of his terms in the Bundestag. Amid discussions in the Social Democratic Party on whether to terminate Germany's mandate for German elite commando troops within the US-run Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) against Taliban fighters, Annen in 2007 said many SPD members were questioning Germany's continued role in the anti-terror battle in Afghanistan. He stated that "[m]any say [the SPD] is losing its way as a party oriented to finding peaceful solutions to international problems". Along with Green MP Jürgen Trittin, Annen claimed that the American counterinsurgency mission was hindering civilian reconstruction under the umbrella of the second mission, the International Security Assistance Force, because of what they called a heavy-handed approach by the U.S. military on the ground that was alienating the local population.Judy Dempsey (23 May 2007), Merkel party urges caution on Afghan mission International Herald Tribune. In 2014, he voted in favor of continuing German participation in ISAF.
In April 2014, Annen accompanied Norbert Lammert as well as fellow members of the German Parliament Marieluise Beck and Hans-Peter Uhl on a visit to Pakistan, where they met with President Mamnoon Hussain, Chairman of the Senate Nayyar Hussain Bukhari and Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan.Lammert würdigt Demokratie in Pakistan Deutscher Bundestag, press release of 2 May 2014.
In April 2015, Annen went on another trip to the region with the German-South-Asian Parliamentary Group. In Afghanistan, the group met with delegates of both the upper and lower houses of parliament and it met with President Mamnoon Hussain during its trip to Pakistan. A central point of discussion in both countries was the security in the region. In a speech on 23 April 2015, after his return from the visit, Annen said that, amidst some negative developments, there were clear positive trends visible in Afghanistan especially regarding rising rates of school enrolment and the state of democratic elections.
Transatlantic relations Annen has frequently expressed dissatisfaction with the information provided by NATO headquarters. Following statements by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), General Philip M. Breedlove, on troop advances on the border between Russia and Ukraine in early 2015, Annen publicly complained that "NATO in the past has always announced a new Russian offensive just as, from our point of view, the time had come for cautious optimism." He added that "we parliamentarians were often confused by information regarding alleged troop movements that were inconsistent with the information we had."'Shadow Foreign Policy': Somali Warlord Hires German Mercenaries to Provide Security Services Spiegel Online, 25 May 2010.
In 2008, Annen called on the United States to remove all nuclear weapons stored in military bases in Germany after a U.S. Air Force report found that safety standards at most sites for nuclear weapons in Europe fall well short of Pentagon requirements.Judy Dempsey (23 June 2008), German parties press U.S. to withdraw nuclear arms International Herald Tribune.