Queen’s in Berlin

Karen Leeder FRSA MAE, Schwarz-Taylor Professor of German Language and Literature

Karen Leeder FRSA, MAE is the Schwarz-Taylor Chair of German Language and Literature at the University of Oxford and has a Professorial Fellowship at Queen’s. She has published widely on German literature of the modern and contemporary periods, especially poetry, including Rilke, Brecht and Durs Grünbein. She is currently an Einstein Visiting Fellow at the Freie Universität Berlin. She is also a prize-winning translator of German literature: among others Volker Braun, Durs Grünbein, Michael Krüger, Evelyn Schlag and Ulrike Almut Sandig.

Andrew Mitchell CMG (Modern Languages, 1986)

Andrew Mitchell CMG was appointed British Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany on 4 September 2024. Before joining the Embassy he was a Director General in the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). Andrew was previously Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Europe, and held senior positions in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). Andrew served in Germany and Nepal and was Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Sweden. Andrew’s work in the private sector focused on major international events, including world expos and Olympic Games.

Sir Paul Lever KCMG (Honorary Fellow; Literae Humaniores, 1962)

Paul Lever was educated at St Paul’s School in London and studied Philosophy and Ancient History at Queen’s. He joined the Diplomatic Service in 1966 and served for nearly 40 years, specialising in defence, security and EU affairs. His postings included Helsinki, the UK Delegation to NATO, and the European Commission. He negotiated the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe and was Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee before ending his career as Ambassador to Germany from 1997 to 2003. His book ‘Berlin Rules: Europe and the German Way’ was published in 2017.

John Kampfner (Modern History/Russian, 1981)

John Kampfner has had a 40-year career in public life spanning global affairs, politics, media and arts. After graduating from Queen’s he began his journalistic career with the Telegraph, first in East Berlin where he reported on the fall of the Wall and unification of Germany, then in Moscow at the time of the collapse of Soviet Communism. He went on to work for the FT and BBC covering UK politics. He is author of seven books, including ‘Why the Germans do it better’ and ‘In Search of Berlin’. He writes regular columns for the Guardian, Foreign Policy, Politico, the FT and Die Zeit.