Gerhard Schröder, born in Mossenberg (North Rhine-Westfalia) on 7 April 1944, is a former Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. He studied at University of Göttingen where he graduated in Law with post-graduate Judicial Clerkship at the regional Court of Hanover from 1972 to 1976. He is currently an Independent Director of Anglo-Russian oil company TNK-BP and Member of the Board of Directors; Chairman of the shareholders’ committee of the European-Russian pipeline company Nord Stream AG; Member of the European Advisory Council of the Rothschild Group since 2006. And since 2005, he has been a freelance lawyer in Hanover; and an advisor to Swiss publishing company, Ringier.Mr. Schröder served as Chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1999 to 2004. Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1998 to 2005. He has been a Member of the German Bundestag from 1980 to 1986 and 1998 to 2005. In 1986, Schröder was elected to the parliament of Lower Saxony and became leader of the SPD group. After the SPD won the state elections in June 1990, he became Prime Minister of Lower Saxony as head of an SPD-Greens coalition; in this position, he also won the 1994 and 1998 state elections.

Schröder was previously a member of the 21st Century Council, Council for the Future of Europe, and The WorldPost Advisory Council.