Benedikt Franke is Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Munich Security Conference. He is responsible for the day-to-day running of the organisation and the strategic development of its formats and activities. Additionally he serves as the Executive Director of the Munich Security Conference Foundation. Before joining the MSC, he served as Senior Advisor for Strategic Affairs at the headquarters of the Christian Social Union (CSU) and was part of the inner campaign team for the successful state and federal elections in Bavaria and Germany in 2013. Before that he worked as Special Assistant for former Secretary-General of the United Nations and Nobel Laureate Kofi Annan. Benedikt holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge and a Master’s Degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He publishes regularly on foreign affairs.