Gunter Pleuger, President of Viadrina European University

Gunter Pleuger was born in 1941 in Wismar, a small port in northern Germany. He holds a doctorate in law. After serving as Germany's junior foreign minister, he was the country's ambassador to the United Nations from 2002 to 2006. During his tenure, Germany confronted its US and British allies over the Iraq conflict. After retiring from international politics, Pleuger was elected president of the Viadrina European Univeristy in Frankfurt (Oder) in the summer of 2008.