Sandra Lehneke

Sandra Lehneke, Ministerial Director and Deputy Driector of the International Cooperation Division, is a fully qualified lawyer and obtained her Master of Laws degree from the University of Wellington, New Zealand, in 2004. After working for the German Bundestag, she has been responsible for the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space since 2009. After working in the management team of the Federal Ministry in the Cabinet and Parliamentary Department and as personal advisor to a Parliamentary State Secretary, she moved to the Federal Chancellery in 2014. She headed the office of Minister of State Dr. Helge Braun and in 2018 took over as head of the office of the Chief of the Federal Chancellery and the Situation Center of the Chancellery until 2021. In October 2021, she returned to the BMFTR as head of the European Cooperation Division. In the summer of 2022, she moved to the Permanent Representation of the Federal Republic of Germany to the European Union for three years, where she was responsible for education and research. In the summer of 2025, she took over her position in the International Cooperation Division. Her focus is on cooperation with Asia, Oceania, Central Asia, and North America.