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The Eponymous Hanns Seidel

Hanns Seidel (1901–1961) was a German politician who served as Minister-President of Bavaria from 1957 to 1960. He was a member, and from 1955 to 1961 chairman, of the Christian Social Union of Bavaria. As the newly elected chairman he immediately initiated the modernization, reorientation and reorganization of the CSU and thus created the basis for its rise to become the Bavarian majority party.
Hanns Seidel was a far-sighted strategist and statesman whose work combined a pragmatic sense of reality with normative visions. For the politician Seidel it was an intellectual necessity to deal with fundamental questions of politics and society beyond the routine business of everyday political life. The key to understanding his political actions can be found in his worldview, which was significantly shaped by the challenging socio-historical and socio-economic conditions of the Weimar Republic.

The Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung (Hanns Seidel Foundation), formed in 1967 is named after him.

This lesson, learned from the failure of the first German Democratic state, the Weimar Republic, led the Federal Republic of Germany to establish Political Foundations. As an important part of political culture, these foundations would henceforth serve as a lasting and profound anchor for democratic awareness in our country. Former German President Roman Herzog accurately characterised them as “schools of democratic thought and action, testbeds for civil courage and common sense that bestow upon us the ethical principles without which our political system cannot function.” Today, seven political foundations operate in Germany, spanning the political spectrum.
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Chairman Markus Ferber, MEP

Born in Augsburg, Bavaria, in 1965, the trained engineer initially worked as a design and sales engineer in microelectronics and environmental technology. In 1994, Ferber was first elected to the European Parliament as the CSU-Member for the District of Swabia, the constituency he still represents. He is also the CSU’s District Chair for Swabia. Until 1999, he was the spokesperson for the “young group” within the EPP group, between 1996 and 1999 he was also the CDU/CSU-group’s parliamentary manager in the European Parliament (EP).
From 1999 to 2014, he served as chairman of the CSU-group, since 2013 he has been the spokesperson for the parliamentary group on small and medium sized businesses. Between 2014 and 2018, Ferber served as first vice-chairman on the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, since 2018 he has been the EPP’s coordinator for the committee in the EP.
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Secretary General Oliver Jörg

Oliver Jörg, father of three children, was born in 1972 in Aalen and studied law at the Universities of Passau, Würzburg and Linz (Austria). He was admitted to the German Bar in 2004 and practiced as a lawyer full time for four years. Before being appointed as the Secretary General of the Hanns Seidel Foundation in 2019, he spent 10 years as a Member of the Bavarian State Parliament. During this time, one of his responsibilities was to be chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee for Higher Education, Research and Culture.
In addition, he chaired the working group Active Civil Society / Voluntary Work of the CSU Parliamentary group. Mr. Jörg had a lasting influence on the Bavarian scientific landscape, particularly in decentralizing higher education and strengthening the cooperation between universities of applied sciences and the private sector.
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Our Team

HSF Resident Representative to Kenya

Daniel F. Seiberling, M.A.

Brigitte Pleitz
Regional Administrative Director, HSF East Africa

Brigitte Pleitz

Head of Programmes, Kenya & Ethiopia

Robertson Kabucho

Senior Project Coordinator Finance and Accounting (Kenya – Ethiopia)

Victoria Wambua

Damaris Muthoni Kariuki
Programme Manager- Gender Equality, HSF Kenya & Ethiopia

Damaris Muthoni Kariuki

Lead - Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability, Head - Regional Sustainability Network

Collister Mwikali

Administrative Assistant

Linda Asena

Operations & Logistics Officer

Stanley Dangana

HSF Resident Representative to Kenya

Daniel F. Seiberling, M.A.

I have been working in the field of international development cooperation for almost 30 years, but have never experienced a country with a more vibrant civil society than Kenya. Yes, Kenya is facing numerous challenges, but I am confident that, led by a prudent Government, the Kenyan People can overcome anything!

Brigitte Pleitz

Regional Administrative Director, HSF East Africa

Brigitte Pleitz

I have over 35 years of experience in Finance and Administration working in various countries but mainly in Kenya. I love Africa and particularly Kenya for its diversity of people, landscapes and wildlife.

I get my energy and love of life while photographing, reading, piloting planes and enjoying the company of my dogs with a lot of fun.

Head of Programmes, Kenya & Ethiopia

Robertson Kabucho

Robertson Kabucho is a specialist in providing process design, program management, and content on democracy and governance. He supports state and non-state institutions and individuals in the process of identifying opportunities, needs and challenges, and realizing results on the above thematic areas more efficiently through improved knowledge and linkages to relevant networks and appropriate resources. Robertson is also a commentator and analyst on socio-political issues. He has authored a handbook- Civics Mtaani -a guide on how to plan and facilitate a civics activity. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and Communication from The University of Nairobi. When not in the professional environment, Robertson enjoys exploring trails with his mountain bike.

Senior Project Coordinator Finance and Accounting (Kenya – Ethiopia)

Victoria Wambua

With over 10 years of experience in the financial sector, Victoria has honed her skills as a finance, accounting and compliance expert who specializes in team leadership and collaborative problem-solving. Her career has been built on a foundation of strong analytical skills, clear communication, and a commitment to achieving team goals.

Victoria is highly skilled in coordinating schedules, streamlining processes and ensuring smooth operations in fast-paced environments.She has proven ability to prioritise tasks and meet deadlines, with exceptional attention to detail and accuracy. Victoria is also a good team player and a top performer.

At HSF, Victoria manages finances, accounting and grants allocation and analysis, she is involved in financial planning, reporting, cash management and bank reconciliation. She ensures internal control management, compliance and audits.
Victoria holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Jomo Kenyatta University and Agriculture and she is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA K) with over 10 years’ experience.

Damaris Muthoni Kariuki

Programme Manager- Gender Equality, HSF Kenya & Ethiopia

Damaris Muthoni Kariuki

Damaris Kariuki serves as the lead of the Youth & Gender Department at Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) Kenya-Ethiopia office. In this role, she is responsible for promoting gender consciousness and responsiveness within and without (partners) HSF. Primarily, her approach is centered on challenging structural and behavioral constraints that foster gender inequality by pushing for adoption of a rights holder approach needed to produce inspiring and sustainable gender equality results. Damaris began her career in rural Kenya as a social worker which ignited her passion to make a difference within marginalized groups & communities and the society at large. As such, having over 6 years working experience in civil society organizations her niche lies in creating transformative programming that is inclusive, diverse, relevant and most importantly fun!

Lead - Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability, Head - Regional Sustainability Network

Collister Mwikali

Collister is very passionate about the environment. She is on a mission to see vulnerable communities in Africa build resilience and adapt to the adverse effects of climate change. She is keen on working with the most valuable resource, the people, to ensure that vulnerable communities understand the link between harmful everyday activities such as deforestation, overstocking of livestock and the use of unsuitable farming methods and negative impacts on livelihoods. To her – the fight against climate change must leave the boardrooms and cascade down to the villages for any meaningful achievements to be realised. She has a soft spot for grassroots organizations and understands their ability to be change makers on the ground.

Collister has extensive experience in Project Planning and Management. Collister coordinates thirteen organizations in twelve countries within Sub-Saharan Africa. They range from grassroots women led organizations to state funded think tanks. Her aim is to provide a safe space for the partners to collaborate and discuss the challenges they face in the fight against climate change as well as a platform to share success stories. She is responsible for planning and coordination of all Regional Sustainability Network activities ensuring strict compliance with HSF policies. Additionally, Collister is the Africa coordinator for the Global Project for Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change (GMACC).

Administrative Assistant

Linda Asena

Behind the curtain of pin, glue and paper at the Administration and accounts desk, Linda Asena is a passionate change agent citizen, active in digital movements for collective rights and has a huge soft spot for women’s emancipation. Within the Gender and youth portfolio, the Binti book club is energized by her. She lives by the most prolific words of Jennifer Makumbi in her book, The First Woman that: ‘Stories are critical Kirabo. The minute we fall silent, someone will fill the silence for us’.

Linda holds a BA in International Relations from The University of Nairobi, finds satisfaction in philosophy and world history. If Music was intrinsic to her, she’d be Barbara Strozzi’s reincarnate.

Operations & Logistics Officer

Stanley Dangana

Born in the Coastal town of Mombasa, where Swahili culture is more predominant, Stanley Dangana has kept up pace with the Western culture where hard work pays.
Schooled in Mombasa and taken a course in Clearing and Forwarding (Port Clerk), i have majorly worked as a driver which i’m passionate about.
I deal with the Logistics and ensure all pending work is completed as much as possible.

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