Claudia Major

Dr Claudia Major is the Senior Vice President at the German Marshall Fund (GMF), where she oversees the organisation’s transatlantic security and defence portfolio and serves as a member of the executive team. One of Europe’s leading defence experts, she previously served as the Director of the International Security Division at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin.

Her research and advisory work focus on German, European, and transatlantic security and defence policy, with a particular emphasis on NATO, nuclear deterrence, and the long-term security architecture of Europe following Russia’s war against Ukraine. Dr Major is a highly influential voice in the German security debate and has held positions at the Center for Security Studies at ETH Zurich, the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), and the EU Institute for Security Studies (Paris).

She serves on several high-level boards, including the Advisory Board of the German Federal Ministry of Defence on “Innere Führung” (since 2023). Her contributions have been recognised with numerous honours, including being named a Knight in the French National Order of Merit and receiving the Estonian Cross of Merit. In early 2026, she was awarded the Cross of Honour of the German Armed Forces in Gold (Ehrenkreuz der Bundeswehr in Gold).

Dr Major holds a PhD from the University of Birmingham and degrees from Sciences Po Paris and the Free University of Berlin. Since 2006, she has also been a lecturer at Sciences Po Paris.