Ralf Südhoff

Title:	Director
Email:	ralf.suedhoff@chaberlin.org

Ralf Südhoff has been founding director of the Centre for Humanitarian Action (CHA) since January 2019. He heads the research project on linking German and European policy capacities. He also focuses on the Syrian crisis and the MENA region, on humanitarian reform and donor policies, on global food security and the Humanitarian-Development-Peace-Nexus.

Before joining CHA, Ralf was Director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) Regional Bureau for the Syria Crisis in Amman (2017-2018). Prior to that, he was Director of the WFP Office in Berlin for Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein for almost 10 years. In addition, Ralf was Head of External Relations of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Bonn and advisor to Ms Uschi Eid, State Secretary in the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. As a journalist, Ralf worked as South American correspondent for the weekly newspaper Die ZEIT in Rio de Janeiro and as editor in charge of the commentary & analysis section of the Financial Times Deutschland. Ralf served as member of the Oxfam Germany’s board for 10 years.

Ralf holds a Master’s degree in International Studies from the University of Warwick and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Economics from the University of Hamburg.

Recent interviews and other media coverage with Ralf are linked in the Media Hub.

Ralf speaks English, German and Portuguese.

CHA Publications:

2024: Influencer Europe

2023: Principled Payer, but Purposeful Player?

2023: World Food Crisis

2023: CHA Statement on the Report of the Federal Government on German Humanitarian Assistance

2021: Time for a Reset? The World Humanitarian Summit and the Grand Bargain, 5 Years On

2020: The Triple Nexus in Practice: Challenges and Options for Multi-Mandated Organisations

2020: Triple Nexus in South Sudan: Learning from Local Opportunities

2019: Where does German humanitarian assistance stand?