Wolfgang Ischinger was chairman of the Munich Security Conference (MSC) from 2008 to 2022 and has since been president of the board of trustees of the Munich Security Conference Foundation.

After studying law and international relations in Bonn, Geneva, and Boston, Wolfgang Ischinger worked in the cabinet of the UN Secretary-General in New York before joining the German Foreign Service in 1975. During his career, he served as State Secretary from 1998 to 2001, Ambassador to Washington from 2001 to 2006, and subsequently to London until 2008.

Wolfgang Ischinger is co-founder and partner of Agora Strategy Group AG, a geostrategic consulting firm in Munich, advising companies, international organizations, and governments on political and strategic issues. He teaches at the Hertie School in Berlin, is an honorary professor at the University of Tübingen, is a member of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), and sits on various supervisory and advisory boards.

He is a recipient of the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit with Star, as well as numerous foreign orders, and was appointed Commander of the French Legion of Honour. He is also a recipient of the Leo Baeck Medal, the Hanns Martin Schleyer Prize, and the Nunn-Lugar Award.