Planning and Administration : Germany

The host of EXPO 2000 is the Federal Republic of Germany: It invites the nations and international organizations to Hanover. According to the regulations of the Bureau International des Expositions, which awards the World Expositions on the basis of international conventions, the Federal Government is obligated to appoint a Commissioner General. The Commissioner General represents the Federal Government in all matters pertaining to EXPO 2000.

On 15 September 1994 the Federal Government appointed Birgit Breuel Commissioner General. During her tenure as Minister of Finance of the State of Lower Saxony, Birgit Breuel and a number of other individuals had conceived and developed the idea of staging EXPO 2000 in Hanover and had succeeded in bringing the World Exposition to the Federal Republic in 1990. After the reunification of Germany, the Hamburg native was appointed President of the Berlin Treuhand-anstalt (Trust Agency) and from 1991 to 1994 played a crucial role in eastern Germany’s difficult transition to a liberal market economy. In April 1995 Birgit Breuel returned to the World Exposition.