Kristian Brakel graduated with an MA in Middle Eastern studies from the University of Hamburg and has spent substantial time in Egypt, Israel/OPT, Jordan, Syria, and Turkey. After his studies he completed the trainee program in development studies at the SLE Berlin (Center for Rural Development) and started working as an officer for political cooperation for the German Federal Foreign Office in the OPT. Brakel has held posts as a senior political analyst on the Middle East and North Africa, both with the international non-governmental organization Crisis Action in Germany as well as with the United Nation’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the United Arab Emirates. He has headed the office of the European Union’s special representative in Sudan and served as political adviser to the EU special representative for the Middle East Peace Process.