About the FES

Photo: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung The FES headquarters in Bonn and Berlin

Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES)

Promoting Social Justice, Democracy and International Dialogue

The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) was founded in 1925 as a political legacy of Germany's first democratically elected president, Friedrich Ebert. Ebert, a Social Democrat from a humble crafts background who had risen to hold the highest political office in his country, in response to his own painful experience in political confrontation had proposed the establishment of a foundation to serve the following aims:

  • furthering political and social education of individuals from all walks of life in the spirit of democracy and pluralism,
  • facilitating access to university education and research for gifted young people by providing scholarships,
  • contributing to international understanding and cooperation.

The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, which was banned by the Nazis in 1933 and re-established in 1947, continues today to pursue these aims in all its extensive activities. As a private cultural non-profit institution, it is committed to the ideas and basic values of social democracy.

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Friedrich Ebert

Friedrich Ebert (1871-1925)

Friedrich Ebert served from 1919 to 1925 as the first President of the Weimar Republic. He advocated the development of parliamentary democracy, viewed himself as the president of all Germans, and was committed to a politics geared to social balance and compromise. In his will, he specified that the proceeds from donations at his funeral should be used to create a foundation. The main concern of FES from then on was to work against discrimination of workers in the area of education.

FES in Germany

Friedrich-Ebert-Stifung Berlin

Hiroshimastraße 17 and 28
D-10785 Berlin

+49 030 269356
+49 030 26935-9244

www.fes.de

Friedrich-Ebert-Stifung Bonn

Godesberger Allee 149
D-53175 Bonn

+49 0228 883-0
+49 0228 883-9207