David Gill (civil servant)

David Gill (born 1966) is a German civil servant and politician, serving as the German Ambassador to Ireland since August 2024. He previously served as German Consul General in New York and he had been Secretary of State and head of the Bundespräsidialamt, the administration of the President of Germany. He was appointed on 19 March 2012 by President Joachim Gauck and stayed in office until February 2017. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany.

David Gill
Gill in 2024
German Ambassador to Ireland
Incumbent
Assumed office August 2024
President	Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Preceded by	Cord Meier-Klodt
Consul General in New York
In office 2017–2024
Succeeded by	Till Knorn
Parliamentary State Secretary and Head of the Office of the Federal President
In office 2012–2017
President	Joachim Gauck
Personal details
Born	(1966-03-02) March 2, 1966 (age 59) Schönebeck, Germany
Political party	Social Democratic Party
Spouse	Sheila Gill
Education	Freie Universität Berlin, University of Pennsylvania (LL.M)
Awards	Theodor Heuss Medal

Career

He grew up in East Germany, where he initially studied theology, the only subject he was allowed to study. After the German reunification, he worked for the Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Records and became a close aide of Joachim Gauck, serving as his press secretary. In 1991, he was one of six individuals, one of them also being Gauck, who were awarded the Theodor Heuss medal by the Theodor Heuss Foundation, on behalf of the peaceful protesters of 1989 in then-East Germany.

In 1992, he left the Federal Commissioner's office to study law, and earned an LL.M. at the University of Pennsylvania in 1998. In 2000, he passed the second state examination, qualifying as a lawyer. He then worked as an adviser to the Federal Ministry of the Interior. From 2004, he worked for the Evangelical Church in Germany.^[1]

Following Gauck's nomination for President of Germany, Gill became head of his transition team and the designated head of the Bundespräsidialamt.^[2][3] Gill was head of the Bundespräsidialamt, in the rank of state secretary, until the end of Gauck's tenure in February 2017. His successor was Stephan Steinlein.^[4]

Personal life

He is married to Sheila Gill, an American.^[5] They have two daughters.

Publications

• (with Ulrich Schröter): Das Ministerium für Staatssicherheit: Anatomie des Mielke-Imperiums. Berlin: Rowohlt 1991 ISBN 3-87134-017-0; Taschenbuch (rororo 9369) 1993 ISBN 3-499-19369-8
• Best Practice - Bericht aus der Praxis eines Informationsbeauftragten, in: Bettina Sokol (Hrsg.): Sommersymposium Informationsfreiheit Düsseldorf 2004, S. 51-69 Volltext

Weblink

David Gill's CV on the website of the German Missions in the United States