Born in 1953 in Steinbach am Wald, Bavaria, Germany, Dr Werner Schnappauf is a practising lawyer at GvW Graf von Westphalen and Senior Advisor to the Bank of America. Prior to this, the doctor of law was Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Executive Committee of the Federation of German Industries (BDI).

Schnappauf has many years of experience in politics as chief administrative officer of the district of Kronach, as a minister in the Bavarian state parliament, Environment Minister of the Free State of Bavaria, Chair of the German Conference of Environment Ministers, as well as a member of the German Bundesrat and of Federal Assemblies. He was a member of the Supervisory Board of Allianz Germany and served on the boards of trustees of the Allianz Environmental Foundation and the Ifo Institute at the University of Munich. At Bucerius Law School in Hamburg he is Chairman of the „Research Centers on Energy, Climate and Sustainability”.

Having joined the German Council for Sustainable Development in November 2016, Werner Schnappauf was Chair of the Council from 2020 to 2023. He was appointed for a further term in January 2026 by German Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

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