Prof. Dr. Shepard A. Stone
(1974 - 1988
Shepard Stone founded the Aspen Institute Germany as the first European affiliate of the Aspen Institute USA. Like its parent organization, the institute in Berlin was committed to fostering the humanistic tradition. Originally its focus was on a mutual exchange of ideas and the continuing development of leaders and decision makers in academia, business, politics and the arts – the core competences of the Aspen Institute USA. In Germany as in America, in the early days the Institute did not take a stance on political questions.
This approach was to shift over time, however. German-American relations, the development of Berlin, the East-West dialog and arms control became the key issues pursued by the Aspen Institute in Berlin.
The influential role played by the Aspen Institute was made possible by Stone’s outstanding contacts to leading figures from Germany and Europe. He attracted luminaries such as Willy Brandt, Lord Alan Bullock, Dr. Marion Gräfin Dönhoff and Dr. Richard von Weizsäcker to serve on the institute’s board.
In small, private, intimate meetings and roundtable discussions, Stone was able to build relationships of trust with important German organizations and institutions and gain their support. For a long period the Berlin Senate was the Aspen Institute's most important source of funding. In recognition of his contributions to German-American relations, She¬pard Stone was named an honorary citizen of Berlin in 1983.
