The Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies (CES) is a center atHarvard University dedicated to the study, understanding, and promotion ofEuropean affairs andtransatlantic relations. Founded in 1969, the center focuses oninterdisciplinary scholarship in social, political, historical, and cultural dimensions of Europe. It has hosted notable political and scholarly personalities, established partnerships with institutions worldwide, hosted dozens of visiting researchers, and run programs, seminars, events, and issued publications.

Originally founded as "West European Studies" in 1969, the Center for European Studies (CES) at Harvard evolved from two prior initiatives, the "German Research Program" initiated byHenry Kissinger,^[1] at the time Harvard faculty member, and a "West European Studies" seminar run professorStanley Hoffmann and his student assistantGuido Goldman.^[2] The proposal by professors Hoffmann,David Landes, and Laurence Wylie to theFord Foundation to fund European academics' visits to Harvard was one of the key milestones in the development of the center.^[2] In the center's initial years, Goldman served as the center's director,^[3] and Hoffman was the chairman.^[4] Goldman and Hoffman are seen as founders of the center.^[5][2] In 1978, twelve members of the Center published a letter inThe New York Times criticizing Kissinger for his statements about the threat ofcommunism.^[6]

In 1986, with a $10 million donation by Baron Alain de Gunzburg and his family that controlled theSeagram Company, the Center was named after his sister Baroness Aileen Mindel "Minda" Bronfman de Gunzburg (1925-1985),^[7] the wife of a prominent French banker and industrialist.^[8] A year earlier she had died of cancer.^[8] She was the daughter of millionairesSaidye andSamuel Bronfman.^[8][9]

In 1989, the Center for European Studies transitioned into its new permanent location atAdolphus Busch Hall^[10] (originally home to Harvard's Germanic Museum, which later became known as the Busch-Reisinger Museum^[10][11]). This relocation was celebrated with a conference featuringEuropean Commission PresidentJacques Delors. The building formerly housed theBusch-Reisinger Museum, a component ofHarvard Art Museum.

The move was facilitated by two significant developments. First, theFogg Art Museum's expansion allowed the German art collection to be relocated, ensuring its better preservation within the newly consolidated Harvard Art Museums.^[2] Goldman, CES director from 1969 to 1994 and a close family friend, noted the crucial role of the de Gunzburgs' support in securing the center's future.^[2]

The Center incorporated a larger number of faculty, students, and scholars. By 1996–97, it hosted 18 senior faculty, 10 junior faculty, 26 visiting scholars, 47 affiliates, and 52 graduate students.^[2]

Goldman raised over 75 million dollars for the Center and the Harvard university from the German government, German and American corporations, and other sources which donated large sums to bolster ties between Europe and the United States.^[1][12]

Charles S. Maier directed the center from 1994 to 2001, taking over from Guido Goldman.Grzegorz Ekiert, professor of government at Harvard, was the center's director from 2012.^[13] Elaine Papoulias has been the executive director since 2013.^[14] In September 2023,Daniel Ziblatt was named the new director, to start in January 2024.^[15]

As of 2023, the Center's resident faculty are Grzegorz Ekiert, Alison Frank Johnson,Peter E. Gordon,Peter A. Hall [de],Patrice Higonnet,Maya Jasanoff, Hans-Helmut Kotz,Mary D. Lewis,Charles S. Maier,Derek J. Penslar, David Spreen, and Daniel Ziblatt. Faculty associates includeAlberto Abadie,Rawi E. Abdelal,Daron Acemoglu, James Alt,David Armitage,Jacqueline Bhabha,Sven Beckert,Jason Beckfield,Suzanne Berger, Manja Klemenčič, andPippa Norris. Senior fellows and affiliates includeJutta Allmendinger,Nicolas Berggruen,Mark Franklin,Sigmar Gabriel,Anna Grzymała-Busse,Michael Ignatieff,Louise Richardson,Radosław Sikorski,Paul Tucker, andJoseph H.H. Weiler.^[16][17]

Notable speakers hosted by the Center in its first years includedJacques Delors,Christiane Lemke,Andreas Buschner,Sigmar Gabriel, andMiriam Meckel.^[2]

The center has hosted presidents, prime ministers, other prominent politicians, and distinguished scholars and personalities. Some of them areRoberta Metsola,^[18]Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya,^[18] andRadek Sikorski^[19] Several of the center's affiliates, includingAlexander Görlach, have been frequent contributors toThe New York Times.^{[20][21][22][23]}

• Harvard University
• German studies
• Research institutes in Massachusetts

• Use mdy dates from September 2023