Thorge K?hler

Director of the Bremen State Office for the Protection of the Constitution

Thorge Koehler has been Director of the Bremen State Office for the Protection of the Constitution (LfV) since 1 May 2023. The 37-year-old lawyer studied law in Bremen and completed his second state examination at the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court. Subsequently, he worked for three years at the public prosecutor’s office where he was in charge of the organised crime division. In 2018, he became head of division at the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution, and in 2023, Director of the State Office, and thus the youngest person to hold such a position in Germany.

As LfV Director, Koehler focusses on the observation of extremist tendencies, such as right-wing and left-wing extremism as well as Islamism, but also on foreign interferences. He has repeatedly warned against targeted disinformation campaigns from Russia, which are intended to undermine democratic institutions. In order to reach as many citizens as possible, the State Office has deliberately opened itself to networks of the civil society for some time. One example is the national campaign against disinformation initiated by Koehler shortly before the federal elections, in which the Bremen parliament and the Bremen State Agency for Civic Education took an important part and which received a lot of attention.

Koehler understands the Office for the Protection of the Constitution not only as a domestic intelligence service and early warning system, but also as a provider of services. The committed team of mostly young and diverse members provides advice on internal security issues for public authorities and the general public as well as prevention activities and lectures. All in all, Koehler stands for constitutional protection that is as transparent as possible and actively protects the democratic order.