Enthusiastic learner and generalist at the top of her field

(interviewed in 2025)

Dagmar Möbius

Dr. Mandy Partohr has been President of the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control since August 2024. She is the first woman to hold this top position – she studied, researched, and earned her doctorate at TU Dresden. In this article, she tells us how she became a tech enthusiast, how she shocked her professor, and why she is particularly pleased about the location of government offices in Eastern Germany.

Mandy Pastohr initially studied education, intercultural business communication, as well as English and American Studies in her hometown of Jena. After three years, she transferred from the Friedrich Schiller University Jena to TUD Dresden University of Technology for personal reasons. At TUD, she switched to a minor in Applied Linguistics/Corporate Communications. Mandy Pastohr, now 48, was interested in how people learn. What helps, and what doesn't? How do different approaches to education and even institutional frameworks affect learning outcomes? “I was already fascinated by research methods and statistics during my studies,” says Mandy Pastohr.

Grateful to her mentor and doctoral supervisor

She owes a great deal to one university professor in particular. Prof. Hanno Hortsch encouraged us to get in contact if we wanted to write proposals for research projects, hold courses, or supervise theses. Later, he became my doctoral supervisor,” says Mandy Pastohr. She embraced every opportunity that came her way and worked extensively even while she studied. She taught and reviewed countless theses. In her position as a Research Associate, she managed several projects simultaneously. “I was still relatively inexperienced in research projects and felt that it was all getting too much for me. But my professor said I should continue for two months and then we would decide whether and how he would support me,” she recalls. After eight weeks, things started to work out. She completed her dissertation with honors in 2009. In it, she investigated how graduates from universities, universities of applied sciences, and vocational academies differ in the kinds of knowledge they possess, and whether employers in industry expect such differences.

From research to policy advising

Instead of pursuing an academic career, however, Dr. Mandy Pastohr was drawn to policy advising and Berlin. Her professor was shocked at first. “He always told me that you need to decide whether you want to pursue a university career by the time you finish your dissertation at the latest. Otherwise, it could become difficult to leave at some point. So that's what I did, but he may have expected a different decision.” The educational scientist worked as a consultant at acatech. The National Academy of Science and Engineering builds links between science, business, and politics. She had acquired the necessary technical knowledge through her studies and research. “Vocational training and continuing education often focus on technical or scientific content. If you're researching these topics, you have to understand the content,” she says.

From promoting small and medium-sized businesses to the Ministry of Economic Affairs

© archive M. Pastohr

It was love in particular that drew Dr. Mandy Pastohr to the Rhine-Main area in 2013, where she became head of the Specialists department at the RKW Kompetenzzentrum in Eschborn. Later, the department was expanded to include “Corporate Development and Specialists.” This non-profit and independent institution advises German SMEs on issues such as competitiveness and digitalization. In 2018, she took over the management on an temporary basis and then fully after one year. In 2021, she switched to the “other side” and became head of the “Foreign Trade, SMEs, Vocational Training, and Technological Innovation” department at the Hessian Ministry of Economics, Energy, Transport, and Housing in Wiesbaden.

First woman in top position at BAFA

In August 2024, Dr. Mandy Pastohr was inaugurated as President of the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA). Here, too, the focus is on foreign trade, economic development, and energy, but there is much more to it than that. Through its efforts to stabilize the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, and its initiatives to promote energy efficiency, BAFA has become one of Germany’s most influential federal authorities. The Office employs more than 1,200 people nationwide in around 70 specialist departments at four locations in Eschborn, Berlin, Weißwasser, and Borna. “I wanted to get to know all the employees personally,” was the plan. After more than a year, Dr. Mandy Pastohr has successfully implemented her plan and knows that several TU Dresden alumni are working at the Federal Office. “Everything is running well,” she concludes. She is particularly pleased about the new government offices in the Lusatian and Central German mining regions. She continues to travel extensively, looking after management staff, open vacancies, and real estate. Among BAFA’s wide range of responsibilities is the processing of around 30,000 export applications each year. They relate to dual-use goods subject to licensing, such as military equipment, drones, lasers, and surveillance technology. Current embargoes must also be checked – customs duties are not affected. 

© archive BAFA

Generalist and motivator

Dr. Mandy Pastohr feels that her former major subject has little relevance to her current work. She says: "My studies have made me more of a generalist. I've got a pretty broad knowledge base, love learning, am curious, and can reflect on things. It may sound strange, but my background in education helps me when it comes to managing people. Not because I want to teach them, but because I can motivate them, guide them, encourage them to change, and show them appreciation."

English was very useful to her in teaching international courses and in projects—and now in export control.

She still draws on her doctorate today: “Aside from the technical aspects, you learn a lot about methodology, but also discipline, perseverance, personal organization, and how to deal with setbacks.” She admits that her consistently heavy workload, including numerous honorary positions, was not always conducive to her private life. That's the only thing she would change a little in retrospect.

Contact:
Dr. Mandy Pastohr
Office of the President

Tel.: +49 6196 908-2664

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