Heiko Wimmen

Project Director, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon

Beirut, Lebanon

Please submit all media inquiries to media@crisisgroup.org or call +32 (0) 2 536 00 71

Crisis Group Role

Heiko Wimmen oversees Crisis Group’s Iraq/Syria/Lebanon project. Prior to joining Crisis Group, he was an associate researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin. He has also published with the Carnegie Middle East Center and MERIP, and recently oversaw an edited academic volume on Elite Change and New Social Mobilization in the Arab World.

Heiko, who is German, has lived in the region since 1994, mostly in Beirut where he currently resides.

Areas of Expertise

Domestic politics of Lebanon, Syrian civil war, post-war Iraq
Sectarianism and identity politics in the Middle East
Divided societies
Social movements and political activism
Civil society in post-conflict institution building
EU policies towards the Arab world

Professional Background

Fellow and research associate with German Institute for International and Security Affairs 2009-2015
Project manager and deputy director of the Beirut Office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, 2004-2009
Professional fellow of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), 2002-2004
Independent Journalist and Broadcast Producer in Beirut, 1996-2002

Languages

German
English
Arabic
French

In The News

26 Jan 2022

It is in Hezbollah’s interest to have at least the outward appearance of a functioning political system [in Lebanon] where everyone is involved, including the Sunnis. Reuters

Heiko Wimmen

Project Director, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon

27 Dec 2021

I wouldn’t expect that Turkey would like to expand the zone it occupies in the northeast [of Syria]. A move like this will require a difficult conversation with the Russi... Syria Direct

Heiko Wimmen

Project Director, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon

12 Aug 2021

For a large part of the population [in Lebanon], electricity will become a luxury. Driving your car will become a luxury, too. Transportation will become a luxury. CNN

Heiko Wimmen

Project Director, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon

22 Aug 2020

Turkey is also one of the candidates to rebuild Beirut harbour. There is also a section within Lebanese society – amongst Sunni Muslims – who have some sympathy for Turke... Cyprus Mail

Heiko Wimmen

Project Director, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon

13 Aug 2020

The Lebanese state has been hollowed out by decades of corruption and patronage, and this has undermined due process and any sense of accountability. Voice of America