The Community Remembers Klaus Scharioth

It is with great sadness that the Fletcher community recognizes the passing of our dear colleague Ambassador Klaus Scharioth, who died on October 30, 2025 in Berlin, Germany. 

For many years, Ambassador Scharioth was a treasured professor of practice at Fletcher, where he helped nurture our Master of Arts in Transatlantic Affairs program. He was also an alumnus, having completed his MALD, MA and PhD at Fletcher. Klaus worked in the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs starting in 1979 and ultimately served as Germany's ambassador to the United States from 2006-2011. He also served as dean of the Mercator Fellowship on International Affairs.  

I will personally miss Klaus very much. He was a steady and heartwarming presence, always ready to lend support or offer advice when I asked for it.

Professor Michael Glennon wrote a moving tribute to Klaus, published by the school. We have also gathered messages of remembrance from members of our community, collected below.

Kelly Sims Gallagher, Dean of The Fletcher School

Memories of Ambassador Klaus Scharioth

Professor and Ambassador Klaus Scharioth embodied the rare harmony of intellect, humility and conviction. At Fletcher, he didn’t just teach diplomacy — he lived it, showing us that true statecraft begins with listening and that decency is its highest form. He cared deeply about Ukraine, Georgia and every place where freedom was tested, reminding us that NATO does not expand — it enlarges through trust and through the will of citizens who choose to live in security and democracy.

His clarity and grace shaped a generation of us who continue to draw strength from his example. For those of us from the frontlines of democracy, his lessons remain both compass and comfort, as we carry forward the work of demolishing new Berlin Walls, as he and his generation once did. 

By Zviad Adzinbaia, F18 and current PhD candidate

As a mentor and professor, Ambassador Scharioth taught me to continuously question my own assumptions, make decisions that would truly make me happy, and never break eye contact while briefing - and, of course, to keep those briefings under two minutes.

He did so with unparalleled kindness, humility, and a touch of cheekiness. His most inspiring trait was his boundless curiosity. He was a teacher who asked twice as many questions as he gave answers.

As a fellow German who had studied at Fletcher decades before me, we shared many of the same observations, questions, and hopes for the transatlantic friendship. I hope to carry forward his spirit of curiosity throughout my life and career, and to do my part in strengthening the bond across the Atlantic, as he so passionately did.

By Linda Bachg, F23 and current PhD Sstudent

Ambassador Scharioth was a diplomat of rare intellect and integrity—an extraordinary mentor whose teaching blended rigorous analysis with profound empathy, humility and courage. Within the Fletcher community, he embodied the best of scholarship and practice, fostering thoughtful engagement across generations and worldviews. His class on contemporary U.S.–European relations was transformative, combining firsthand experience with an invitation to think as practitioners navigating real crises. I learned immensely from his reflections on transatlantic diplomacy and his candid, nuanced understanding of Russia. His wisdom, warmth and generosity left a lasting imprint on my professional and personal growth. Ambassador Scharioth did more than interpret history — he shaped it and inspired countless students to pursue public service with purpose and conviction.

By Arik Burakovsky F17, Associate Director of the Center for Expanding Viewpoints in Higher Education at Tufts University

Professor Klaus Scharioth’s class remains one of the most memorable and meaningful experiences of my time at Fletcher. He had a remarkable ability to make complex global issues clear and human — whether explaining German foreign policy, NATO enlargement, or the evolution of the U.S–EU relationship after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Before his class, I barely understood the EU; afterward, I wanted to live in the EU.

I will never forget Professor Scharioth’s humility, gentle humor, dignity as a diplomat, and the way he carried his experience with both wisdom and kindness. The practical lessons he taught — how to write a clear policy memo, how to understand every party’s perspective, how to negotiate with dignity in times of tension and conflict — remain with me.

By Quynh Dao F18

Ambassador Scharioth was a great professional mentor to me and to many others. No other professor so effectively prepared me for my work in foreign policy. His kind, firm and altruistic spirit embodied the very ethos to which Fletcher aspires. I will never forget his casual humor and the effortless warmth that revealed his jovial nature to those who took the time to look and reflect.

It was both a personal and professional honor to learn from such a giant of the Fletcher community. He will be sorely missed, and his memory will remain a touchstone for years to come.

By Alec Dionne F23

I first met Professor Scharioth in his U.S.-European Relations class in 2022 and was lucky to work with him as a teaching assistant a year later. In a classroom filled with American and European students, he turned transatlantic relations from theory into lived experience. He could walk us through history and make us feel part of it – and that we, too, would help shape its future. He was an attentive listener who met his students with curiosity, empathy, and a piece of marzipan from Lübeck, always engaging with us as equals.

I am incredibly thankful for his mentorship and for the spirit of dialogue he nurtured in all of us. 

By Stephanie Felicitas Springer F23

Gifts in Memory of Professor Scharioth can be made to the Fletcher Fund for Faculty Support