He studied History and Social Sciences in Bochum, Hamburg, Recife (Brazil) and Berlin, where he obtained his doctorate in 2001. In 1989 he began his work as a journalist and analyst addressing issues of international politics, Latin America and Brazil. From 2002 to 2010 he was a spokesperson for the German section of Amnesty International. In 2010, he joined the Heinrich Böll Foundation and assumed the direction of the office in Brazil until 2016. As of May 2017, he is the director of the office of said foundation in Mexico City.