Quick Facts
Biography
August Hanning (born February 16, 1946 in Nordwalde, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a former German civil servant.
Career
Hanning was president of the Bundesnachrichtendienst (German Secret Service) from 1998 to December 2005, and after that until his retirement in 2009 was the Staatssekretär (most senior civil servant) in the Federal Ministry of the Interior.
In an interview published in Die Welt Am Sonntag on 25 October 2015 Hanning was critical of the policy of Angela Merkel on the European migrant crisis, with regard to migrants from the Middle East. He referred to "imported security issues" which the security service could not handle, warned that Germany was welcoming Islamist extremists and anti-semitism, and recommended that the country should at once close its borders to immigrants without an entry permit.
Hanning is an advisory board member of United Against Nuclear Iran and the Counter Extremism Project.
Family
Hanning is married with three daughters.
Honours
2003: Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria