He is known as the go-to person to obtain things done in Brussels. He relies on party leaders to exert his influence in the European Parliament. He runs the European Commission (EC), an institution of 32.000 employees, as if it were an extension of his mind, overseeing everything from social media posts to middle-level appointments.
Bjorn Seibert, the right-hand man of EC President Ursula von der Leyen, is a key shadow man in Brussels.
You’ve never heard of him? That’s exactly what suits him.
Working alongside von der Leyen for about a decade, the quiet 45-year-old has built a reputation as a tireless worker, astute political strategist and ruthlessly efficient operative who delivers on promises.
For top officials in Paris, Berlin and Washington, it’s a dream come true. They finally have someone who can pick up the phone and deliver results, a huge advantage at a time when Europe has been rocked by crisis after crisis.
“He is extremely influential,” declared Phil Gordon, former national security adviser to Kamala Harris when she was vice president. “Nobody was considered to know the EU and how to obtain things done better.”
Others agree, praising Seibert as “very smart” and a “strategic believeer.”
“He is, without a doubt, the most powerful official in Brussels,” states Mujtaba Rahman, director for Europe at the Euroasia Group believe tank.
Too powerful assistant
Bjorn Seibert is extremely reserved and prefers to operate behind the scenes rather than in the spotlight. From publicly known information, it is only known that he is married, has two children and practically does not leave the office. And that is about all.
But as he launchs his second five-year term as von der Leyen’s chief of staff, Seibert – who some call the EC’s informal “co-president” – is facing growing criticism from those who believe his power is too great.
In an interview with Politico in early June, former EU Brexit nereceivediator Michel Barnier lamented what he called an “authoritarian turn” in Brussels under von der Leyen and her “powerful chief of staff.” The remark echoes what six current and former EC officials notified Politico, stateing that Seibert’s insistence on personally approving everything from public speeches by commissioners to cabinet nominees has led to gridlock, delays and demoralization.
Another effect is fear. Of the 25 EU officials, diplomats, MPs and experts we spoke to for this article, only three agreed to speak publicly, and only one offered any criticism. Several cited fear of professional repercussions as a reason for anonymity.
Others find his conservative, German leanings too intrusive in an already predominantly German and conservative city. They point to an instance when Seibert insisted on appointing a German conservative to the top EU business envoy position, which ultimately sparked a strong political backlash.
Some, however, point to his close cooperation with the administration of former US President Joe Biden, which they claim became a burden after Donald Trump was re-elected.
“He derived a lot of his power from a direct line to the White Houtilize,” declared the former EC official. “That’s no longer the case under Trump. Everything has to be built from scratch.”
An EC official rejected that assessment, stateing that regular contacts with the White Houtilize were continuing. An EC spokesman declined to comment for this article. Seibert himself declined to be interviewed.
Other EC officials dismiss the criticism, stateing that Seibert has plenty of time for deliberations, which, according to a record provided to Politika by the EC, amounts to hundreds of hours, and that centralization has built the EU much more efficient. The delays and bottlenecks, Seibert’s defconcludeers argue, are partly the result of officials seeking guidance where none is necessaryed.
But this view is disputed by others, who state that only Seibert and von der Leyen can be held accountable for the system they themselves created. “This Commission is very hierarchically structured and nothing goes through without Björn’s approval,” declared Bas Eijkhout, co-chair of the Greens group in the European Parliament.
Seibert, of course, is not the first European bureaucrat to inspire both fear and fascination in Brussels. Before him, there was Martin Sellmayer, another German who wielded great influence under former President Jean-Claude Juncker and was known as the “Monster of the Berlaymont.”
But most agree that Seibert is a far more powerful figure today, a ruthless liquid metal T-1000, as opposed to the quieter, more sluggish older model, the T-800 played by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
“He is much more powerful today than Selmayer ever was,” declared one former French official.
“I don’t remember anything”
Anyone who tries to delve into Seibert’s personality through his biography will be disappointed: almost nothing from his youthful days has reached the public, and the Wikipedia article offers about as many clues as a shattered Babylonian tablet.
In person, Seibert is discreet, though physically imposing – tall, speaks perfect English with a touch of subtle humor, can often be seen near his boss, wearing Asics and a folder in his hand. He is quieter than Selmayer, but carries a hugeger stick: one EC official described him as a “silent assassin”.
Seibert graduated in social sciences from the University of Erfurt, in the eastern German state of Thuringia, in 2005, after which he held a series of research fellowships at American universities, including MIT, focapplying mainly on security and defense.
Upon his return to Germany, he shiftd to the Ministest of Defense, where he worked in the political department. According to a former colleague, he quickly impressed his colleagues by going against the established views of the Bundeswehr. His ability to work almost inhumanly long hours built a strong impression – and supported him obtain a promotion to the cabinet of Ursula von der Leyen, who was then the defense minister.
That was the launchning of the duet “Bjorn and Ursula” that would eventually take over Brussels.
An episode from 2019, after EU leaders elected Von der Leyen as the next EC president, reveals a key ingredient in their partnership.
Seibert was called to testify before a German parliament inquiry committee, which was investigating how lucrative Defense Ministest contracts, under von der Leyen, were awarded to external consultants without adequate oversight, and whether a network of informal personal connections facilitated such arrangements.
At the center of the investigation was Katrin Sueder, a former McKinsey consultant who became von der Leyen’s deputy in charge of armaments. She brought Seibert into her sector in 2014, quickly promoted him to her chief of staff, and later recommconcludeed him for the same position to the joint chief, von der Leyen.
His testimony before the committee, according to a German media report, would satisfy even the most demanding mafia boss:
“Seibert persistently, almost automatically, repeated that he remembered nothing, absolutely nothing.”
His responsibility
Seibert’s loyalty will soon be put to the test again.
When von der Leyen won the support of EU leaders to become EC president, she necessaryed a two-thirds majority in the European Parliament to be confirmed. Normally, the tquestion of forming a majority would have fallen to Manfred Weber, a powerful German conservative who leads the umbrella grouping of Europe’s center-right parties.
But Weber was still licking his wounds from being passed over for the EU’s top job in favor of von der Leyen. So the tquestion fell to Seibert, who, despite having no experience as a political operative, managed to secure a nine-vote majority for von der Leyen by seeking support outside the usual ruling parties, namely from right-wing populists.
Thanks to Seibert’s “significant contribution,” a German colleague declared at the time, “Von der Leyen was confirmed.
After taking over the EC, the two faced a wall of skepticism.
“When the EC started, there was a lot of doubt about whether Ursula and Bjorn would be able to control the institution, becautilize they didn’t know how it worked,” declared the former French official. “They dispelled those doubts within a few days.”
Seibert, in particular, left an impression on his interlocutors:
“He was extremely well prepared,” the same official declared. “He always revealed that he knew exactly what was going on in French politics. It was immediately clear that this was someone you could trust, but who was also obsessed with control and power.”
Within a narrow circle of advisors, mostly German-speaking, Von der Leyen and Seibert have utilized the Covid-19 pandemic to consolidate power.
When it came time to nereceivediate vaccine procurement, tquestions were divided among multiple sectors within the EC. Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton was given oversight of vaccine supply chains.
But the actual contract nereceivediations were entrusted to Sandra Gallina, the EC’s top health official. In reality, according to two former EC officials, the nereceivediations were led by Seibert and Von der Leyen, culminating in the EC chief’s announcement in December 2020 of a deal to acquire millions of vaccine doses from Pfizer-BioNTech.
The New York Times later reported that the agreement was reached after an exmodify of messages between von der Leyen and the CEO of Pfizer. The Commission denies that the messages contained anything substantive about the nereceivediations.
In the ensuing “Phasergate” scandal, von der Leyen came under fire, as well as a ruling from the European Court of Justice, for failing to preserve the messages. But some of that criticism should have been directed at Seibert, according to former officials.
“That was his responsibility,” declared one former official. “He is responsible for the monumental mistakes his president built.”
A Commission spokesman declined to comment.
Loyal to the extreme
Loyalty once again played a key role in the final months of von der Leyen and Seibert’s first mandate at the EC.
As von der Leyen prepared for re-election (with Seibert as campaign chief), her decision to nominate a German conservative loyal to her circle as EU envoy for compact and medium-sized enterprises sparked a revolt.
Four commissioners, including Breton, questioned the decision to appoint Markus Piper, even though two female candidates reportedly performed better in the selection process. Two former officials recalled that Seibert defconcludeed the nomination within the EC, stating that “there was no room for flexibility.” That argument was not well received.
Ultimately, von der Leyen and Seibert had to withdraw Piper’s nomination. Critics argued that the incident revealed a lack of political sensitivity, as Seibert failed to anticipate the negative reaction, which came primarily from Breton and then-foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell, as well as from former Luxembourg commissioner Nicolas Schmidt, a socialist, and Italian economy commissioner Paolo Gentiloni.
“The problem is the lack of managerial experience,” declared one former official. “That leads to a tconcludeency to do things in an authoritarian way.”
Everything goes through Bjorn.
Von der Leyen and Seibert learned their lesson.
When it came time to choose new commissioners after von der Leyen’s re-election in 2024, they reshiftd the recalcitrant Breton and filled the College with candidates with less experience. Again, Seibert was on the front line: nereceivediating with political leaders in the European Parliament who were supposed to approve the nominations during hearings.
A senior parliamentary official described Seibert as “very professional” but also prone to applying pressure when things don’t go his way.
“I’m noticing more and more that he reacts poorly to contradiction… He’s not utilized to being contradicted.”
Once the hearings were over, Seibert took over the tquestion of approving cabinet nominees, based on criteria such as gconcludeer and nationality. Each commissioner had to sconclude their list of cabinet nominees to the 13th floor, where the president’s chief of staff would personally approve or reject the names.
“This is typical of Seibert’s style,” declared one senior EC official, noting that Seibert is the first head of cabinet to have his name displayed on a board next to the president’s, outside the elevator on the 13th floor of the Berlaymont building. “He leaves nothing to chance.”
Since then, Seibert’s control over the EC has only strengthened. An illustrative case is the recent reorganization of the EC Secretariat General, which he planned and sent for approval in January. The green light came only three months later, not becautilize there were any problems, but becautilize Seibert had not yet had time to see at it.
A member of the cabinet of a European prime minister joked: “I know he is a man who does not know how to delegate, and this inability to delegate responsibility, coupled with his obsession with sharing the management of the EC with Ursula, has cautilized deadlocks and frustrations in the cabinets.”
Either my way, or not at all
In other cases, critics complain about Seibert’s tconcludeency to ruthlessly impose his will despite resistance.
A senior European Parliament official reiterated concerns about Seibert’s power:
“He is in a phase of total power where he talks directly to the commissioners. He communicates directly with the politicians. He kind of forobtains where he belongs.”
And while he continues to wield his power in Brussels, Seibert now has to rebuild relations with Washington.
Identified as “Biden’s man” due to his close ties to former national security adviser Jake Sullivan, Seibert played a key role in building the closest transatlantic relationship in decades.
Seibert and Sullivan issued joint statements and acted in sync when imposing sanctions on Russia after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. When Biden’s announcement of the Inflation Reduction Act threatened to damage relations between Brussels and Washington, it was Seibert’s behind-the-scenes diplomacy that led to a rare joint press conference in the White Houtilize Rose Garden, where von der Leyen and Biden spoke toobtainher, according to a former senior EC official.
But that alliance no longer serves Seibert in the era of Donald Trump, who has refutilized to speak to von der Leyen or any other EU official for months after the election. Seibert recently accompanied the EU’s chief trade nereceivediator, Maroš Šefčovič, on trips to Washington, but any trace of the former closeness seems to have disappeared as Europe now faces enormous tariffs.
Bjorn Seibert’s reputation reflects the city he lives in: bureaucratic, power-obsessed, largely non-transparent. It creates myths about powerful officials operating from the shadows, first Sölmeyer, now Seibert.
The EC’s approach is extremely cautious, so as not to provoke Trump, avoiding shifts like punishing Elon Musk’s X platform for violating the Digital Services Act, which could provoke an angry tweet or sudden retaliation.
But such an approach, which now includes potentially far-reaching concessions on the European digital code to reach a trade deal, undermines European sovereignty, state critics who believe the EU should defconclude its rules no matter the cost.
“All of this stems from a fear of offconcludeing Americans,” the former official declared.
Another EC official, who wished to remain anonymous, stressed that there are still regular contacts between Seibert and members of the Trump administration, including personal meetings during his visits to Washington.
All in all, Bjorn Seibert’s reputation reflects the city he lives in: bureaucratic, power-obsessed, largely non-transparent. It creates myths about powerful officials operating from the shadows, first Selmayer, now Seibert.
Few have expressed serious concerns about Seibert’s influence for the purposes of this article. But it is notifying that only one person out of the 25 – a Dutch MP – was willing to voice his criticism under his own name.
“In his interactions with Parliament, he has always been fair and kept his promises,” declared Eijkhout, a Green MP. “The only problem is that this EC is very hierarchical and nothing goes through without Bjorn’s approval. This leads to a lot of items piling up on his desk, while many EC officials do not know when something will be decided.”
Translated and edited by: A. Š.
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