Private company

Wikimedia Germany

German Wikimedia chapter

Wikimedia Deutschland (also known as WMDE, Wikimedia Germany, and the Society for the Promotion of Free Knowledge) is a German non-profit association based in Berlin. It was founded in 2004 and recognized that year as the first national chapter of the Wikimedia Foundation, which funds and supports Wikipedia and other projects.² From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 16, 2026.

Overview

Jun 13, 2004Founded¹

HeadquartersBerlin¹
Websitewww.wikimedia.de
Legal formRegistered association (eingetragener Verein)¹

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Leadership

Who has led Wikimedia Germany, and when. Pick a name to see everywhere that person has worked.

Chief executive

Pavel Richter2009–2015

Chair

20052010201520202025

Chief executive officerPavel Richter Aug 1, 2009 to Jan 31, 2015¹
ChairAlice Wiegand May 14, 2022 to now¹
ChairLukas Mezger Dec 2, 2018 to May 14, 2022¹
ChairTim Moritz Hector May 25, 2014 to Dec 2, 2018¹

Board members and other officers (2)

Board memberArne Klempert Oct 1, 2006 to Sep 30, 2008¹
Board memberChristian Humborg until Mar 31, 2025¹

Employees over time

Wikimedia Germany employees by year¹180 in 2026+50% since 2019

2026180¹
2025190¹
2022160¹
2020140¹
2019120¹

Revenue over time

As stated on Wikidata, in the currency reported.

Revenue

Wikimedia Germany revenue by year¹30.3M EUR in 2024+3608% since 2009

202430.3M EUR¹
202325.8M EUR¹
202223.0M EUR¹
202020.6M EUR¹
201918.4M EUR¹
201818.3M EUR¹

Controversies and legal

Controversies

Around 2010, Wikimedia Germany was criticized by members and German Wikipedians for its lack of transparency in publishing salaries and consultant fees.

In 2014, the premature departure of Pavel Richter from the association caused a public dispute, leading to the resignation of the chairman and the replacement of the majority of the Executive Committee at the next General Assembly. Three former association presidents returned to the board to work through the following period.

From Wikipedia’s article on Wikimedia Deutschland, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.³

Timeline

Aug 1, 2009New chief executive Pavel Richter becomes CEO¹
Jun 13, 2004Founded Founded¹

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

1
WikidataWikimedia Germany on Wikidata
2
WikipediaWikimedia Germany on Wikipedia
3
WikipediaWikimedia Germany on Wikipedia (revision used)