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European Southern Observatory (ESO), a leading international organisation operating world-class ground-based observatories, has appointed Andreas Kaufer as its new Director General. Kaufer, who is currently ESO Director of Operations, will succeed Xavier Barcons, who will remain as Director General until the end of August 2026.

“We are delighted that Andreas Kaufer has accepted the position of the next Director General of ESO. As someone who has been steering ESO operations for over 17 years, he is ideally suited to lead the organisation in the coming years, which will see the completion of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) and the search for the next innovative ESO programme,” said Tom Ray, President of ESO Council.  

He added: “I am grateful that Xavier Barcons has tirelessly led this organisation since September 2017 and will continue to do so in the coming months. He has ensured enormous progress on a variety of ESO projects, particularly on the construction of the ELT, while effectively addressing many challenges.”

Andreas Kaufer, who was born in Heidelberg, Germany, will succeed Xavier Barcons in September 2026. Kaufer received a PhD in astronomy from Heidelberg University in 1996 and then worked at the Heidelberg State Observatory, building astronomical instruments and doing research in the fields of variable atmospheres of massive stars and in the chemical evolution of galaxies. He joined ESO in 1999, first contributing to the startup of operations of the then newly built Very Large Telescope. He became Director of the La Silla Paranal Observatory in 2006 and has been Director of Operations at ESO since 2008, a role in which he is responsible for the end-to-end operations of the ESO observatories in Chile and the European segment of the ALMA operation.

“I am extremely pleased that the ESO Council selected Andreas Kaufer to lead ESO in the coming years,” said Barcons. “Having worked closely with him during my tenure, I know Andreas is a very capable, reliable, visionary, and humble leader who is extremely dedicated to this organisation. He will undoubtedly guide ESO well through the successes and challenges the next few years will bring.”

“I feel very honoured to take on the leadership of ESO, following Xavier’s excellent tenure,” said Kaufer. “I am committed to enabling the highest quality research by keeping ESO at the forefront of technology, delivering the ELT to completion, and protecting the unique sites in Chile that make it all possible. I also look forward to discovering what the search for the next ESO programme will bring and to working together with ESO’s committed, world-class staff, in Chile and Germany, in the years to come.”

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