The American Academy in Berlin is a research and cultural institution in Berlin whose stated mission is to foster a greater understanding and dialogue between the people of the United States and the people of Germany. The American Academy was founded in September 1994 by a group of prominent Americans and Germans, among them its founding chairman Richard Holbrooke, Henry Kissinger, Richard von Weizsäcker, Fritz Stern and Otto Graf Lambsdorff, and opened in 1998 with Gary Smith as Executive Director. The organization is entirely funded by private donations, with support coming from private individuals as well as corporations and foundations on both sides of the Atlantic.