Harald Köthe, born on May 16, 1961 in Karlsruhe, completed his studies in geology at the University of Bonn in 1988 with a diploma thesis in southern Morocco. His subsequent professional career initially led him to the Federal Institute for Hydrology (BfG), where he was mainly concerned with hydrogeological tasks, the development of fundamentals and reports on the environmental compatibility of hydraulic engineering measures as well as sediment and dredged material management on federal waterways in various organizational units.