Dr. Deniz Alkan currently serves as the Director for European and International Affairs at the State Chancellery of Rhineland-Palatinate.

Before transferring to Mainz in 2017 he held several positions at the State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). Until 2017 Deniz Alkan headed the EU Affairs Unit in Düsseldorf. From 2013 to 2015 he served as Chief of Staff to the Minister for Federal Affairs, Europe and the Media, Dr. Angelica Schwall-Düren. Prior to joining the Minister's senior staff, he dealt with the Bundesrat and the Conference of the Minister Presidents in the Federal Affairs Directorate of the State Chancellery. Deniz Alkan started his career as Reseach Assistant at Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, where he still teaches as a part-time lecturer for Political Science and Sociology.