Gerhard Paul Julius Thiele (born September 2, 1953) is a German physicist and a former ESA astronaut.

After school he volunteered for the German Navy, serving as Operations/Weapons Officer aboard fast patrol boats.

In August 1998, he joined the European Space Agency (ESA), into which the German national team was integrated.

As from 1 April 2010 he became Resident Fellow with the European Space Policy Institute in Vienna, Austria.

Gerhard Thiele has been appointed as the head of ESA's Human Spaceflight and Operations Strategic Planning and Outreach office (HSO-K) effective 1 July 2013.