Change of Presidency at ZEW: Outgoing President Wolfgang Franz Honoured with the German Federal Cross of Merit - Clemens Fuest Becomes New ZEW President

In a ceremony at the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim, long-standing ZEW President Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Wolfgang Franz left office today. Prof. Dr. Clemens Fuest was inaugurated as his successor. From March 1, 2013 he will head ZEW together with the Director of Business and Administration, Thomas Kohl.

Winfried Kretschmann, Minister-President of the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg, and Theresia Bauer, Minister of Science, Research and the Arts of Baden-Württemberg and Chairwoman of the ZEW Supervisory Board, honoured the outstanding merits of outgoing ZEW President Wolfgang Franz. According to Minister-President Kretschmann, it was under Franz’s aegis that ZEW became one the leading economic research institutes in Germany and Europe as well as a recognized partner for scientifically grounded policy advice. “Baden-Württemberg is the home of a first-class economic research institute: The Centre for European Economic Research. ZEW’s reputation in Germany and abroad is not least due to Professor Franz,” said Minister-President Kretschmann. The Minister-President honoured Wolfgang Franz for his outstanding commitment with the German Federal Cross of Merit (first class). He wished Franz’s successor Clemens Fuest great success for the upcoming challenges. “The appointment of Professor Clemens Fuest as successor to Wolfgang Franz is promising for ZEW’s future. I am convinced that the excellent collaboration between the State Government and ZEW will continue”, highlighted the Minister-President.

Wolfgang Franz, born in 1944, had headed ZEW as President and Director of Science and Research since April 1, 1997. During this period, ZEW has become one of the most important research institutes in Germany and Europe. ZEW continually expanded its areas of research and policy advice and has always been oriented towards newly upcoming questions. Over the years, the initial five major fields of activity, i.e. financial markets, labour markets, industrial economics, corporate taxation, and environmental economics, were supplemented by three more research areas: information and communication technologies, growth and business cycles, as well as competition and regulation. Wolfgang Franz adjusted ZEW’s research agenda to the European context and intensified academic exchange with research institutes worldwide, especially through research visits and international conferences organised at ZEW. Furthermore, ZEW successfully established policy advice on a scientific basis as one of its central tasks. Third-party funding obtained by ZEW has thus amounted to more than ten million euros, thereby lending ZEW a leading position among German economic research institutes. ZEW is conducting projects for ministries and institutions on the state and the federal level. The fact that a remarkable share of the projects is also commissioned by the EU is a particularly positive development.

Under Wolfgang Franz’s presidency, ZEW was included in the joint national and federal funding programme due to the high-level scientific quality of its research. Since 2005, the research institute has been member of the Leibniz Association which evaluates its members on a regular basis. The last evaluation in 2009 confirmed ZEW’s excellent performance.

Clemens Fuest will succeed to Wolfgang Franz as president of ZEW on March 1, 2013. As ZEW President, he will also be appointed a professor of economics at the University of Mannheim. 44-year-old Clemens Fuest had been Professor for Corporate Taxation and Research Director at the Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation at the Saïd Business School.

Fuest is one of the German economists receiving great attention in the realms of politics and society. Due to his activities in advisory and expert boards, Clemens Fuest is an experienced policy advisor. He has been a member of the Academic Advisory Board of the German Federal Ministry of Finance since 2003. In October 2012 he became a member of the Advisory Board for Sustainable Development of the State Government of Baden-Württemberg. In March 2013 he will join the scientific council of The Market Economy Foundation, “Kronberger Kreis”. He had already been a member of this prestigious advisory body from 2004 to 2008.

The main research topics of Clemens Fuest include international fiscal policy and public finance. His current research focuses on the debt crisis in the eurozone, international fiscal competition, the implications of globalisation and European integration for tax policy, and the impact of taxation on firm behaviour.

Further information on Wolfgang Franz

Further information on Clemens Fuest

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For further information please contact

Thomas Kohl, Phone +49 621/1235-111, E-Mail kohl@zew.de

The Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), Mannheim

ZEW is one of Germany’s leading economic research institutes and enjoys a strong reputation throughout Europe. ZEW has distinguished itself by analysing internationally comparative issues in the European context and creating data bases important for scientific research, e.g. Mannheim Innovation Panel (MIP), ZEW Start-Up Panel. ZEW’s key objectives are conducting economic research, providing economic policy advising and transferring knowledge. ZEW was founded in 1990 and currently employs a staff of 180, of which two thirds are researchers.

Research at ZEW

International Finance and Financial Management; Labour Markets, Human Resources and Social Policy; Industrial Economics and International Management; Corporate Taxation and Public Finance; Environmental and Resource Economics, Environmental Management; Information and Communication Technologies; Growth and Business Cycles; Competition and Regulation.