Birgitta Wolff (born 14 July 1965 in

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state di ...

) is a German economist and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). She served as minister of education and culture and as minister of research and economy in the state government of

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it th ...

from 2010 to 2013, and as president of the

Goethe University of Frankfurt Goethe University (german: link=no, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main) is a university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealt ...

from 2015 to 2020.

Academic career

Wolff studied at

Witten/Herdecke University Witten/Herdecke University is a private, state-recognized, nonprofit university in Witten, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was the first German private institution of higher education to receive accreditation as a "Universität", a status r ...

, LMU and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

. After her Habilitation at LMU, she taught at the

Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings ...

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

(1999–2000), and became professor of business administration and international management at the

Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg The Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg () (''OvGU'') was founded in 1993, making it one of the youngest universities in Germany. The university is located in Magdeburg, the Capital city of Saxony-Anhalt and has about 13.000 students in nine ...

. In 2002, she spent a year at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She has been a visiting professor at universities in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and China. In 2014 she was elected as president of the Goethe University Frankfurt, and she held the office from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2020. Her re-election failed in two ballots, and her successor

Enrico Schleiff Enrico Schleiff (born 17 November 1971) is a German biologist and physicist, and the president of the Goethe University Frankfurt, serving since 1 January 2021. Career Early career Schleiff studied physics at the Charles University in Prague fro ...

was elected in the 3rd ballot with 18 of 34 votes.

Political career

In 2010, Wolff became state minister of education and culture in the state government of Minister-President

Reiner Haseloff Reiner Haseloff (born 19 February 1954) is a German politician who serves as the Minister President of Saxony-Anhalt. On 9 October 2020, he was elected President of the Bundesrat. His one-year term started on 1 November 2020. Political career ...

. From 2011 to 2013, she served as state minister of research and economy.

Other activities (selection)

Corporate boards

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...

, member of the advisory board (since 2017) *

Norddeutsche Landesbank The Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (abbreviated NORD/LB) is a German Landesbank and one of the largest commercial banks in Germany. It is a public corporation majority-owned by the federal states of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt with its he ...

(NORD/LB), member of the advisory board

University bodies

Botanical Garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

, Goethe University Frankfurt, ex officio member of the board of trustees (2015–2021) *

Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies The Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS) is a private-public institution for basic theoretical research in various areas of science focusing on interdisciplinary research. It is located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, at its own home at ...

, Goethe University Frankfurt, ex officio member of the board of trustees (2015–2021) * Fritz Bauer Institute, Goethe University Frankfurt, ex officio member of the board of trustees (2015–2021) * Frobenius Institute, Goethe University Frankfurt, ex officio member of the board of trustees (2015–2021) * House of Finance, Goethe University Frankfurt, ex officio member of the board of trustees (2015–2021) * Institute for Law and Finance, Goethe University Frankfurt, Member of the Board of Trustees (2015–2021) * Institute for Monetary and Financial Stability (IMFS), Goethe University Frankfurt, ex officio member of the board of trustees (2015–2021) *

Institute for Social Research The Institute for Social Research (german: Institut für Sozialforschung, IfS) is a research organization for sociology and continental philosophy, best known as the institutional home of the Frankfurt School and critical theory. Currently a pa ...

(IfS), Goethe University Frankfurt, ex officio member of the board of trustees (2015–2021) *

Museum Giersch The Museum Giersch is an art gallery on the Main River in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, in the Museumsufer area. The museum opened in 2000. It hosts a changing series of exhibitions displaying the art and cultural history of the Rhine-Main are ...

, Goethe University Frankfurt, ex officio member of the advisory board (2015–2021) * Paul Ehrlich Foundation, Goethe University Frankfurt, ex officio member of the board of trustees (2015–2021) * University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University Frankfurt, ex officio member of the board of trustees (2015–2021)

Non-profit organizations

* Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation (SPRIN-D), Deputy Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board (since 2020) *

Max Planck Institute for Brain Research The Max Planck Institute for Brain Research is located in Frankfurt, Germany. It was founded as Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Brain Research in Berlin 1914, moved to Frankfurt-Niederrad in 1962 and more recently in a new building in Frankfurt-Rie ...

, Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2016) * International Building Exhibition (IBA) Urban Redevelopment 2010, ex officio member of the board of trustees * Centre for Higher Education (CHE), member of the advisory board * Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI), member of the advisory board * Fazit-Stiftung, member of the board of trustees *

Peace Research Institute Frankfurt The Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (acronym: PRIF, German: Leibniz-Institut Hessische Stiftung Friedens- und Konfliktforschung, short HSFK) is a research institute in Frankfurt am Main focused on violent international and internal conflicts ...

(HSFK), member of the board of trustees *

Humboldt University Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiati ...

, member of the scientific advisory board *

Konrad Adenauer Foundation The Konrad Adenauer Foundation (german: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, KAS) is a German political party foundation associated with but independent of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The foundation's headquarters are located in Sank ...

(KAS), member of the board of trustees * Marketing Club Frankfurt, member of the board of trustees * Leopoldina, member of the Senate * Senckenberg Nature Research Society, member of the board of trustees *

Volkswagen Foundation The Volkswagen Foundation (German: ''VolkswagenStiftung'') is the largest German private nonprofit organization involved in the promotion and support of academic research. It is not affiliated to the present company, the Volkswagen Group. It wa ...

, Member of the Board of Trustees * Center for Science and Research Management (ZWM), member of the board * Johanna-Quandt-Universitätsstiftung, member of the advisory board *

Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft – or Stifterverband for short – is a registered not-for-profit association that is based in Essen and which also has a capital city office in Berlin. Its work is focused on education, science and inn ...

, member of the Hightech Forum *

ZDF ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...

, member of the board of directors (since 2017)Board of Directors

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolff, Birgitta German economists Goethe University Frankfurt faculty Christian Democratic Union of Germany politicians Walsh School of Foreign Service faculty Stanford University faculty Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni Harvard University alumni Ministers of the Saxony-Anhalt State Government 1965 births Living people People from Münster