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4 July 2024

The Advisory Board to the Federal Ministry of Finance

The Advisory Board (Wissenschaftlicher Beirat) advises the Federal Ministry of Finance by regularly publishing expert opinions and reports on current issues.

Group picture: Advisory Board members with Federal Minister of Finance Christian Lindner BildVergroessern
Source:  Federal Ministry of Finance / Photothek

Responsibilities 

It is essential for the government to receive specialist advice on a regular basis, especially because it is not possible to adequately address future challenges without a solid foundation in academic research. The Advisory Board to the Federal Ministry of Finance is an expert body that has repeatedly provided valuable ideas and proposals for Germany’s economic and fiscal policies over the last 75 years.

In its search for rational solutions, the Advisory Board sees itself as the academic “conscience” of the government – not least because of its independence, which is stipulated in its statutes. It has always been part of the board’s role, and still is today, to challenge policy-makers.

The papers produced by the Advisory Board cover a very wide range of issues, including German reunification, the European integration process, tax reform and prospects for budgetary consolidation, to name just a few examples. Against the backdrop of German and European unification, the Advisory Board developed important guidelines and reform proposals relating to the equalisation of Länder finances in Germany as well as the significance of the Maastricht criteria for federal and Länder debt limits.

In 2024, the Advisory Board to the Federal Ministry of Finance celebrated the 75th anniversary of its founding. The board advises the German finance minister in an independent capacity, with its members serving on a voluntary basis. It has a free hand when it comes to selecting the issues to focus on.

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Members

Current members of the Advisory Board

Prof Jörg Rocholl, PhD (chairman)
Prof Dr Alfons Weichenrieder (vice-chairman)
Prof Klaus Adam, PhDProf Dr Martin JacobProf Dr Ronnie SchöbProf Volker Wieland, PhD
Prof Dr Thiess BüttnerProf Dr Kai A. KonradProf Dr Almuth SchollProf Dr Berthold Wigger
Prof Dr Lars P. FeldProf Dr Jan Pieter KrahnenProf Dr Ulrich SchreiberProf Dr Horst Zimmermann
Prof Dr Clemens FuestProf Dr Dominika LangenmayrProf Dr Christoph Spengel
Prof Dr Klaus Dirk HenkeProf Dr Andreas PeichlProf Dr Christoph Trebesch
Prof Dr Joachim HennrichsProf Dr Helga PollakProf Dr Marcel Thum
Prof Dr Johanna HeyProf Dr Wolfram F. RichterProf Dr Christian Waldhoff
Prof Dr Bernd Friedrich HuberProf Dr Nadine RiedelProf Dr Dietmar Wellisch

Contact person at the Federal Ministry of Finance

Anke Blümel
Phone: +49 3018/682-2627
Mail: beirat@bmf.bund.de

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Expert opinions and reports

All of the advisory board’s expert opinions and reports can be found on our German page.