Birgitta Wolff


Birgitta Wolff is a German economist and politician of the Christian Democratic Union. She served as minister of education and culture and as minister of research and economy in the state government of Saxony-Anhalt from 2010 to 2013, and as president of the Goethe University Frankfurt from 2015 to 2020.

Academic career

Wolff studied at Witten/Herdecke University, LMU and Harvard University. After her Habilitation at LMU, she taught at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, and became professor of business administration and international management at the Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg. In 2002, she spent a year at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She has been a visiting professor at universities in Ukraine, Brazil 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 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 of Saxony-Anhalt. From 2011 to 2013, she served as state minister of research and economy.

Other activities (selection)

Corporate boards

University bodies

Non-profit organizations