Horst Siebert

President of the Kiel Institute

April 1989 — March 2003

* March 20, 1938, † June 2, 2009

After studying in Cologne and at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, doctorate (1965) and habilitation (1969) in Münster, he was called to the Universities of Mannheim (1969) and Constance (1984). In 1989, Siebert moved to the Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel and succeeded Herbert Giersch as President of the Kiel Institute. He was also a member of the German Council of Economic Experts for a large part of his term of office (1990 - 2003).

Siebert introduced environmental economic research at the Kiel Institute and focused on systemic ruptures in Germany and the world after 1989. He focused the Institute's research and consulting on institution-building in post-socialist societies, on the connections between monetary stabilization, real economic adjustment and institutional incentives, and international debt crises. Siebert was in great demand as a consultant in international bodies (EU, IMF, World Economic Forum). He made an impact on the public interested in economic policy through numerous publications and media appearances, in which he warned of undesirable developments on labor markets and the dangers of false incentives in the economy.

After his retirement, Siebert remained active in research and consulting and taught at the Bologna Center of the Paul H. Nitze School for Advanced Studies. Numerous textbooks, among others on foreign trade and environmental economics, established his reputation as an outstanding teacher.