Farewell to Dennis Snower as President of the Kiel Institute

At the farewell event in Kiel City Hall, there were speeches by representatives of the state of Schleswig-Holstein, the city of Kiel, and Kiel University as well as colleagues who worked with Professor Snower during his time as President, which began in October 2004. “Professor Snower’s services to the state of Schleswig-Holstein extend far beyond his own research activities,” noted Minister President Daniel Günther. “He developed the academic credentials of the Kiel Institute, creating new momentum and establishing new priorities. I came to appreciate him as an outstanding academic, someone with a gift for words, and a fine human being.”

Claudia Ricarda Meyer, Chancellor of Kiel University, said: “Dennis Snower is an outstanding economist, who led the Kiel Institute to exceptional academic achievements. He guided the Institute toward taking new approaches in economics, the social sciences, and interdisciplinary research. He deserves great credit for doing so.”

The Mayor of Kiel, Ulf Kämpfer, added his own words of appreciation: “Kiel now has an excellent international reputation as a center for science and research. Dennis Snower has done much to make that happen with his work and vision. Through the Global Economy Prize, which we present jointly during Kiel Week, he has repeatedly succeeded in bringing outstanding individuals from around the world to the city. Professor Snower has inspired many people in Kiel and beyond, including myself, encouraging us to reflect and think beyond. I wish him all the very best as he begins a new chapter in his life.”

Keynote speaker Aart De Geus, Chairman and CEO of the Bertelsmann Stiftung, said:“You have the confidence to challenge boundaries in your field and have discovered groundbreaking convergence between disciplines in the process. This explains why you have always been able to bring people together. Behavioral economics and psychology have played a special role in your work. You showed great courage several years ago when you began to adopt this interdisciplinary approach within the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.”

Professor Snower said: “It has been a tremendous privilege for me to work with such creative and productive researchers and with such a wonderful, versatile, and diligent Presidential Department—supported by outstanding and highly motivated nonacademic teams.” He also thanked the Institute’s many cooperation partners in government and business across Schleswig-Holstein and beyond: “I will never forget these many partnerships, which have left me with an enormous reservoir of goodwill, inspiration, and gratitude.”

Professor Snower is ending his term of office due to reaching the compulsory retirement age. He will be succeeded on March 1 by Professor Gabriel Felbermayr (43), former Director of the ifo Center for International Economics at the ifo Institute in Munich.

Snower remains President of the Global Solutions Initiative in Berlin, a policy forum he founded. The next Global Solutions Summit, scheduled for mid-March in Berlin, will be held in partnership with the Kiel Institute. Guests are expected to include German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. In addition, Professor Snower will take up a professorship at Berlin’s Hertie School of Governance . He will also serve as a research professor at University College London and as a Fellow at the Blavatnik School of Government in Oxford and the Brookings Institution in the United States. Professor Snower will remain in close contact with the Kiel Institute as President Emeritus.