Winners of the Global Economy Prize 2025 announced

The Kiel Institute for the World Economy, the City of Kiel and the Schleswig-Holstein Chamber of Industry and Commerce today announced the winners of the Global Economy Prize 2025. The Global Economy Prize is awarded in the categories of politics, business and economics and is not endowed.

Under this year's motto Courage for Change, the following thought leaders who have been particularly successful in promoting a forward-looking, dynamic and open-minded society will be honored: 

• Gabrielius Landsbergis, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania; Category: Politics.
• Hélène Huby, Co-Founder and CEO, The Exploration Company, Munich; Category Business.
• Prof. Dr. Monika Schnitzer, Chairwoman of the German Council of Economic Experts, and Professor at LMU Munich; Category: Economics.

The Global Economy Prize will be awarded during Kiel Week on Monday, June 23, 2025, at the Landeshaus in Kiel. The prize winners are expected to attend in person.

Personalities to be honored are proposed from the IfW Kiel network and finally selected and nominated by the jury of the Global Economy Prize. The jury consists of the President of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Prof. Dr. Moritz Schularick, Kiel's Mayor Dr. Ulf Kämpfer and the Vice President of the Schleswig-Holstein Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Knud Hansen. In accordance with their professions, the above-mentioned jury members are the mentors for the award winners in the categories of politics, business and economics.

Commenting on the nomination in the politics category, Kämpfer said: "Gabrielius Landsbergis is an extremely far-sighted foreign policy strategist, an outstanding analyst of geopolitical issues and a convinced European. As Foreign Minister of Lithuania, he was an early advocate of responding proactively to Russia's invasion of Ukraine with a policy of deterrence. Through his foresight and determined analysis, he quickly helped Lithuania to become a respected voice in NATO."

Hansen said of the upcoming winner of the business category: "Hélène Huby is an exceptionally profound connoisseur of the aviation industry, an extremely courageous entrepreneur, and a successful fundraiser. By founding the Exploration Company, she has set herself the ambitious goal of developing European solutions to transport goods and people to space stations and the moon, while democratizing space exploration and making it affordable, sustainable and open."

Schularick justified the nomination in the economics category as follows: "Monika Schnitzer is a pioneer of empirical microeconomics in Germany, an outstanding policy advisor, and an excellent teacher - also in the truest sense of the word. Her research is characterized by innovative ideas and the latest empirical methods. Like few in the profession, she knows how to derive clear, targeted and convincing economic policy recommendations from her scientific findings, which are well received by politicians and the general public."

Further information about the Global Economy Prize and the Nominees can be found here.