Bert Rürup was awarded his doctorate in political science in 1971. From 1975 to 1976 he was Professor of Economics in Essen, and from 1976 to 2009 Professor of Financial and Economic Policy at the University of Darmstadt. From 1992 to 2002 he participated in the German governmental Commission on Demographic Change, and has acted in advisory roles for international governments such as Austria and Kazakhstan. From 2000 to 2008 he was a member and Chairman of the Social Advisory Council on Pension Insurance, and from 2000 to 2009 he was a member of the German Council of Economic Experts. In 2002 he became the Chairman of the so-called “Rürup Commission,” tasked with investigating premium stability in pensions and health insurance policies. In 2005 he was awarded the Bundesverdienstkreuz. Since 2010 he has been a member of the board of MaschmeyerRürup AG, and chairs the Board of Trustees of the German Institute of Economic Research (DIW Berlin); he is also President of the International School of Management (ISM). His numerous publications on financial and socio-economic subjects include Das vergessene Stabilitätsgesetz (1984); Arbeit 2000 (1992); and Nachhaltige Sozialpolitik im alternden Deutschland (2003).