Jürgen Stark studied economics at the universities of Hohenheim and Tübingen and graduated in 1973. He gained a doctorate in economics 1975 and was appointed Honorary Professor at the University of Tübingen in 2005. He was a member of the Executive Board and the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) from 2006 to 2011, responsible for economics, statistics, and information systems. He resigned from his position in December 2011, thus not completing his term which would have run until 2014. Before joining the ECB, he was Vice-President of the Deutsche Bundesbank, where he was responsible for European and International Affairs. Prior to this position he served as State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry of Finance and as Personal Representative of the Federal Chancellor in the preparation of G7/G8 Economic Summits for four years. Before that he held various positions at the Ministry of Finance, the Federal Chancellery, and the Federal Ministry of Economics, dealing with national and international monetary and financial issues. His publications include many articles and papers in professional journals on public finances, European monetary integration, institution building, and the global financial system.