Clemens Fuest

Early life and education

Fuest was born in Münster in 1968 and grew up in Geseke with two brothers. His mother is French. Both parents were teachers. His uncle was the financial economist Winfried Fuest.

Fuest obtained his Abitur from Gymnasium Antonianum Geseke in 1987. He studied economics at the Ruhr University Bochum from 1987 to 1989 and continued his studies at the University of Mannheim from 1989 to 1991, earning his degree in Economics in 1991. He pursued his doctoral studies at the University of Cologne from 1991 to 1994, receiving his Dr.rer.pol. summa cum laude in 1994 with a thesis on a fiscal constitution for the European Union. From Cologne he moved to Munich to work with the economist Bernd Huber. In 2000, he completed his habilitation at the University of Munich. His research at the time focused on taxation policy and unemployment.

Career

In 2008, Fuest served as a member of the Independent Expert Group to the Commission on Scottish Devolution. He was member and chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors at the German Federal Ministry of Finance.

Between 2008 and 2013, Fuest was professor of business taxation at the University of Oxford and Research Director of the Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation, which is part of the Saïd Business School.

From March 2013 Fuest served as President of the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim and professor at the University of Mannheim. Since 2013, he has also been serving on the advisory board of the Stability Council, a body devised as part of Germany’s national implementation of the European Fiscal Compact. That same year, he joined Henrik Enderlein, Marcel Fratzscher, Jakob von Weizsäcker and others in founding the Glienicker Gruppe, a group of pro-European lawyers, economists, and political scientists.

In 2014, Fuest was appointed by the Council of the European Union to be part of the High Level Group on Own Resources, led by Mario Monti. Since 2015, he has been serving as one of two scientific advisers to the Commission on the Minimum Wage at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. In 2025, the government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz appointed Fuest as member of an expert commission to advise Minister of Finance Lars Klingbeil on reforming Germany's rules on public debt, co-chaired by Stephan Weil, Eckhardt Rehberg and Stephan Müller.

Personal life

Fuest’s wife Ana María is Colombian. The couple has three sons. He is interested in literature, classical music, skiing and hiking.

Other activities

Corporate boards

• HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt, Member of the Advisory Board
• Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW), Member of the Advisory Board (since 2014)
• Ernst & Young Germany, Member of the Scientific Advisory Board (since 2008)

Non-profit organizations

• Foundation for Family Businesses, Member of the Board of Trustees
• Hochschule für Bildende Künste Braunschweig, Member of the University Council (since 2011)
• European Academy of Sciences and Arts, Member (since 2010)
• International Institute of Public Finance (IIFP), Vice President of the Board (2009–2018), President of the Board (since 2018)
• Hanns Martin Schleyer Foundation, Friedwart Bruckhaus Prize, Member of the Jury
• Wirtschaftsrat der CDU, Member of the Scientific Advisory Board
• Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Fellow (since 2007)
• Hanns Martin Schleyer Foundation, Friedwart Bruckhaus Prize, Member of the Jury
• German Academy of Science and Engineering, Member
• American Economic Association, Member

Editorial boards

• Canadian Journal of Economics, Advisory Editor
• Fiscal Studies, Member of the Editorial Board
• Wirtschaftsdienst, Member of the Scientific Advisory Board
• ORDO, Member of the Editorial Board

Recognition

Clemens Fuest was awarded the Bayerischer Maximiliansorden für Wissenschaft und Kunst in 2023. His academic contributions were recognized with an Honorary Doctorate from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in 2017. In 1998 he won the Knut Wicksell Prize of the European Public Choice Society.

In 2013 he received the Gustav Stolper Award.

References

References

1. (2013-01-21). "Clemens Fuest: Ein Hofnarr vom alten Schlag".
2. (2023-07-17). "Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Clemens Fuest {{!}} Team {{!}} ifo Institute".
3. [http://www1.hw.ac.uk/reference/ieg-first-evidence.pdf First Evidence from the Independent Expert Group to the Commission on Scottish Devolution, November 2008] {{webarchive. link. (3 December 2008 Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh.)
4. (30 April 2011). "German Government Advisers See Greece Defaulting". Wall Street Pit.
5. Donahue, Patrick. (1 October 2012). "Euro Leaders Face Month of Unrest After ECB's September Rally". [[San Francisco Chronicle]].
6. (27 January 2012). "ZEW Press Release: Clemens Fuest Will Become Next ZEW President".
7. [http://www.glienickergruppe.de/ZEIT_Artikel%20der%20Glienicker%20Gruppe.pdf Mobil, gerecht, einig] Glienicker Brücke.
8. [http://ec.europa.eu/budget/mff/resources/ip01.cfm A way forward for financing the EU budget: Mario Monti presents the First Assessment Report by the High Level Group on Own Resources] [[European Commission]], press release of 17 February 2014.
9. Christian Reiermann (24 July 2025), [https://www.spiegel.de/politik/schuldenbremse-das-ist-die-neue-reformkommission-a-267fb117-a170-4f22-9d51-ce62f98ca602 Parteiübergreifende Kommission: Diese Experten sollen die Schuldenbremse reformieren] ''[[Der Spiegel]]''.
10. [http://www.about.hsbc.de/hsbc-in-germany/executive-bodies Advisory Board] [[HSBC Trinkaus. HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt]].
11. [https://www.lbbw.de/media/investor_relations/pdf_investorrelations/2016/LBBW_Geschaeftsbericht_2015.pdf 2015 Annual Report] [[Landesbank Baden-Württemberg]] (LBBW).
12. [http://www.ey.com/DE/de/Services/Tax/Tax_Overview_Wissenschaftlicher_Beirat Members of the Scientific Advisory Board] Ernst & Young Germany.
13. [https://www.familienunternehmen.de/en/board-of-trustees Board of Trustees] Foundation for Family Businesses.
14. [https://www.wirtschaftsdienst.eu/wissenschaftlicher-beirat.html Scientific Advisory Board] ''[[Wirtschaftsdienst]]''.
15. [http://www.luciusverlag.com/buecher/neuerscheinungen/ordo_56.html Members of the editorial board of ORDO, listed on the publisher's webpage (German)]{{dead link. (October 2012)
16. [http://www.zew.de/en/presse/pressearchiv/zew-praesident-clemens-fuest-erhaelt-gustav-stolper-preis/ ZEW President Clemens Fuest Receives Gustav Stolper Award] Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), press release of 6 September 2013.