Heinz Fassmann

Heinz Faßmann (born 13 August 1955 in Düsseldorf) is an Austrian politician and professor of human geography and land-use planning at the University of Vienna. He served as the Minister of Education in the Second Kurz cabinet in the government of Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and the Schallenberg government of Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg. He previously served in the same capacity from December 2017 to June 2019: he was succeeded in the post by Martin Polaschek in December 2021. Faßmann is considered to be aligned with the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) but holds no formal party membership or affiliation.

In 2022, he became the new president of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

Early life and education Heinz Faßmann was born on 13 August 1955 in Düsseldorf, Germany. He spent his childhood and adolescence in Vienna. Faßmann attended primary school from 1962 to 1966 and grammar school from 1966 to 1974.

Faßmann studied geography and social and economic history at the University of Vienna, graduating with a PhD in 1980. From 1980 to 1981,

Career From 1981 to 1992, Faßmann was a researcher with the Austrian Academy of Sciences. He spent his academy years on the academy's commission on land-use planning . On the strength of his commission work, he was appointed director of the Institute of City and Regional Planning in 1992. In 2006 he was, for the second time, appointed Director of the Institute of City and Regional Planning. He has been sitting on the Ministry of the Interior Migration Council for Austria , later renamed Migration Commission , since 2014.

Minister of Education, 2018–2021 Although Faßmann had never held elected office and never officially attached himself to any political party, he was invited to join the Kurz cabinet as the minister of education. When the cabinet took office on 18 December 2017, Faßmann was appointed minister of education and science. Following a reshuffling of ministerial responsibilities − a move regularly made by new parliamentary majority leaders − he became minister of education, science and research on 8 January 2018. While in government Faßmann resigned his positions as a vice rector, as the chairman of the commission, and as a member of the council. For the duration of his term in cabinet office, he also suspended his position as the director of the Institute of City and Regional Planning.

Faßmann was succeeded by another ÖVP-nominated academic, Martin Polaschek, in the Nehammer Government in December 2021.

President of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, 2022–present In 2022, Faßmann became the new president of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

Since 2023, Faßmann has been a member of an expert group entrusted to support the interim evaluation of the European Union's Horizon Europe programme, chaired by Manuel Heitor.

Other activities National Fund of the Republic of Austria for Victims of National Socialism, Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2020)

Personal life Born a German, Faßmann has been a naturalized Austrian citizen since 1994. He is married and has two children.

Faßmann stands well over two meters tall. Correcting media reports that erroneously cited even greater numbers, Faßmann states his height at 203 cm.

Selected publications