新万博体育下载_万博体育app【投注官网】

图片

Press release 28/23 - 19.04.2023

Honorary doctorate for Theo Waigel

The 新万博体育下载_万博体育app【投注官网】 of Augsburg honours economic and monetary policymaker for outstanding service.

The Faculty of Business and Economics at the 新万博体育下载_万博体育app【投注官网】 of Augsburg awarded an honorary doctorate (Dr. rer. pol. h. c.) to the former Federal Minister of Finance, Dr Theo Waigel, in a ceremony at the Augsburg Town Hall.

Honorary doctorate for Theo Waigel: Prof. Dr Sabine Doering-Manteuffel, president of the 新万博体育下载_万博体育app【投注官网】 of Augsburg, Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schultze, dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics, former Federal Minister of Finance, Dr Theo Waigel, vice president of the 新万博体育下载_万博体育app【投注官网】 of Augsburg Prof. Dr. Peter Welzel and former German president Prof. Dr Horst K?hler ? 新万博体育下载_万博体育app【投注官网】 of Augsburg

More than 400 distinguished guests attended the ceremony conferring the honorary doctorate to Dr Theo Waigel for his exceptional contributions to economic policy in the creation of the German Economic and Monetary Union and the European Economic and Monetary Union, as well as for his contribution to compliance at leading companies and for his work in the field of economics.

The laudatio honouring Waigel, who has been closely associated with the 新万博体育下载_万博体育app【投注官网】 of Augsburg for many years, was held by former German president Prof. Dr Horst K?hler.

Former German president honours Theo Waigel’s vision and credibility

“As Federal Minister of Finance, Theo Waigel always thought far beyond day-to-day politics,” said K?hler. “In the mid-1990s, he and his ministry developed a decade-long financial policy programme that sought to achieve a permanent balance between an efficient state on the one hand and a competitive economy on the other. Its core elements are still groundbreaking in view of today’s fiscal challenges.” The former president emphasised Waigel’s expertise, credibility, and humanity. Sincerity and fairness not only characterised Waigel’s dealings with political colleagues but also his dealings with critics and opponents. “No matter how turbulent things became in the political arena, Waigel always retained his humanity, always seeing his opponents as fellow human beings,” said K?hler.

Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schultze, dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics, presented the certificate conferring the honorary doctorate. “With the granting of this honorary doctorate, the Faculty of Business and Economics at the 新万博体育下载_万博体育app【投注官网】 of Augsburg recognises Waigel’s lifelong work at the interface of political practice and economics on the one hand and academic scholarship on the other.” With his life's work, Waigel has made an impressive contribution to the fields of economics and business administration.

Theo Waigel accepts honorary doctorate

“This honorary doctorate from the 新万博体育下载_万博体育app【投注官网】 of Augsburg fills me with gratitude,” said Waigel. “Augsburg is my home university, and I would have gladly studied here if it had been possible in 1959. I was able to follow the proud development of this institution for over five decades, from 1985 to 2019 on the board of trustees. During this time, the 新万博体育下载_万博体育app【投注官网】 of Augsburg gained national and international renown while remaining aware of its regional responsibility in Swabia. I wish the students and teaching staff every continued success at the 新万博体育下载_万博体育app【投注官网】 of Augsburg.”

Prof. Dr Sabine Doering-Manteuffel, president of the 新万博体育下载_万博体育app【投注官网】 of Augsburg, was among the first to congratulate Waigel, alongside the Bavarian Minister for Science and the Arts, Markus Blume, and the mayor of Augsburg, Eva Weber. “Theo Waigel is an internationally recognised economic and monetary expert who has always had close ties to his region of Swabia, the city, and in particular to the 新万博体育下载_万博体育app【投注官网】 of Augsburg,” she emphasised. Doering-Manteuffel referred to Waigel’s many years of membership on the board of trustees at the 新万博体育下载_万博体育app【投注官网】 of Augsburg, of which he was also Chairman. As a member of the board of trustees of the Kurt and Felicitas Viermetz Foundation, Waigel continues to promote projects in the region and, in particular, those at the university that are supported by the Foundation.

Markus Blume, Bavarian Minister for Science and the Arts, attended the ceremony, offering a warm welcome and congratulations: “From Mister Euro to Doctor Euro! Theo Waigel has written German and European history. His life’s work is dedicated to a peaceful Europe. Thanks to him, we have a common and stable currency that strengthens and unites us. As a friend of academic scholarship, who relies on the power of arguments, he has always been a voice of rationality. A special thanks to a true ‘Bavarian world citizen’ and congratulations on receiving an honorary doctorate from the 新万博体育下载_万博体育app【投注官网】 of Augsburg!”'
?

Markus Blume, Bavarian Minister for Science and the Arts ? 新万博体育下载_万博体育app【投注官网】 of Augsburg
Prof. Dr. Sabine Doering-Manteuffel, president of the 新万博体育下载_万博体育app【投注官网】 of Augsburg ? 新万博体育下载_万博体育app【投注官网】 of Augsburg

Impressive life’s work

Dr Theodor Waigel can look back on an impressive life's work characterised in particular by his work for Europe and Germany in the field of economic and financial policy and a mutually beneficial relationship between politics and academic scholarship. On the one hand, he took up arguments from academia and implemented them within the framework of what was politically feasible, and on the other hand, he provided academia with political impulses, analyses, and questions that were of great importance to the further development of theoretical considerations. Waigel was one of the most important political actors in both German reunification and the establishment of the European Economic and Monetary Union. Both integration projects required fundamentally well thought-out and yet daring steps with serious economic and not least foreign economic implications.

Since leaving politics, Waigel has committed himself to compliance at German companies. His expertise and high-level of integrity are viewed by both companies and government authorities as a guarantee that compliance problems will be solved and that permanent structures and a culture designed to avoid misconduct will be created.

“Europafunken” dedicated to Theo Waigel

The conferral ceremony at the Augsburg Town Hall was accompanied by the musical ensemble CelloPassionato of the Leopold Mozart Centre (LMZ) under the direction of Prof. Julius Berger (with Prof. Hyun-Jung Berger, Edward King, Chloe Brooks, Philip Heide, Malwina Jakubowska, Friederike Schubert, and Minjae Sul). The event included the premier of a musical piece composed by Monika Kerer especially for Waigel called “Europafunken.”

Search