Bert Rürup

Former chairman of the economy and social, demographic and pension expert

Bert Rürup has been Chief Economist of the Handelsblatt since February 2017. In this capacity he writes economic analyzes for the newspaper and comments on macroeconomic developments. Since January 2013 he has been associated with Handelsblatt as President of the then newly founded Handelsblatt Research Institute.

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Bert Rürup's 2025 biography

Bert Rürup’s Background

Born in 1943, Rürup studied economic political science at the Universities of Hamburg and Cologne and received his doctorate in 1971 in Cologne. After working as a research associate in the planning department of the Federal Chancellery in 1975, he received a call to the chair of economics and finance at the University of Essen. In February 1976, he got a call to the finance department of the TU Darmstadt.

In his scientific and journalistic work, Rürup dealt, among other things, with state economic planning instruments, the socio-economic consequences of technological change, finance and employment policy, demographic trends and pension reforms, as well as the future of work and economic globalization. Visiting professorships led him from 1991 to 1993 to the TU Vienna and the TH Leipzig. From 1991 to 1993 he was founding dean for the Department of Economics at the TH Leipzig as well as the Faculty of Economic Sciences at the University of Leipzig.

As one of the most important policy advisors in Germany, Rürup has done much to make the country fit for the future. In 1999 he became a member of the Pension Reform Commission of the Federal Minister of Labor Walter Riester. In 2000, he was appointed to the Council of Economic Experts for Economic Performance, which he chaired from March 2005 to March 2009.

From 2000 to 2009, he was chairman of the “Social Advisory Council for Pension Insurance. In addition, he was appointed to the head of a 26-member panel of experts (“Rürup Commission”), which drew up proposals for the long-term financing of pension, Health and long-term care insurance until autumn 2003. Rürup has gained international renown as a consultant to many governments at home and abroad as well as the European Community.

In the spring of 2009, Rürup switched from science to business to the financial services provider AWD, for which he initially worked as chief economist and consultant for private and company pensions. At the beginning of 2010 he founded the consulting firm MaschmeyerRürup AG together with Carsten Maschmeyer, but resigned there at the end of 2012.

As a proven social expert, Rürup is a frequent guest on talk shows. He is also a keynote speaker, providing answers to key reform issues that will secure our economic future.