Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Jürgen Rüttgers was Federal Minister for Education, Science, Research and Technology and Minister President of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. After studying law, he received his doctorate from the University of Cologne in 1979. From 1987, he was a member of the German Bundestag, where he was particularly involved in technology and science policy. He also published on the topics of political disenchantment and upheavals in party democracy in the 1990s. From 2005 to 2010, Rüttgers was Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia. In this office, he continued to pursue his focus on education policy, but also championed social justice. Since turning his back on current politics in 2012, Jürgen Rüttgers has worked as a lawyer, holds seminars as an honorary professor at University of Bonn and writes books. Particularly important to him is his commitment to honorary work for numerous organizations in Germany and abroad, with a special advocacy for German-Israeli relations. Among other things, Jürgen Rüttgers is a member of the board of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation e.V., chairman of the board of trustees of the Stiftung Bundeskanzler-Adenauer-Haus e.V. and chairman of the board Freundeskreis Abtei Brauweiler e.V., chairman of the board of trustees Yad Vashem Deutschland e. V. as well as a member of the council of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation.