Institute of Advanced Studies, Austria
Franz Fischler, was born in Absam, Austria, on Sept. 23rd,1946. He obtained his doctorate in agriculture at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna in 1978. Between 1989 and 1994, during his time as Federal Minister of Agriculture and Forestry in Austria, he played an important role in the negotiations for Austria’s accession to the European Union.
As a Member of the European Commission, Fischler was responsible for Agriculture and Rural Development from 1995 until 1999, and additionally for Fisheries between 1999 and 2004. After his work for the European Commission, he shared his expertise with several governments and worked as chairman of various organisations, such as European Forum Alpbach and Pro Scientia. Since 2015 he is the President of the Board of Trustees to the Austrian Institute of Advanced Studies (IHS) in Vienna.
