Jürgen Mulert (August 16, 1938 – December 28, 2008) was an economist, Fulbright Scholar, and Acting Director General of the German-American

Fulbright Program The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people o ...

. The "Mulert Memorial Award on Mutual Understanding" is granted annually in his honor. Mulert

Early life and education

In 1948, Mulert and his family (father, mother, three brothers and an older sister) fled from

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

and took refuge with the grandparents in

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

. Later the family moved to Herrenberg by Stuttgart, where Mulert earned his high school diploma in 1958. Afterwards he served four years in the

German Military The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

. From 1962 to 1967 he studied economics at the Rheinischen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

. Afterwards he went to

Fort Collins A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

with a Fulbright Scholarship to Colorado State University, and he extended his stay with a

Teaching Assistant A teaching assistant or teacher's aide (TA) or education assistant (EA) or team teacher (TT) is an individual who assists a teacher with instructional responsibilities. TAs include ''graduate teaching assistants'' (GTAs), who are graduate stude ...

position and earned his Ph.D. in

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

in 1972.

Professional career

In 1973 the family moved to

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

where Mulert taught Business Administration. His research focussed on the role of

Robert Bosch Robert Bosch (23 September 1861 – 12 March 1942) was a German industrialist, engineer and inventor, founder of Robert Bosch GmbH. Biography Bosch was born in Albeck, a village to the northeast of Ulm in southern Germany as the eleventh of ...

social entrepreneur Social entrepreneurship is an approach by individuals, groups, start-up companies or entrepreneurs, in which they develop, fund and implement solutions to social, cultural, or environmental issues. This concept may be applied to a wide range of ...

. From 1975 to 1986 he was in charge of the German Program Unit at the German American Fulbright Commission in Bonn, in 1975/76 and 1980/81 Mulert served as Acting Director General. In 1987, Mulert moved to

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

to work at the City University. In 1991, he founded the "Institut für Internationale Studien" in

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...

, as well as the ‘Verein zur Förderung von Auslandskontakten’ in 1993. Both organizations aimed at improving

intercultural communication Intercultural communication is a discipline that studies communication across different cultures and social groups, or how culture affects communication. It describes the wide range of communication processes and problems that naturally appear w ...

German Fulbright Alumni Association

Mulert was the initiator of the first Fulbright Alumni Association outside the US, based in

, Germany. He inspired hundreds of former grantees, so that on January 24, 1986, the founding documents of the German Fulbright Alumni association were signed. The association nowadays has appr. 1.300 members from 30 countries.

Legacy

As a former Fulbright Fellow, he believed in Senator

J. William Fulbright James William Fulbright (April 9, 1905 – February 9, 1995) was an American politician, academic, and statesman who represented Arkansas in the United States Senate from 1945 until his resignation in 1974. , Fulbright is the longest serving chair ...

's idea of "waging peace through understanding". Professionally, he supported thousands of students and professors before, during and after their academic exchange from and to the USA. In his personal life, he tirelessly campaigned for an improvement of transatlantic relations.

Mulert Award

Since 2010, the annual "Juergen Mulert Memorial Award on Mutual Understanding" is granted to current or former participants of the

. The winners include Daniel Köhler, Janosch Delcker, Sherief El-Helaifi, The Atlantic Review, Oksana Buzhdygan, and Robert Lepenies.

References

External links

Fulbright Scholar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mulert, Jurgen 1938 births 2008 deaths