Isabel Pfeiffer-Poensgen (born 25 April 1954, in

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

) is a German politician, lawyer and administrative officer. who served as State Minister of Culture and Science in the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

s of Minister-Presidents

Armin Laschet Armin Laschet (; born 18 February 1961) is a German politician who served as Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia from 27 June 2017 to 26 October 2021. He served as Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 22 January 2021 t ...

and

Hendrik Wüst Hendrik Josef Wüst (born 19 July 1975) is a German politician serving as Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia, Minister-President of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia since 2021. He is a member of the Christian Democratic Union of Ger ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

from 2017 to 2022. Since 2023 she is managing director of the

Carl Friedrich von Siemens Foundation The Carl Friedrich von Siemens Foundation aims to promote science. The foundation was established in 1958 on the initiative of entrepreneur Ernst von Siemens. The managing director was the philosopher Heinrich Meier until March 2022. In the summe ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Career

From 1989 until 1999, Pfeiffer-Poensgen was the chancellor of the

Cologne College of Music Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

. From 2004 until 2017, Pfeiffer-Poensgen served as Secretary General of the Cultural Foundation of the German Federal States (KdL). Following the 2017 state elections in

, Pfeiffer-Poensgen was appointed State Minister of Culture and Science in the

of Minister-President

. As one of the state's representatives at the Bundesrat, she has been a member of the Committee on Cultural Affairs since 2017. In addition, she is also a member of the German-French Friendship Group set up by the

German Bundesrat The German Bundesrat (, ) is a legislative body that represents the sixteen '' Länder'' (federated states) of Germany at the federal level (German: ''Bundesebene''). The Bundesrat meets at the former Prussian House of Lords in Berlin. Its se ...

and the

French Senate The Senate (, ) is the upper house of the French Parliament, with the lower house being the National Assembly (France), National Assembly, the two houses constituting the legislature of France. It is made up of 348 senators (''sénateurs'' and ...

Other activities (selection)

Corporate boards

* NRW.BANK, Member of the Supervisory Board (2017-2018)

Non-profit organizations

Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex The Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex (German Zeche Zollverein) is a large former industrial site in the city of Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The first coal mine on the premises was founded in 1847, and mining activities took pl ...

, Member of the Board of Trustees (2018–2022) * ''

Deutschlandradio Deutschlandradio (DLR; ) is a national German public radio broadcaster. History ''Deutschlandfunk'' was originally a West German news radio targeting listeners within West Germany as well as in neighbouring countries, ''Deutschlandfunk Kultur'' ...

'', Ex-Officio Member of the Supervisory Board (2017–2022) * Josefine and Eduard von Portheim Foundation for Science and Art, Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2018) *

Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus The is a theatre building and company in Düsseldorf. The present building with two major auditoria was designed by the architect and built between 1965 and 1969. It opened in 1970. History The theatre dates back to 1747 when during the ...

, Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board (since 2017) * Heinrich Hertz Foundation, Member of the Board of Trustees (2017–2022) *

Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres The Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres () is the largest scientific organisation in Germany. It is a union of 18 scientific-technical and biological-medical research centers. The official mission of the Association is "solving the g ...

, Ex-Officio Member of the Senate *

Kunststiftung NRW Kunststiftung NRW (''Art Foundation NRW'') is a foundation created by the government of the Germany, German state North Rhine-Westphalia. It was established on September 12, 1989, and started operations in the spring of 1990. It is based in Düssel ...

, Member of the Board of Trustees (2017–2022) *

Museum Insel Hombroich The Museum Insel Hombroich (Museum Island Hombroich), Neuss, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, is both a park and a museum combining architecture, art and nature on over of meadowland. The park includes the "Kirkeby-Feld" and the "Raketenstation" ...

, Member of the Board of Trustees (2017–2022) * North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and the Arts, Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees (2017–2022) *

Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (; SPK) is a German federal government body that oversees 27 museums and cultural organizations in and around Berlin, Germany. Its purview includes all of Berlin's State Museums, the Berlin State Librar ...

(SPK), Deputy Chair of the Board *

Akademie Schloss Solitude The Akademie Schloss Solitude is a foundation under public law. The main aspect of the Akademie is to promote mainly younger, particularly gifted artists and scientists by means of residency fellowships and also by organizing events and exhibitio ...

, Member of the Board of Trustees * Peter and Irene Ludwig Foundation, Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees * German Lost Art Foundation, Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees (2015-2017) rovenienzforschung in Deutschland weiter gestärkt - Kuratorium des Deutschen Zentrums Kulturgutverluste konstituiert Federal Government, press release of November 27, 2015. * Franco-German Cultural Council (DFKR), Member of the Board of Trustees (2010-2017)

References

1954 births Living people Jurists from North Rhine-Westphalia Politicians from Aachen {{Germany-law-bio-stub