Jürgen Mulert (August 16, 1938 – December 28, 2008) was an economist,

Fulbright 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 ...

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 ...

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

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 known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

and took refuge with the grandparents in

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

. Later the family moved to Herrenberg by

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

, where Mulert earned his high school diploma in 1958. Afterwards he served four years in the German Military. From 1962 to 1967 he studied economics at the Rheinischen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

. Afterwards he went to Fort Collins with a

Scholarship to

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University Syst ...

, and he extended his stay with a

teaching assistant A teaching assistant (TA) or education assistant (EA) is an individual who assists a professor or teacher with instructional responsibilities. TAs include ''graduate teaching assistants'' (GTAs), who are graduate students; ''undergraduate teach ...

position and earned his Ph.D. in

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

in 1972.

Professional career

In 1973 the family moved to

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

where Mulert taught

Business Administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

. His research focussed on the role of

Robert Bosch Robert Bosch (23 September 1861 – 12 March 1942) was a German business magnate, engineer and inventor, founder of Bosch (company), Bosch. Biography Bosch was born in Langenau, Albeck, in the Swabia, Swabian Highlands near Ulm. He was one of t ...

social entrepreneur Social entrepreneurship is an approach by individuals, groups, Startup company, 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 ...

. 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 am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

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

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...

, 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'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