/ Professor Ludwig Theodor Heuss new Chairman of the Board of Trustees
In its meeting on 25 September 2020, the Board of Trustees of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom elected the publisher and physician Professor Ludwig Theodor Heuss as its Chairman. Heuss succeeds the Honorary Chairman of the FDP Baden-Wurttemberg, Professor Jürgen Morlok, who did not stand for another term in office.
With his 75th birthday just around the corner, the time had come to stop, Morlok said, explaining his decision not to stand for another term as Chairman of the Board of Trustees. He had held this position since 1996, after already becoming a member of the Board of Trustees in 1984.
Professor Jürgen Morlok was a regular member of the Board of Trustees for over 39 years, 24 of which he served as Chairman. He has also held the position of Honorary Chairman of the Baden-Wurttemberg FDP since 1996. In addition to numerous positions in politics and business, Professor Jürgen Morlok has been a professor at Karlshochschule International University since 2006.
The outgoing Chairman proposed to the members of the new Board of Trustees to elect Ludwig Theodor Heuss as his successor. According to Prof Jürgen Morlok, particularly the challenge for liberalism make it necessary to elect a personality at the head of the Board of Trustees who is firmly rooted in liberalism and has a global network. Heuss, who has been a member of the Board of Trustees since 2008, gladly accepted the election, not only with reference to his personal roots. He emphasized, that in continuation with the previous work of the Board of Trustees, he wanted to further sharpen the profile of the Naumann Foundation and promote its modernisation into the 21st century. Furthermore, in view of growing populism and support for authoritarian, illiberal ways of thinking, a liberal foundation works all around the globe is of particular importance.
Prof Ludwig Theodor Heuss is a medical doctor and has lived in Basel since his childhood. He is the grandson of the founding chairman of the FDP and the first Former Federal President Theodor Heuss and holds German and Swiss citizenship. In his main profession, Heuss is chief physician at Zurich’s Zollikerberg Hospital and holds a professorship at the University of Basel. Since 2018, Heuss has also been the majority shareholder in Schwabe-Verlag in Basel, Europe‘s oldest publishing house.
Professor Jürgen Morlok elected Honorary Chairman of the Board of Trustees
In its meeting on 4 December 2020, the Board of Trustees of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom elected Professor Jürgen Morlok as Honorary Chairman. "With the election of the Honorary Chairman, the Board of Trustees not only expresses its heartfelt thanks for Professor Jürgen Morlok’s decades of service. We are pleased to continue having him at our side as Honorary Chair of the Board of Trustees," Heuss commented on the election. The Board of Trustees also appointed four new members. Stefan Kapferer, Dr Maren Jasper-Winter Member of Berlin City Parliament, Judith Pirscher and Stefan Ruppert will join the board in the future.
According to the statutes of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, members of the Board of Trustees are elected for six years, and the Executive Board of the Board of Trustees is elected for four years on the proposal of the Board of Trustees by a majority of its members’ votes.