Ralf Fücks, President of the Heinrich Böll Foundation

Ralf Fücks, President of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, will travel to Washington DC and New York City for political talks from May 20th to May 24th, 2013. In both cities, he will speak at several events presenting his new book 'Smart Growth: The Green Revolution'. In this book, Ralf Fücks challenges conservative and progressive strategies for economic growth, as well as the ecological notion of Dennis Meadows' 1982 "Limits to Growth". Already launched with great success in Germany, 'Smart Growth: The Green Revolution' has triggered intense debate reaching far beyond the traditional Green comfort zone. The English edition of the book will be released in the Fall of 2013.

Details about his book discussion on May 22nd at the Goethe Institute in Washington DC can be found here.

 

Biography

Ralf Fücks was born in 1951 in Edenkoben (Palatinate). While at university, studying social sciences, economics, and political science, he was active in the student movements in Heidelberg and Bremen.

Ralf Fücks joined the Green Party in 1982. In 1985 he was elected to the Bremen state parliament. He served as Co-President for the national Green Party in 1989/90. During this period he strongly advocated transforming the Greens into a reform party which, jointly with the social democrats, should be striving for new political majorities and coalitions.

He returned to regional politics in Bremen in 1991, serving as Senator for Urban Development and Environmental Protection and as Deputy Mayor. He held that position until 1995 when the green-liberal-social democrat coalition collapsed due to fundamental different positions with the Liberal Party on urban development.

Ralf Fücks has been a member of the executive board of the Heinrich Böll Foundation since 1996. Together with his colleagues, he rebuilt the foundation completely, moving it’s headquarter to Berlin. In November 2006 he was re-elected for a fourth term. The primary focus of his work is on sustainable development, reshaping the welfare state, migration, the future of European integration, and on international policy. He is responsible for the divisions of domestic political education, Europe and North America, German-Israel relations as well as for the foundation’s scholarship program.

As a member of the Green Party’s Program Commission he co-authored the new party program which was adopted in spring 2002. In 2000 the Minister for the Interior, Otto Schily, appointed him member of the non-partisan commission on migration which presented its final report in July 2001.

In 1991 he was editor of the book "Sind die Grünen noch zu retten?" ("Is There a Future for the Green Party?"). He is a regular contributor to numerous newspapers and political periodicals and co-author to numerous books.