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Leibniz Association

Logo: Leibniz-Gemeinschaft, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons3

German association of research institutes

The Leibniz Association (German: Leibniz-Gemeinschaft or Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz) is a union of German non-university research institutes from various disciplines.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1990Founded1
  • Industryresearch and development, voluntary sector1
  • HeadquartersBerlin1
  • Websitewww.leibniz-gemeinschaft.de
  • Legal formRegistered association (eingetragener Verein)1

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The Leibniz Association (German: Leibniz-Gemeinschaft or Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz) is a union of German non-university research institutes from various disciplines.2

Corporate structure

Leibniz Association sits at the top of its group. 105 entities, 2 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

Built from subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); major holders from Schedules 13D and 13G. Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

The Leibniz Association is named after the German philosopher, mathematician, scientist and inventor Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716). The organization evolved from the "Blaue Liste" (blue list) in former Western Germany and research institutions of the German Academy of Sciences at Berlin of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), whose research capability was deemed worth keeping after an evaluation by the German Wissenschaftsrat. The name "Blaue Liste" for a German model for funding science has been retired, and traces back to the color of a dossier.

The Leibniz Association's headquarter is located in Berlin and there is an EU bureau in Brussels. Since 2026, the economist Christoph M. Schmidt acts as president of the Leibniz Association.

From Wikipedia’s article on Leibniz Association, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Leadership

Who has led Leibniz Association, and when. Pick a name to see everywhere that person has worked.

Chair

  1. Ingolf Volker Hertel1995–1998
  2. Frank Pobell1998–2001
  3. Hans-Olaf Henkel2001–2005
  4. Ernst Theodor Rietschel2005–2010
  5. Karl Ulrich Mayer2010–2014
  6. Matthias Kleiner2014–2022
  7. Martina Brockmeier2022–now
1995200020052010201520202025
Board members and other officers (1)

Subsidiaries and ownership

Subsidiaries

  • Academy for Spatial Research and Planning
  • Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine
  • DIPF | Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education
  • DWI – Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials
  • Deutsches Diabetes-Zentrum
  • Deutsches Institut für Erwachsenenbildung
  • Deutsches Museum
  • FIZ Karlsruhe
  • Ferdinand-Braun-Institut
  • Fritz Lipmann Institute
  • GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences
  • German Institute for Economic Research
  • German Institute for Global and Area Studies
  • German Institute of Human Nutrition
  • German Maritime Museum
  • German Mining Museum
  • German Primate Centre
  • German Rheumatism Research Centre
  • Germanisches Nationalmuseum
  • Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Gesellschaft
  • Halle Institute for Economic Research
  • Herder Institute
  • Ifo Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung
  • Innovations for High Performance Microelectronics
All 94 subsidiaries
  • Institute of Contemporary History Munich-Berlin
  • Kiel Institute for the World Economy
  • Knowledge Media Research Center
  • LIAG Institute for Applied Geophysics
  • Leibnitz-Institute of Virology
  • Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research
  • Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History
  • Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research
  • Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research
  • Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures
  • Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy
  • Leibniz Institute for Analytical Sciences - ISAS
  • Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam
  • Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde
  • Leibniz Institute for Catalysis
  • Leibniz Institute for Crystal Growth
  • Leibniz Institute for Educational Media | Georg Eckert Institute
  • Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories
  • Leibniz Institute for Farm Animal Biology
  • Leibniz Institute for Horticultural Sciences (IGZ)
  • Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology
  • Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology
  • Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology
  • Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research
  • Leibniz Institute for Psychology (ZPID)
  • Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography
  • Leibniz Institute for Research on Society and Space
  • Leibniz Institute for Resilience Research
  • Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education at the University of Kiel
  • Leibniz Institute for Solar Physics (KIS)
  • Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research
  • Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research
  • Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research
  • Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change
  • Leibniz Institute for the German Language
  • Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies
  • Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development
  • Leibniz Institute of Environmental Medicine
  • Leibniz Institute of European History
  • Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries
  • Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology
  • Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry
  • Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research
  • Leibniz Institute of Surface Modification
  • Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie
  • Leibniz-Institut für Atmosphärenphysik
  • Leibniz-Institut für Präventionsforschung und Epidemiologie
  • Leibniz-Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich
  • Leibniz-Institute for New Materials
  • Leibniz-Lab
  • Library of the Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors
  • Mathematical Research Institute of Oberwolfach
  • Max Born Institute for Nonlinear Optics and Short Pulse Spectroscopy
  • Museum Koenig
  • Museum für Naturkunde - Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science
  • Museum of Ancient Seafaring
  • Paul Drude Institute for Solid State Electronics
  • Peace Research Institute Frankfurt
  • Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
  • RWI Essen
  • Research Center Borstel
  • Research Fab Microelectronics Germany
  • Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum
  • Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz Center for Informatics
  • Senckenberg – Leibniz Institution for Biodiversity and Earth System Research
  • TIB – Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology and University Library
  • WZB Berlin Social Science Center
  • Weierstrass Institute
  • ZB MED - Information Centre for Life Sciences
  • ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics

From Wikidata.1

Acquisitions

  1. 2002Acquired Leibniz Institute of Surface Modification1

Timeline

  1. 1997Renamed Name changed to Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz e.V.1
  2. 1995Renamed Name changed to Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Blaue Liste1
  3. 1990Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

  1. 1
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