Academy

The Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina has been the German National Academy of Sciences since 2008. It scientifically reviews and addresses key issues of prospective significance for society. The Academy operates irrespective of political and economic objectives. Its findings are conveyed to policy makers and the public alike, and nationally and internationally advocated.

The Leopoldina is represented at locations in Halle (Saale) and Berlin. The Academy's headquarters, archive and library are located in Halle (Saale). In Berlin, it maintains offices and seminar rooms for contact with research communities, funding initiatives, professional associations and federal politics. Together, the two locations reflect the current work of the Leopoldina as the National Academy of Sciences and its long history as the German Academy of Sciences.

The Academy is managed by a Board of Directors and a Presidium. The Executive Committee meets at least four times a year and prepares all of the Academy's important decisions. All aspects of management are regulated in accordance with the statutes, rules of procedure and election regulations.

The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina maintains numerous co-operations in Germany and internationally. Providing joint advice to politics and society is just as much a goal as promoting dialogue between science, the media and the public.

On January 1st, 1652 four physicians − Johann Lorenz Bausch, Johann Michael Fehr, Georg Balthasar Metzger and Georg Balthasar Wohlfahrth − establish the Academia Naturae Curiosorum in the Free Imperial City of Schweinfurt. It is now the oldest continuously existing academy of medicine and the natural sciences in the world. The four physicians invite leading scholars of their day to join them in “exploring nature [...] for the glory of God and the good of mankind.” The selected motto for this ambitious objective is „Nunquam otiosus“ (“never idle”).