By awarding a Distinguished Professorship, Goethe University honors excellent researchers who are not or no longer available for a regular professorship. They are key personalities who have contributed significantly to the development in their field of expertise and have also made an impact internationally. Distinguished Professors are supposed to be associated with Goethe University long-term and contribute to research projects.
Helmut Siekmann established the IMFS and acted as Managing Director from 2006 until 2010 as well as between September 2011 and April 2012. His research focuses on all aspects of government finances, the institutional framework of the European System of Central Banks, the European provisions to secure stable government finances, the stabilization mechanisms in time of crisis, and the supervision and control of financial markets. Currently, his major research project is the update and English translation of the Commentary on the European Monetary Union, which he edited in 2013.