Max Planck Society honours the work of SPD politician with its highest award
The Millennium Tower in Magdeburg - originally built in 1999 for the Federal Horticultural Show and still in use today as an exhibition on technology and world history, featuring Foucault's pendulum and Archimedes' screw - provided a fitting backdrop for a very special evening It was here that Edelgard Bulmahn, former Federal Minister of Education and Research, was awarded the Harnack Medal. " Presenting the Harnack Medal to Edelgard Bulmahn is a highlight as we launch the 76th Annual Meeting of the Max Planck Society," said Society President Patrick Cramer.
Max Planck President Patrick Cramer honours Edelgard Bulmahn with the Harnack Medal, the organisation's highest distinction, during the 2025 Annual Meeting.
© David Ausserhofer/ MPG
Before the official laudation, Reiner Haseloff, Minister-President of Saxony-Anhalt, praised the Max Planck Society as a vital source of inspiration for his state, and highlighted Edelgard Bulmahn as the driving force behind the Excellence Initiative, which fostered closer collaboration between universities and non-university research institutions such as the MPG.
"I was fortunate to be politically active during a very exciting time, " Bulmahn wrote in 2017, upon leaving the German Bundestag. "It was always very important to me not to lose touch with reality. My commitment was and remains to the people from whom I come. And that will never change. "
The SPD politician was a leading voice on education and research policy in the Bundestag for three decades. From 1998 to 2005, she served as Federal Minister of Education and Research. In her final interview with the weekly newspaper Die ZEIT, she was asked what she hoped would endure from her time in office. Her response: "Above all, that we firmly embedded education and science in both social and political consciousness."
In fact, her legacy extends even further. The Bologna reform, the BAföG reform, and the restructuring of academic salaries - these and other initiatives fundamentally reshaped the Germany's science system. Many of the reforms introduced under Bulmahn's leadership remain in place today. Programmes like the Science Years, the Pact for Research and Innovation, and, of course, the Excellence Strategy have all been continued and developed by her successors."
"You served as Federal Minister of Education and Research for seven years. During that time, pivotal steps were taken that helped position Germany as one of the world's leading centres of scientific excellence. This progress was far from inevitable - it was the result of your vision, determination, and unwavering commitment," emphasised Max Planck President Patrick Cramer in his laudation.
It was a rare burst of reform activity in the academic world. Bulmahn even clashed with the finance minister over funding: "It was sometimes pretty intense." But, she stressed in her interview with ZEIT, "I was determined to strengthen the system because I was fully aware of the pace and level of investment in higher education happening in places like the U.S., South Korea, China, and Israel. "
Bulmahn was known for being assertive - and at times controversial. Yet, as she noted in her acceptance speech, she always saw criticism as an opportunity to improve her ideas. She also used the occasion to address pressing contemporary issues. Academic freedom, she warned, is not a privilege but a cornerstone of a free society.
Germany should not focus solely on the situation in the United States or in authoritarian regimes. "What we are witnessing in the US - this unprecedented war on science - will have global repercussions," she said. And Germany, she cautioned, may not be far from facing similar threats, particularly if the AfD secures majorities in individual federal states or even at the national level.
"The Max Planck Society is one of the most important pillars of our scientific system. It stands for excellence in science, for knowledge-driven research, and for academic freedom. Its outstanding achievements are not only essential for our country and future generations, but are also recognised around the world. To be the first Federal Minister of Research of the Federal Republic of Germany to receive the Harnack Medal is, in my view, an exceptional recognition of my work. It means a great deal to me - and is the highest form of appreciation I could possibly imagine."
