Bundeskartellamt celebrates its 50th anniversary

20.12.2007

The Bundeskartellamt, along with the German Act against Restraints of Competition, will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a ceremony to be held in Bonn on 15 January 2008.

Economics Minister Ludwig Erhard, the father of the German Wirtschaftswunder (economic miracle), referred to the Act against Restraints of Competition as the Basic Law of our economic and social system and defended it against strong resistance. The Bundeskartellamt commenced its work on 1 January 1958.
Five decades later the Bundeskartellamt has established itself in the eyes of the public, the business sector and the courts as an institution for the protection of competition. At the international level the Bundeskartellamt has been successfully integrated into the European and international competition networks in the establishment of which it was instrumental.

The speakers at the ceremony will shed light on the role and function of the Bundeskartellamt from different perspectives, e.g. the economic sector, media, courts, legal profession and politics as well as foreign competition authorities and the European Commission.

More than 500 participants from Germany and abroad have already registered for the event which is to be held in the former Plenary Hall of the German Bundestag. Among them are, for example, Federal Economics Minister Michael Glos, the former EU Commissioner for Competition, Mario Monti, the Director General of the EU Directorate General for Competition, Philip Lowe, the First Advocate General of the European Court of Justice, Prof. Juliane Kokott, the Chairman of the Monopolies Commission, Prof. Jürgen Basedow, the President of the Federation of German Industries, Jürgen Thumann, the co-publisher of Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Holger Steltzner, the President of the Federal Court of Justice, Prof. Günter Hirsch, the Mayor of the City of Bonn, Bärbel Dieckmann, and the President of the Federal Audit Office, Prof. Dieter Engels.

Representatives of international organisations and the presidents of foreign competition authorities, e.g. Bruno Lasserre, President of the French competition authority, and Thomas Barnett, Head of the US competition authority, will also participate in this event.
On the occasion of the Bundeskartellamt’s 50th anniversary the Federal Ministry of Finance is to issue a special issue stamp which will be officially presented to the President of the Bundeskartellamt, Dr. Heitzer, during the anniversary ceremony.

Use of cookies

Cookies help us to provide our services. By using our website you agree that we can use cookies. Read more about our Privacy Policy and visit the following link: Privacy Policy

OK