From the far north to Thuringia
Maren Brechtefeld is to be the new chancellor of the Music University in Weimar
On Monday, 27 January, the University of Music FRANZ LISZT Weimar's University Assembly elected a new chancellor by a large majority: political scientist Maren Brechtefeld (50) will take office on 1 July 2025. She is currently still serving as chancellor of the Flensburg University of Applied Sciences. Prior to that, Maren Brechtefeld gained many years of experience in various areas of academic administration at the Christian-Albrechts-Universität in Kiel.
The Chairman of the University Assembly and Chairman of the University Council, Dr Rüdiger Nolte, said of the election: ‘Ms Brechtefeld presented herself convincingly to the University Assembly – both as a personality and in terms of her professional qualifications. I am sure that she will do the university a great service. The tasks of the chancellor are very challenging, but Ms Brechtefeld has a wealth of experience to draw on in order to master these tasks with communication and empathy.’
‘I am very much looking forward to working with Ms Brechtefeld, who will join the University of Music's management team as chancellor on 1 July,’ adds University President Prof. Anne-Kathrin Lindig. ‘I am convinced that Ms Brechtefeld's expertise and open manner will help to guide the university into a stable and secure future.’
‘Weimar is a beautiful city with an incredible amount of culture,’ says the chancellor-designate Maren Brechtefeld. ’I am very excited about new fields of activity with different priorities. Personally, I am very pleased about the trust placed in me. At the university, everyone is united under the umbrella of music: I find that a very attractive guiding principle. It is important to be a modern, well-equipped teaching and research location. The university also plays an important role as a transfer provider to society and as an attractive employer.’
Born and raised in Schleswig-Holstein, Maren Elisabeth Brechtefeld first completed an apprenticeship as a bank clerk. She then studied political science at the Christian-Albrechts-Universität (CAU) in Kiel, with economics and history as subsidiary subjects. At the same university, and for a time at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Ms Brechtefeld was able to expand her experience in various university fields of activity in a range of staff, steering and management roles.
In 2018, she left the Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences at Kiel University to become managing director of the Faculty of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences. In 2023, Maren Brechtefeld was elected Chancellor of Flensburg University of Applied Sciences.
[29 January 2025]