Stefan Tangermann is director for food, agriculture and fisheries at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris, France. A professor of economics and agricultural economics for more than twenty-five years, his academic work has concentrated, among others, on the need and options for reforming agricultural policies in OECD countries, and on strengthening the rules for agricultural trade. Dr. Tangermann has been professor of agricultural economics at the University of Göttingen since 1980 where he has also served as the director of the Institute of Agricultural Economics, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, and Vice-President. Dr. Tangermann has been a member of the Scientific Advisory Council of the Federal Ministry of Consumer Protection, Food, and Agriculture in Germany since 1976, and from 1994 to 2000, Dr. Tangermann was a member of the Science Council of Germany, where he also served as chairman of the Scientific Committee and of several working groups. He is a member of the Academy of Science at Göttingen and of the Executive Committee of the International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium. Dr. Tangermann holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Göttingen.