Ralph Watzel

Ralph Watzel is a German hydro-geologist and the President of the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), which is subordinated to the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.

He was appointed President of the federal geological survey of Germany in 2016. He had been elected to a two year term (2021-22) as President of EuroGeoSurveys. 

After more than 10 years of practical international experience as hydrogeologist, he worked as consultant for sustainable development at Ministry of Economy of Baden-Württemberg from 2001 to 2006. From 2006 to 2016 he was the head of the regional geological survey and mining authority of Baden-Württemberg.

He is a graduate of the Technical University Karlsruhe and postgraduate of Freiburg University, where he is engaged in academic teaching since 2000. In 2007 he completed a management education at St. Gallen university, Switzerland.