Since July 1st 2022 Heinz Faßmann is President of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

Faßmann concluded his studies in Geography and Economic and Social History at the University of Vienna with a PhD in social history and a habilitation in Human Geography and Spatial Planning. In 1992 he became the director of the Institute of City and Regional Research of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. After being appointed Professor of Applied Geography (Geo-Informatics) at the Technical University Munich in 1996 and a Professor for Applied Geography, Spatial Research and Regional Planning at the University of Vienna in 2000, he was nominated the Dean of the Faculty of Geosciences, Geography and Astronomy of the University of Vienna in 2006. In 2011 he became the Vice-Rector of Human Resources and International Relations and in 2015 the Vice-Rector for Research and International Affairs of the University of Vienna. He has served as Austrian Federal Minister of Education, Science and Research since January 2020 to December 2021 and served in the same capacity from December 2017 to June 2019. 

Faßmann was the Chair of the Expert Council for Integration at the Austrian Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs, a founding member of the Expert Council of German Foundations for Integration and Migration in Berlin.

He is a permanent member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Academia Europaea and his achievements have been recognized with a number of awards.