Heinrich Hockmann, born 21 June 1959 in Papenburg, was a pronounced expert on the agricultural and food economies of Southern and Eastern Europe, Central Asia and China. In March 2000, Heinrich Hockmann joined IAMO. In his almost twenty years at our institute's Agricultural Markets Department, he made a significant contribution to establishing IAMO's industrial economics research as well as market and productivity analyses at the highest international level. He was one of the initiators of the renowned Halle Workshop on Efficiency and Productivity Analysis (HAWEPA), and also acquired and managed major international research projects. Utilizing complex analytical approaches, he decisively influenced the application-oriented discussion of modern agricultural value chains. He passed on his wealth of knowledge and his methodological and theoretical expertise to his colleagues, above all to the numerous PhD researchers he supervised.
Besides his professional impact, Heinrich Hockmann enjoyed the trust of all his colleagues. For many years, he acted as an ombudsman for good scientific practice. Heinrich Hockmann was without vanity and his dry Northern German humor will be remembered.
With heavy hearts, we bid farewell to a respected colleague who shaped IAMO for decades as an outstanding scientist and deputy head of department. With the passing of Heinrich Hockmann, IAMO has lost one of its most influential personalities, a highly esteemed colleague, and a friend. He will be greatly missed.
Our thoughts remain with his wife, Regina Steinberger, and his family.
On behalf of the Department of Agricultural Markets and the entire institute
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Thomas Glauben