Juergen Backhaus acquired his diploma in Economics, Management Sciences and Political Sciences in Konstanz in 1973, where he also achieved his licentiate degree in Law in 1976 and did his doctorate under Gerard Gäfgen in 1985. From 1986, Juergen Backhaus was a professor of Public Finance at the University of Maastricht. Since March 1994, he publishes the European Journal of Law and Economics. Since 2001 he holds the Krupp Foundation Chair in Public Finance and Fiscal Sociology at the University of Erfurt. Juergen Backhaus was announced honorary doctor of the University of Thessaly in 2004.