General Meeting

The General Meeting of the members of the Max Planck Society is the principle governing body of the Society. At the General Meeting, the scientific members adopt amendments to the statutes, elect the Senators, receive the Annual Report, audit and approve the annual accounts, and resolve the dissolution of the Board of the Society.

The General Meeting has a long tradition: until 1927 it was held annually in Berlin. However, as the number of members outside Prussia grew, the Society wanted to have a presence there as well. In 1928 the annual meeting was held in Munich, in 1930 in Heidelberg. The General Meeting in Frankfurt/M. was already attended by 1,400 people. The location was often determined by an inauguration of an institute. The supporting program included steamboat trips, concerts, and receptions by the inviting city.

The last analog General Meeting took place in Hamburg in 2019 and has since only been held virtually due to the ongoing pandemic.