Prof. Dr. Joachim Breuer, is the former Director General of the German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV); President of the International Social Security Association (ISSA), a United Nations organization located in Geneva; and is Professor at the Institute for Social Medicine and Epidemiology in the Department of Insurance Medicine at the University of Lübeck. Dr. Breuer studied law at the Universities of Bonn and Berlin, obtaining his degree in 1984, and became a doctor of law in 1985. He joined the Federation of German Accident Insurance Institutions (the HVBG) and in 1995 he became Director General of the accident insurance and prevention institution for the German mining industry. In 2002, he became the Director General of the HVBG, now the DGUV, the umbrella organization of all German accident insurance funds in the industrial sector. He also holds leading positions in several other German institutions and organizations. In 2014, he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit for his honorary commitment.