Yves Flückiger was born on 2 December 1955 and holds a degree in Economics and Sociology as well as a doctorate in Political Economy from the University of Geneva. He has served as a research fellow at Harvard and Oxford, has been a visiting professor at the universities in Fribourg and Lausanne, and a senior lecturer at Australia's Deakin University. He joined the Faculty at the University of Geneva in 1992, directing the University Employment Observatory and the Leading House center of excellence in Education Economics. He has authored numerous books as well as more than 120 articles in international peer-reviewed journals.
His teaching at the University of Geneva focused on labor economics, industrial organization, and public finances. He has directed numerous projects supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation on the themes of migrations, wage discrimination, sexual segregation, new forms of employment, and child poverty. As head of the University Employment Observatory at the University of Geneva he coordinated a wide variety of research projects financed by public and private institutions. He was a member of the Competition Commission from 1996 to 2007, serving as Vice-President from 2003-2007, and was a scientific advisor to the Swiss national fund for scientific research from 1998-2008. From July 2007 to July 2015 he was Vice-Rector of the University of Geneva, responsible for finances, international relations, strategic planning, and the objectives agreement with the Council of State. Since 15 July 2015 he has been the Rector of the University of Geneva.
In February 2020, the plenary assembly of the swissuniversities elected Yves Flückiger, as President. He will hold this office from February 2020 to January 2023 in parallel with his activity as head of the University of Geneva.
