Over the course of his influential career, Hermann Habermann MS’70, PhD’75 has shaped how governments around the world understand their data, their people, and their economies. As former chief statistician of the United States and director of the United Nations Statistical Division, he helped build the statistical systems and standards that inform decision-making at the highest levels of government.
Habermann’s international impact makes him a fitting recipient of a 2026 CDIS Distinguished Achievement Award. For him, the roots of his accomplished career trace back to UW–Madison and its Department of Statistics, which shaped how he thought about problems. “It was a very collegial atmosphere,” he said, where graduate students felt comfortable asking senior faculty — such as department founder and longtime professor George Box — about the statistical challenges of the day. Those conversations, paired with a formative early role at the Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, laid the foundation for a career devoted to public service and statistical leadership.
A Wisconsin education opens doors
Habermann arrived at UW–Madison during a turbulent moment in campus history. The Dow Chemical protests and a local National Guard presence surrounded his graduate years, but inside the statistics department, he found a culture of curiosity and genuine intellectual exchange. The collegiality was so strong that, Habermann remembered, “George [Box] came over and started talking to us graduate students, and he said, essentially, ‘You guys are having too much fun.’”
Nonetheless, Habermann’s experience in the Statistics department helped him land a summer job at the Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, a research unit of the U.S. Forest Service. “I did that job for three summers, then they offered me a full‑time job. That started my career in public service,” he said. It also gave him a sense of how far a Wisconsin degree could carry him. Throughout his career, “UW gave me credibility,” he reflected. Being a Badger alum “gets you in the door.”
Serving the public through statistics
From the Forest Products Laboratory, Habermann moved into roles that placed him at the center of federal statistics. At the Office of Management and Budget, he worked on large‑scale computing and data systems. As chief statistician of the United States, he helped guide national statistical policy, overseeing the launch of the Interagency Council on Statistical Policy, created to strengthen coordination between statistical agencies, as well as the Joint Program in Survey Methodology, which aimed to expand education and training in survey statistics and methodologies. Later, at the United Nations, he contributed to global standards such as the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics, which shapes how countries measure economic activity and ensure the integrity of official data.
Across these roles, Habermann valued chances to work with people from around the world. “I learned a lot about the world, about culture, about people. That was one of the greatest benefits of what I did,” he said. Relationships built over decades of international collaboration remain among the accomplishments he treasures most. “Now, when my wife Joan and I travel, we have the opportunity, almost anywhere we go, to have dinner and real conversations with people.”
“The lifeblood of democracy”
In recent years, as Habermann has watched the field of federal statistics evolve, one principle has remained constant for him: the central role of data in a democratic society. “Federal statistics are the lifeblood of democracy — reliable, unbiased information for people to make decisions,” he said. This foundational belief guided his work across agencies and continents, and it continues to shape how he views the challenges facing the field today.
Hermann Habermann’s career, from Madison to the heights of national and international statistical leadership, makes him an exemplary recipient of the 2026 CDIS Distinguished Achievement Award.
Meet all eight of the 2026 CDIS Distinguished Achievement Award winners.