Markus Hilgert (born 11 August 1969) is a German Assyriologist and cultural manager. Currently, he is the president of the Berlin University of the Arts. From 2018 until 2025, Hilgert served as Secretary General and CEO of the Cultural Foundation of the German Federal States, and from 2014 until 2018, as the director of the Vorderasiatisches Museum at the Pergamonmuseum in Berlin. From 2007 until 2014, Hilgert was a tenured professor of Assyriology at Heidelberg University.
Hilgert is a member of several governing bodies and advisory boards, including the German Commission for UNESCO (since 2016)., the Foundation Board of the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas (ALIPH; since 2017), and the Advisory Board of the Arcadia Fund (since 2020).
Hilgert holds honorary professorships at Heidelberg University, Marburg University, and Free University Berlin. In 2016, Hilgert was named National Correspondent for the German National Committee of the Blue Shield, part of the Blue Shield network, protecting heritage in armed conflict. From 2017 until 2018 he served as founding president of the German National Committee of the Blue Shield. In 2021, Hilgert established the Cultural Emergeny Alliance (Notfallallianz Kultur) in Germany.
