Albert Scharf studied law, history, and philosophy before working at the Bavarian State Ministry of Finance in 1966, where he soon became their legal director. From 1973 to 1990 Scharf was the deputy to the organisations acting director. In 1990 he became the director of Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), a public-service radio and television broadcaster based in München, staying in the role until 2001. Overlapping with his spell at BR he also served as the President of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) from 1983 to 2000. With the EBU he led the negotiations to secure the rights to sports broadcasts for international events, including the Olympic Games. For his work in this area Scharf was awarded with the Olympic Order in Silver in 2000. In 2006 he was appointed as an advisor to the Vatican Media Council by Pope Benedict XVI.
Germany