Established by Royal Decree on April 6, 1913, at the initiative of Nicolae D. Xenopol, the Minister of Industry and Commerce, and of a group of young economists who had attended leading universities from Germany, France and England, the Academy of High Commercial and Industrial Studies was the first economic higher education institution established in Romania. The Bucharest University of Economic Studies is and wishes to remain the most prestigious institution of higher economic and public administration education in Romania and to rank amongst the top universities in Europe, as regards the content and modernity of the teaching and learning process, the dynamism of innovation, the implication in strategic partnerships with representatives of the national and international economic and social environment.