Frederik Paulsen Jr

Frederik Paulsen
Frederik Paulsen
Born	October 30, 1950 (age 76); Stockholm, Sweden
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, businessman
Known for	Non-executive chairman of Ferring Pharmaceuticals

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Frederik Paulsen Jr, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 11 August 2025

Frederik Paulsen is a Swedish billionaire entrepreneur who serves as the non-executive chairman of Ferring Pharmaceuticals.

Early life

Born on 30 October 1950 in Stockholm, Sweden, Frederik Dag Arfst Paulsen is the son of Frederik Paulsen Sr, the founder of Ferring Pharmaceuticals. Raised in Sweden alongside his father and stepmother, Dr. Eva Wolf Frandsen—one of Ferring’s pioneering researchers—Paulsen pursued studies in chemistry at Christian Albrecht University in Kiel, Germany, followed by business administration at Lund University in Sweden. He later obtained a doctorate in Demography from the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences in Paris.

Career

Since 2003, Paulsen has resided in Switzerland, where Ferring’s global headquarters are located in Saint-Prex. His professional activities concentrate mainly on the Ferring Pharmaceuticals Group, where he has held high-level executive positions beginning in 1976.

In addition to his pharmaceutical interests, Paulsen invests in sectors such as real estate and viticulture. He has also served on various boards, including a tenure on the board of tobacco giant Philip Morris International until 2023.

From 2009 through 2022, Paulsen acted as Honorary Consul for the Russian Federation in Lausanne, Switzerland, advancing to Honorary Consul General in 2015. In 2020, Queen Elizabeth II honored him with knighthood in the Order of St. John.

Exploration

Paulsen is an avid explorer. In 2007, alongside Russian explorer Artur Chilingarov and Australian scientist Mike McDowell, he descended more than 14,000 feet beneath the Arctic Ocean floor at the North Pole aboard a Russian MIR submersible to gather soil and biological samples. In 2010, he and François Bernard achieved the inaugural ultralight aircraft crossing of the Bering Strait from the United States to Russia.

By winter 2013, Paulsen had become the first individual to explore all eight of Earth’s poles.

Philanthropy

Holding the title of chairman emeritus at Ferring, Paulsen is a founding patron of The Peptide Therapeutics Foundation. He has actively supported establishing fertility clinics throughout Russia to combat demographic issues. His philanthropic contributions include approximately $40 million to the Museum Kunst der Westküste, along with significant donations to the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Bhutan’s Royal Textile Academy, and Scotland’s South Georgia Heritage Trust.

Honours and awards

Honorary Doctorate in Politics from Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Moscow, Russia.
Honorary Doctorate from Duncan of Jordanstone College at the University of Dundee, Scotland.
Ehrenbürgerschaft (Honorary Citizenship) awarded by Christian Albrecht University, Kiel, Germany.
Орден Дружбы (Order of Friendship), bestowed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Honorary Polar Explorer Medal from Aspol, Moscow, Russia.
མངའ་བདག་དཔལ་གྱི་འཁོར་ལོ། (Order of the Druk Gyalpo), conferred by King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan.
Silver Medal from the Russian Geographic Society.
Medal of Honour from Granada Dance and Music International Festival, Spain.
Knighted into the Order of St John by Queen Elizabeth II.
Recipient of Russia’s prestigious "Crystal Compass" national award.

External links