The Supervisory Board of Merck KGaA has elected Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Simson as its new Chairman. On January 1, 2006 he will succeed Peter Zühlsdorff, who will remain a member of the Supervisory Board.

Simson, 67, has been a member of the Supervisory Board since April 2004. Simson, who holds a doctorate in chemistry, was Chairman of the Board of Management of VIAG AG from 1998 to 2000 and then served as Co-Chairman of the Board of Management of E.ON AG from mid-2000 to 2003. In addition, Simson was President of the German Chemical Industry Association (VCI) from 2001 to 2003. Since July 2004, he has been a member of the Board of Partners of E. Merck OHG, which represents the economic interests of the Merck family and is the general partner of Merck KGaA with a 73 percent interest in the company.

Peter Zühlsdorff, 64, has been a member of the Supervisory Board since 1995 and became Chairman of this body in October 2003. He was Chairman of the Management Board of Wella AG in Darmstadt from 1991 to 1995. He began his career with Wella in 1978. Zühlsdorff was appointed Managing Partner of Deutsche Industrie-Holding (DIH) in Frankfurt in 1997. He has been Chief Executive Officer of Duales System Deutschland AG (DSD) since January 2005.