Professor Marek Ratajczak was born in Jaroslaw in 1954. He specialises in macroeconomy and history of economic thought. He has authored publications on the development and quality of higher education, in particular in the area of economic sciences, and on infrastructure (especially the economic infrastructure). He is a titular professor of economic sciences (2000). He received his MSc in economics at the Faculty of Production Economics of the Poznań University of Economics in 1977. In 1982, he received a doctorate in economics, and in 1990 the title of doctor habilitatus.

In the years 2002 – 2008 he was the Vice-Rector for Staff and University Development at the Poznań University of Economics. In 2002 he became the Head of the Chair of Theory and History of Economics. Since 2008 he has also been employed at the Higher School of Management and Banking in Kraków. From January 2011 to his appointment as the Undersecretary of State he was a member of the Committee for Evaluation of Scientific Units and the Chair of the Commission for Humanities and Social Sciences within the Committee. Professor Marek Ratajczak is an elected member of the Committee of Economic Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences. He is a member of the Polish Economic Society, the Forum Association of Management Education and the European Society of History of Economic Thought.

He is married, with one daughter.

Professor Marek Ratajczak is responsible for the financial policy of the science and higher education sector, in both budget lines. He is also in charge of European affairs, in particular cooperation between Poland, Denmark and Cyprus under the trio of the EU Council Presidencies. He is also in charge of programmes and tasks resulting from Poland’s, membership in the European Union, he participates in the work of the Committee for European Affairs and parliamentary commissions dealing with EU matters. Professor Ratajczak supervises the processing of applications for co-financing statutory activities from the funds allocated to science and coordinate instruments serving quality grants. He cooperates with the Committee for Evaluation of Scientific Units of the Polish Academy of Sciences.