Heinz Fassmann studied geography and economic and social history at the University of Vienna, graduating with a doctorate. He continued as a scholar at the Institute for Higher Studies (Department of Sociology, Vienna) and the Commission for Spatial Research of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW). From 1992 to 1995, and from 2006 to 2017, Heinz Fassmann served as Director of the Institute for Urban and Regional Research at the OeAW. In 1996, he took up a professorship for applied geography at the University of Munich. He moved to the University of Vienna as a professor for the same subject in 2000. From 2006 to 2011, he served as Dean of the Faculty of Earth Sciences, Geography and Astronomy, until 2015 as Vice-Rector for Human Resources Development and International Relations, and until 2017 as Vice-Rector for Research and International Affairs at the University of Vienna.

He has received several scientific awards and is author of numerous publications, particularly in the fields of migration and integration research, urban geography and spatial planning.

Heinz Fassmann served as Austrian Federal Minister for Education, Science and Research from 2017 to 2019, and from 2020 to 2021.

He has been a full member of the Austrian Academy since 2007. In July 2022, he took the post as OeAW-President.