Matthias von Schwanenflügel is a German lawyer and civil servant who has been a Fellow of the German Institute for Human Rights e.V. and the Institute for the European Healthcare and Social Economy Sectors since March 2023. He is also an honorary professor at the University of Bremen and a lecturer at the University of Münster.

He studied law and economics at the University of Bremen, where he obtained his doctorate in law in 1991. He worked as a research assistant at the University of Bremen and as an EU Commission official before moving to the Federal Ministry of Health in 1991. There he worked in various departments and management areas, including as Head of Division for Medical Devices Law, Commissioner for the New Federal States, Deputy Head of the Minister's Office and Head of the Sub-Departments for Care Security, Budget, Law and Telematics. He was also the official data protection officer and head of the sub-department for pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.

In May 2014, he moved to the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, where he was responsible for demographic change, older people, welfare and sustainability as Ministerial Director and Head of Department 3 until November 2022. He was also the Ministry's Sustainability Officer. From January to May 2011, he was a consultant and fellow at the US Department of Health and Human Services in Washington DC. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Institute for the Promotion of Social Innovation in Cologne.