The European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology was founded as a non profit association on the 3rd October 1987 in Luxembourg.

The idea of forming the EADV was suggested by Danish Professor Hans Rothenburg who at the time was the representative of Denmark in Union européenne des médecins spécialistes (UEMS). The UEMS, created after the creation of the EEC, initially consisted of six member states and grew to 9 members by 1973. During these years, there was a growing desire to harmonise the specialist training of Dermato-Venereology within the European Community. Shortly after, the concept of EADV was put forward, to promote the Continuing Medical Education (CME) to colleagues in European Countries, to harmonize specialist training of Dermato-Venereology and to deal with economic, political, and professional pressures on the specialty.

Following the signing of the formal statutes of the EADV, the EADV consisted of 21 founding members. Subsequently in 1989, an amendment to the statutes made it possible for colleagues who were specialists in their own countries across Europe to join this newly created academy.

Prof Emiliano Panconesi became the first President of EADV and led the organization of the inaugural Congress of EADV which took place in Florence in September 1989. The Congress was a great success with more than 3’000 participants. This was the beginning of a long history of EADV Congresses.

Today, EADV has over 11’000 members from all around the globe and is committed to building an international community that develops, shares, and adopts best practices within dermatology and venereology.