In the decades after 1945, new structures were created for science policy in the Federal Republic. To the establishment of the post war framework Heisenberg contributed as much as any other figure. This was true even though, on the whole, he took no great pleasure in the venture, nor was he always particularly adept at it. His conceptions revolved around certain key notions: autonomy and centralization, elite advisory bodies and relationships of trust, modernization and international standards. These show up at many levels of his activity, from the Max Planck Society to national and international advisory committees to the Humboldt Foundation itself. His opinions were shaped by encounters in the Federal Republic, but they also grew out of his experience of the Third Reich. At a moment like the present, when the post war settlement is under review, it is interesting to reflect on the inherited system: on the extent to which it reflects the situation of the post war decades and the intuitions of those who, like Heisenberg, created it.