Prussian House of Representatives
After studying first Theology and then Politics in Halle, Van der Borght in 1884 became syndic of the Chamber of Commerce in Aachen. From 1892 to 1900 he held the Chair of National Economics at the Technischen Hochschule Aachen. For two years (1898-1900) he was a member of the Prussian House of Representatives. In 1901 he became a privy councillor, and from 1904 to 1912 served as Chairman of the "Kaiserliches Statistisches Amt" (Imperial Office of Statistics) in Berlin.