Cand.phil. in History and and Former Director for the A.P. Møller Foundation (A.P. Møller og Hustru Chastine Mc-Kinney Møllers Fond til almene Formaal).
With a background as a historian, culture and roots have been a dominant aspect of Tvarnø's academic occupation, and he has written multiple books about Rome and European history.
Furthermore, he is a member of the board in Fondenes Videnscenter, former director of Folketinget (2001-2008), and former rector at SDU (1993-2001). As Rector he was behind the merger between Odense University and a number of educational institutions, which became what today goes by the name of the University of Southern Denmark.