Biography

1973 Abitur at the Schillerschule Hanover. Studied political science, constitutional law and economics in Göttingen, Bonn, Harvard (USA). 1974 to 1975 research assistant in the Department of Economics (University of Göttingen), 1980 examination (M. A.), 1982 Dr. phil.

1981 to 1984 employee of the Governing Mayor of Berlin, lastly as Head of the Personal Office, 1984 to 1989 Press Spokesman of the Federal President. Numerous publications, including: The Human Rights Policy of the USA (1983); Richard von Weizsäcker. Ein Portrait aus der Nähe (1990); Der Friede bleibt bedroht - Europäische Sicherheitspolitik im 21. Jahrhundert (1998); Ehrenwort - Das System Kohl und der Neubeginn (2000); Weckruf für Europa - Verfassung, Vereinigung, Verteidigung (2002); Ein neuer Weltkrieg? - The Challenge of Islamism (2004).

Member of the Indo-German Advisory Group of the German government, the Advisory Board of the International Crisis Group (ICG), the Board of Trustees of the Theodor Heuss Foundation, the Presidium of the DGAP and the Board of "Gegen Vergessen - Für Demokratie e. V.".

Joined the CDU in 1971; federal chairman of the RCDS from 1977 to 1978, member of the federal executive committee of the Junge Union from 1977 to 1985; deputy chairman of the European Democrat Students (EDS) from 1976 to 1978, chairman of the CDU's Federal Committee on Security Policy since September 1999; deputy state chairman of the CDU in Lower Saxony since June 1998; member of the CDU's Executive Committee since April 2000.

Member of the Bundestag since 1990, spokesman on disarmament policy for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group from 1994 to 1998, Chairman of the Committee on European Union Affairs from 1998 to 2002, spokesman on foreign policy for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group from 2002 to 2005; Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Defense since November 2005.

Retired by resignation on November 25, 2006, succeeded by Mr. Hans Peter Thul, CDU/CSU
- IMDb mini biography by: Christian_Wolfgang_Barth