Biography

Elementary school, classical language and humanities high school, Abitur 1967. Military service 1967 to 1969. Subsequently studied political science, sociology, modern history and social economics at the universities of Bochum and Oxford (England) from 1969 to 1975; diploma 1972, doctorate in social sciences 1975.

Freelance work as a lecturer in adult education and continuing education at various academies, foundations, associations and companies; lecturer in political science at the Universities of Applied Sciences in Bochum (Economics Department) and Hagen (Public Administration).

Publications in the field of party research and on economic and sociopolitical problems.

Member of the CDU since 1966; deputy district chairman of the CDU Bochum from 1977 to 1985, deputy state chairman of the Junge Union Westfalen-Lippe from 1978 to 1984, member of the state executive committee of the CDU North Rhine-Westphalia since 1986 and chairman of the CDU district association Ruhrgebiet. Member of the Bochum City Council from 1975 to 1980; Deputy Chairman of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation since March 2001.

Member of the Bundestag since 1980; 1983 to 1989 Vice Chairman of the Committee on Election Scrutiny, Immunity and Rules of Procedure and Chairman of the German-Brazilian Parliamentary Group. April 21, 1989 to November 10, 1994 Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Education and Science, from November 17, 1994 to the Federal Minister of Economics, May 15, 1997 to October 26, 1998 to the Federal Minister of Transport. 1995 to 1998 Federal Government Coordinator for Aerospace; since 1996 Chairman of the CDU Regional Group of North Rhine-Westphalia, 1998 to 2002 Cultural and Media Policy Spokesman of the CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group, October 2002 to October 18, 2005 Vice President and since October 18, 2005 President of the German Bundestag.
- IMDb mini biography by: Christian_Wolfgang_Barth