Elmar Brok

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Elmar Brok (born May 14, 1946 in Verl, Kreis Gütersloh) is a German Member of the European Parliament and the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. He was elected on the CDU ticket and sits with the European People's Party group. An MEP since 1980, he has held many leadership positions in German and European politics. As a member of the Convention on the Constitution for Europe and in the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Mr Brok contributed crucially to the Constitution of the European Union.

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[edit] Positions in the European Parliament

  • Member since 1980
  • Member of the fraction of the European Peoples Party and European Democrats (member of the board of directors)
  • Chairman of the Committee on Forreign Affairs
  • Substitute of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs
  • Member of the delegation for the relations with the United States

[edit] Curriculum Vitae

Mr Brok studied law and politics in Germany and at the Centre for European Governmental Studies at the University of Edinburgh. Formerly, he worked as a radio journalist and newspaper correspondent.

Mr Brok has held numerous leadership positions for the Christian Democratic Party in Germany, including Deputy Federal Chairman of the Junge Union (CDU youth section) (1973-1981), Chairman of the CDU Federal Committee on Foreign and Security Policy (1989-1999), CDU District Chairman of Ostwestfalen-Lippe (since 1996), Secretary of the CDU Land Executive of North Rhine-Westphalia (since 1996), Chairman of the CDU Federal Committee on European policy (since 1999), Assistant Chairman of the International Democrat Union (since 1991), Deputy Chairman of the European Union of Christian Democratic Workers (since 1991), and Chairman of the European Union of Christian Democratic Workers.

Mr Brok has also held several leadership positions in the European Parliament, including Member of the European People’s Party (EPP) Political Bureau, Member of the EPP Group Bureau, Coordinator in the European Parliament committees on social affairs, drugs and German unity, European Parliament Representative on the Council's Reflection Group for Maastricht II, European Parliament Representative at the Intergovernmental Conference on the Treaty of Amsterdam, European Parliament Representative at the 2000 Intergovernmental Conference, and EPP coordinator in the European Convention.

He is Senior Vice President for Media Development at Bertelsmann. According to himself he does not take part in any votes on media issues. Though he made this occupation public from the beginning, this issue is being critically discussed in the German public. According to recent information broadcasted by German media his activities as lobbyist of Bertelsmann are also scrutinized by the EU Commission. According to journalist Lutz Mükke (2005) Brok used his influence to ban Hajo Friedrich, who published a critical aricle concerning Brok's muddy activities, from the political ressort of the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung". Former Chancellor Helmut Kohl once sarcastically summarized Brok's CV: "born, married, MEP." In an interview with the German newspaper "Die Tageszeitung" Brok reflected his activities and stated that for him politics was not profession, but hobby. Accordingly, critics of Brok call him a "hobbyist."

[edit] Honours

  • Federal Cross of Merit (First Class)
  • Grand Golden Decoration of the Republic of Austria
  • Order of Grand Officer of Luxembourg
  • Commander, Order of St. Gregory (appointed by Pope John Paul II, November 2002)
  • Member, Oxford Council on Good Governance
  • Dr. Alois Mock Prize for the European of the Year, Austria 2003
  • "MEP of the Year for 2003" awarded by European Voice following a Europe-wide vote

[edit] External links

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