Hans-Gert Pöttering
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| Hans-Gert Pöttering | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 16 January 2007 |
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| Vice President | |
| Preceded by | Josep Borrell |
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Leader of the European People's Party–European Democrats
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| In office 1999-07-20 – 2007-01-16 |
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| Preceded by | Wilfried Martens |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Daul |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 1979-07-12 |
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| Preceded by | first election |
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| Born | September 15, 1945 Bersenbrück, Germany |
| Political party | CDU; EPP (EPP-ED group) |
| Children | Johannes and Benedict |
| Residence | Bad Iburg, Germany |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Signature |  |
| Website | europarl.europa.eu/president |
Hans-Gert Pöttering (often written as Poettering; born September 15, 1945 in Bersenbrück, Lower Saxony) is a German conservative politician (CDU,European Peoples Party), and has been President of the European Parliament since January 2007.
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[edit] Education
He studied law, political science and history in University of Bonn, the University of Geneva, the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva and at Columbia University in New York. He took his first state exam in jurisprudence in 1973, earned a Ph.D. in political science and history in 1974 and took his second state exam in jurisprudence in 1976.
[edit] Political career
He has been a member of the European Parliament since 1979, one of only 14 members of the European Parliament to have served continuously since the first elections.
From 1984 to 1994 he was chairman of the Subcommittee on Security and Defence. From 1994 to 1996 he chaired the working group on the Intergovernmental Conference of the European People's Party (EPP) and EPP-ED Group, the results of which became the official EPP position for the Treaty of Amsterdam.
In 1994 he became Vice-President of the EPP, and from 1999 to 2007 he was the Chairman of the EPP-ED Group in the European Parliament. He was the top candidate of the CDU in the 2004 European elections. He also is a member of the Executive Board (Präsidium) of the CDU.
[edit] President of the European Parliament
As part of a deal with the socialist group, it was agreed that he would succeed Josep Borrell Fontelles as President of the European Parliament in the second part of this term, which he did on 2007-01-16. He was elected with 450 of 689 valid votes, and defeated Italian Green Monica Frassoni, Danish Eurosceptic Jens-Peter Bonde and French Communist Francis Wurtz.
[edit] Commission Speculation
From the beginning of May 2008 there have been rumors in the parliament's magagazine [www.theparliament.com] of Hans-Gert Pöttering becoming the next Commissioner of Germany succeeding socialist Günter Verheugen. It is widely known that Angela Merkel wants to nominate a Christian Democrat as Commissioner designate for the next Commission mandate 2009-2014 and Pöttering is seen by many as a strong and properly qualificated contestant for the job.
[edit] Platform
Pöttering is known as an enthusiastic European federalist and an ally of Angela Merkel. He has stated that his priority will be to rejuvenate the European Constitution.
[edit] Awards
Pöttering has received the Schuman Medal, the Grand Order of Merit of Germany, the Grand Decoration of the Republic of Austria and the Mérite Européen en or.
[edit] Private life
He lives in Bad Iburg near Osnabrück. Pöttering is Roman Catholic, divorced and has two sons [1].
[edit] Works
- Adenauers Sicherheitspolitik 1955 - 1963. Ein Beitrag zum deutsch-amerikanischen Verhältnis, Droste Verlag 1975, ISBN 3770004124
- Europas Vereinigte Staaten, Edition Interfrom 2000, ISBN 3720152375, with Ludger Kühnhardt
- Weltpartner Europäische Union, Edition Interfrom 2001, ISBN 3720152529, with Ludger Kühnhardt
- Kontinent Europa. Kern, Übergänge, Grenzen, Edition Interfrom 2002, ISBN 3720152766, zusammen mit Ludger Kühnhardt
- Von der Vision zur Wirklichkeit. Auf dem Weg zur Einigung Europas, Bouvier 2004, ISBN 3416030532
[edit] External links
- Biography from the official EU Parliament web site
- Official website
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Josep Borrell Fontelles |
President of the European Parliament 2007–2009 |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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| Preceded by Wilfried Martens |
Chairman of the EPP-ED 1999–2007 |
Succeeded by Joseph Daul |
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