Reinhard Bütikofer

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Reinhard Hans Bütikofer (born January 26, 1953) is a German politician for the Alliance 90/The Greens party and one of the two current party leaders, together with Claudia Roth.

Bütikofer was born in Mannheim and grew up in Speyer. He studied philosophy, sinology and history in Heidelberg, but did not finish his studies. He was engaged in the student's movement and one of the "K groups", the maoistic Kommunistischer Bund Westdeutschland (KBW). From the 1980s onwards, he became active in Heidelberg municipal politics for the Green-Alternative List.

In 1984, he was elected into the town council of Heidelberg and became member of the Green party, the starting point of his political carrier with Alliance 90/The Greens. In 1988, he was elected in the Landtag (state parliament) of Baden-Württemberg. He was Member of the Landtag until 1996.

After a "family year", in 1997 Bütikofer became co-chairman of the Baden-Württembergian Green party. Two years later he was elected secretary general of the federal party. In December, 2002 he became co-chairman of the federal party. On 3 March 2008 he announced not to stand again as a party chairman and to run for European Parliament in 2009.

Bütikofer's father was a post office worker and his mother was a housewife. He has fathered three daughters with Henriette Katzenstein. In 2001, he married Renee Krebs.