Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer | |
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Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer in 2015 | |
Minister-President of Saarland | |
Incumbent | |
Assumed office 10 August 2011 | |
Preceded by | Peter Müller |
Member of the of Saarland Regional Parliament | |
Incumbent | |
Assumed office September 1999 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Völklingen, Germany | 9 August 1962
Nationality | German |
Political party | CDU |
Alma mater | Saarland University University of Trier |
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (born 9 August 1962 in Völklingen)[1] is a German politician of the CDU. Since 10 August 2011, she is the current Minister-President of the Saarland,[2] succeeding Peter Müller. In 1998, she was a member of the Bundestag, the German federal parliament.[1]
Background and Education
Kramp-Karrenbauer is from a conservative Catholic family. Between 1984 and 1990 she studied political science and law at University of Trier and Saarbrucken. Between 1991 and 1998 she was a policy officer for CDU Saarland.
Between 2000 and 2004, Kramp-Karrenbauer served as State Minister on Internal Affairs in the government of Minister-President Peter Müller; she was the first woman to hold that office in Germany.
In the negotiations to form a coalition government following the 2009 federal elections, Kramp-Karrenbauer was part of the CDU/CSU delegation in the working group on education and research policy, led by Annette Schavan and Andreas Pinkwart.
In January 2012, Kramp-Karrenbauer ended a coalition that included the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) and blamed the party for “dismantling itself.”[3] She said that her three-party coalition – including the Greens as well as the FDP and her own CDU – had lost the necessary “trust, stability and capacity to act” with the liberals. Under Kramp-Karrenbauer’s leadership, the CDU won the state election shortly after, in what was widely regarded the first electoral test of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s crisis-fighting policy since the beginning of the European debt crisis;[4] meanwhile, the FDP was ejected from the state parliament after taking just 1.2 percent.[5]
Between 2011 and 2014, Kramp-Karrenbauer also served as Comissioner of the Federal Republic of Germany for Cultural Affairs under the Treaty on Franco-German Cooperation.
In the negotiations to form a so-called Grand Coalition following the 2013 federal elections, Kramp-Karrenbauer was part of the CDU/CSU delegation’ leadership team.
Political positions
Amid her party’s campaign for the 2013 federal elections, Kramp-Karrenbauer suggested Germany return to a top income tax rate above 50 percent, setting off a fierce debate within her party. In her view, Chancellor Angela Merkel's predecessor Gerhard Schröder had gone too far by reducing the top rate to 42 percent from 53 percent in the 1990s.[6] In May 2014, she was among leading members of Merkel’s CDU who called for reductions to offset the fiscal drag – the automatic increases in the tax take that occur as inflation and income growth push wage-earners into higher tax brackets.[7]
Other activities
- Central Committee of German Catholics, Member
- Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Member
- Max Planck Society, Member of the Senate
- Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Member of the Board of Trustees
- RAG-Stiftung, Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Trustees
- Talat Alaiyan Foundation, Patron
- German Foundation of School Sports, former Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees
- Foundation for the Cultural Heritage of Saarland, former Ex-Officio Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees
Personal life
Kramp-Karrenbauer is married to a mining engineer and has three children.[8] An avid reader and self-described AC/DC fan,[9] she speaks French and continues to take lessons to improve her command of the language.[10]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Biography as Member of Parliament
- ↑ Official Website of the Minister-President
- ↑ Anthony Czuczka and Brian Parkin (April 16, 2012), Merkel Seen Turning to Euro Bond-Backing SPD to Win in 2013 Bloomberg News.
- ↑ Anthony Czuczka and Brian Parkin (March 26, 2012), Merkel’s Party Wins Saarland State in Show of Crisis Backing Bloomberg News.
- ↑ Anthony Czuczka and Brian Parkin (April 16, 2012), Merkel Seen Turning to Euro Bond-Backing SPD to Win in 2013 Bloomberg News.
- ↑ Noah Barkin (March 24, 2013), Merkel ally backs double-digit hike in top tax rate Reuters.
- ↑ Stefan Wagstyl (May 8, 2014), Angela Merkel sees no ‘room for manoeuvre’ on tax cuts Financial Times.
- ↑ http://www.cdu-saar.de/content/persons/13494.htm
- ↑ Leon Mangasarian (May 23, 2013), German SPD Seen by Merkel Party Leader Turning to Left Bloomberg News.
- ↑ Leon Mangasarian (May 23, 2013), Strained Franco-German Ties Worry Merkel Party Saarland Premier Bloomberg News.
External links
Media related to Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer at Wikimedia Commons
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