Lothar Binding

Lothar Binding and Frank-Walter Steinmeier

Lothar Binding (born 1 April 1950 in Sandershausen, Niestetal) is a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).

Early life

Binding was born in Sandershausen. After his apprenticeship as a heavy- current electrician (1965–1968) he graduated Hesse College (Abitur) in 1972. Following his national civil service as a nurse’s helper he studied mathematics, physics and philosophy at the universities of Heidelberg and Tübingen. In 1981 he obtained a Diplom degree in mathematics and physics at Ruprecht Karl University Heidelberg. Following his Diplom he worked as a technician and from 1987 until 1998 as an IT specialist at the Computer Center of Heidelberg University where he was responsible for planning, creating and operating local networks and high speed networks for data processing. Binding is married and has two sons.

Political career

In 1965, Binding joined both the SPD and the Metal Industry Union (IGM). From 1986 until 1994 he served as the chairman of the SPD district association in Heidelberg. In 1989, he was elected to the city council and in 1994 he became chairman of the SPD faction of Heidelberg until 2000. Since 1998 he has been a member of the German Bundestag (lower house of Parliament) and represented Heidelberg until 2005. From 2002 until 2005 he was the assistant spokesman of the working financial policy group in the SPD parliamentary committee. He is the correspondent of the budget committee for the ministry of justice and the Bundesverfassungsgericht (federal constitutional court). He was the initiator of the bipartisan group resolution which laid the groundwork for the anti-smoking legislation in Germany including the federal legislation in 2007 and some German states' legislation in the following years.

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