Clemens Binninger
| Clemens Binninger | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Bundestag | |
|
In office 2002 – 2017 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
24 April 1962 Bonndorf, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany (now Germany) |
| Citizenship | German |
| Nationality | Germany |
| Political party | CDU |
| Alma mater |
|
| Occupation | Politician |
Clemens Binninger (born 24 April 1962 in Bonndorf, Baden-Württemberg) is a German politician and member of the CDU (conservative party). Binninger was a member of the Bundestag from 2002 until 2017.
Political career
Binninger was first elected in the 2002 elections and then re-elected in 2005, 2009 and 2013, representing the electoral district of Böblingen. Before becoming member of the German parliament, he used to work in police services and also as head of division in the department of the interior of the state of Baden-Württemberg.
Binninger was a full member of the Committee of Internal Affairs and deputy chairman of the Parliamentary Control Panel (PKGr), which provides parliamentary oversight of Germany’s intelligence services BND, BfV and MAD. In April 2014, he briefly served as head of the German Parliamentary Committee investigating the NSA spying scandal but stepped down after six days.[1] He is also a member of the German-Israeli Parliamentary Friendship Group.
In addition, Binninger is a member of the International Police Association (IPA) and the German-American-center/James F. Byrnes Institute Stuttgart. He was rewarded for special accomplishments in constitutional law.
In September 2016, Binninger announced that he would not stand in the 2017 federal elections but instead resign from active politics by the end of the parliamentary term.[2]
Political positions
When German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble announced plans in 2008 to set up a central communications monitoring agency in Cologne for use by the police and intelligence agencies, modeled after the US's NSA and the UK's GCHQ, Binninger publicly expressed his support for the proposal, calling it "an ideal concentration of know-how."[3] In late 2016, Binninger was one of the driving forces behind a long-delayed reform package for Germany's BND, allowing for interception of communications of foreign entities and individuals on German soil and abroad which pass through the Deutscher Commercial Internet Exchange (DE-CIX) in Frankfurt.[4]
In April 2014, the Left Party and the Greens sought to petition for a subpoena to Edward Snowden in the very first session of the German Parliamentary Committee investigating the NSA spying scandal, but Binninger's CDU/CSU parliamentary group rejected the move. Indeed, Binninger unexpectedly resigned in response, saying that he stepped down to protest opposition efforts to turn the committee into a "Snowden circus." In his statement, Binninger said that Snowden was not of particular interest as a witness.[5]
Other activities
- Research Forum on Public Safety at the Free University of Berlin, Member of the Steering Committee
- Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW), Baden-Württemberg chapter, President
- International Police Association (IPA), Member
- German European Security Association (GESA), Member of the Executive Board (2009–2013)
- Federal Academy for Security Policy (BAKS), Member of the Advisory Board (2005–2012)
References
- ↑ Berlin's NSA inquiry loses chairman, Deutsche Welle, April 9, 2014
- ↑ Eckart Lohse (September 16, 2016), Binninger kandidiert nicht wieder für den Bundestag Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
- ↑ Marcel Rosenbach and Holger Stark (22 May 2008), Controversial Strategy: Germany Plans to Centralize Intelligence-Gathering Activities Spiegel Online.
- ↑ Joseph Nasr and Sabine Siebold (October 21, 2016), German parliament approves controversial espionage law Reuters.
- ↑ Investigating Surveillance: German Parliament Divided over Snowden Subpoena Der Spiegel, 14 April 2014.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Clemens Binninger. |
- Official website (in German)