Gerd Langguth is a professor of political science at the University of Bonn

University of Bonn

The University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number...

 and the author of biographies of Angela Merkel

Angela Merkel

Angela Dorothea Merkel is the current Chancellor of Germany . Merkel, elected to the Bundestag from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000, and chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary coalition from 2002 to 2005.From 2005 to 2009 she led a...

 and Horst Köhler

Horst Köhler

Horst Köhler is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union. He was President of Germany from 2004 to 2010. As the candidate of the two Christian Democratic sister parties, the CDU and the CSU, and the liberal FDP, Köhler was elected to his first five-year term by the Federal Assembly on...

.

Early life

Gerd Langguth attended the Dietrich Bonhoeffer School, a humanist Gymnasium in Wertheim am Main

Wertheim am Main

Wertheim is a town in southwestern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg with a population of 24,202. It is located on the confluence of the rivers Tauber and Main.It is known for its wine, castle and medieval town centre.-Geography:...

 in Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...

.

University

While at university, from 1970 to 1974 Langguth was president of the Association of Christian Democratic Students

Association of Christian Democratic Students

The Association of Christian Democratic Students is a German student organisation founded in 1951.The organisation stands politically near the Christian Democratic Union, a conservative German political party.- Famous chairman :...

. He later worked for the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung in Stuttgart

Stuttgart

Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....

.

From 1976 to 1980, Gerd Langguth was a member of the Bundestag

Bundestag

The Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...

 for the Christian Democratic Union

Christian Democratic Union (Germany)

The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...

. He was a member of the executive committee of the CDU. From 1981 to 1985, Langguth was director of the Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung in Bonn. Between 1986 and 1987 he represented Berlin as a civil servant at a federal level. From 1988 to 1993, he was head of the European Commission

European Commission

The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....

's representation in Germany, in Bonn. From 1993 to 1997, Gerd Langguth was acting chairman of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung. From 2003 to 2004 he was active on the executive board of the Bürgerkonvent, a movement for political and economic reform.

Today, Langguth teaches Political Science

Political science

Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...

 at the University of Bonn. He is married to Susanne Langguth, who is a food chemist.

Teaching and publications

His works include biographies of Angela Merkel

Angela Merkel

Angela Dorothea Merkel is the current Chancellor of Germany . Merkel, elected to the Bundestag from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000, and chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary coalition from 2002 to 2005.From 2005 to 2009 she led a...

 and Horst Köhler

Horst Köhler

Horst Köhler is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union. He was President of Germany from 2004 to 2010. As the candidate of the two Christian Democratic sister parties, the CDU and the CSU, and the liberal FDP, Köhler was elected to his first five-year term by the Federal Assembly on...

. Some of his works have been translated into English.

Gerd Langguth lectures on European integration. He has also held lectures on international terrorism, German institutions, and political decision processes.