Hans-Gert Pöttering
Encyclopedia
Hans-Gert Pöttering is a German conservative politician (CDU
, European People's Party
), and was the President
of the European Parliament
from January 2007 to July 2009. On 4 December 2009 he was elected Chairman of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation
.
He has served as a Member of the European Parliament
continuously since the first elections in 1979
and thus is its longest-serving member, and was Chairman of the European People's Party-European Democrats 1999–2007.
He is a member of the Reconciliation of European Histories Group
.
, the University of Geneva
, the Graduate Institute of International Studies
in Geneva and at Columbia University
in New York. He took his first state exam in jurisprudence in 1973, earned a PhD in political science and history in 1974 and took his second state exam in jurisprudence in 1976.
since 1979, the only member of the European Parliament to have served continuously since the first elections.
From 1984 to 1994 he was chairman of the Subcommittee on Security and Defence. From 1994 to 1996 he chaired the working group on the Intergovernmental Conference of the European People's Party
(EPP) and EPP-ED Group, the results of which became the official EPP position for the Treaty of Amsterdam.
In 1994 he became Vice-President of the EPP, and from 1999 to 2007 he was the Chairman of the EPP-ED Group in the European Parliament. He was the top candidate of the CDU
in the 2004 European elections. He also is a member of the Executive Board (Präsidium) of the CDU.
He is Deputy Chairman of the Advisory Board of A Soul for Europe.
, Danish Eurosceptic Jens-Peter Bonde
and French Communist Francis Wurtz
.
. He has stated that his priority will be to rejuvenate the European Constitution.
in Belgium. Pöttering is Roman Catholic, divorced and has two sons.
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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...
, European People's Party
European People's Party
The European People's Party is a pro-European centre-right European political party. The EPP was founded in 1976 by Christian democratic parties, but later it increased its membership to include conservative parties and parties of other centre-right perspectives.The EPP is the most influential of...
), and was the President
President of the European Parliament
The President of the European Parliament presides over the debates and activities of the European Parliament. He or she also represents the Parliament within the EU and internationally. The President's signature is required for enacting most EU laws and the EU budget.Presidents serve...
of the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
from January 2007 to July 2009. On 4 December 2009 he was elected Chairman of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation
Konrad Adenauer Foundation
The Konrad Adenauer Foundation is a German political party foundation associated with the centre-right Christian Democratic Union . The foundation's headquarters are located in Saint Augustine and Berlin. Globally, the KAS has 78 offices and runs programs in over 100 countries...
.
He has served as a Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
continuously since the first elections in 1979
European Parliament election, 1979
The 1979 European elections were parliamentary elections held across all 9 European Community member states. They were the first European elections to be held, allowing citizens to elect 410 MEPs to the European Parliament, and also the first international election in history.Seats in the...
and thus is its longest-serving member, and was Chairman of the European People's Party-European Democrats 1999–2007.
He is a member of the Reconciliation of European Histories Group
Reconciliation of European Histories Group
The Reconciliation of European Histories Group is an informal all-party group in the European Parliament involved in promoting the Prague Process in all of Europe, aimed at coming to terms with the totalitarian past in many countries of Europe...
.
Education
He studied law, political science and history in University of BonnUniversity 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...
, the University of Geneva
University of Geneva
The University of Geneva is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland.It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin, as a theological seminary and law school. It remained focused on theology until the 17th century, when it became a center for Enlightenment scholarship. In 1873, it...
, the Graduate Institute of International Studies
Graduate Institute of International Studies
The Graduate Institute of International Studies, best known as HEI , was founded in 1927 as one of the first institutions in the world dedicated to the study of international relations...
in Geneva and at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in New York. He took his first state exam in jurisprudence in 1973, earned a PhD in political science and history in 1974 and took his second state exam in jurisprudence in 1976.
Political career
He has been a member of the European ParliamentEuropean Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
since 1979, the only member of the European Parliament to have served continuously since the first elections.
From 1984 to 1994 he was chairman of the Subcommittee on Security and Defence. From 1994 to 1996 he chaired the working group on the Intergovernmental Conference of the European People's Party
European People's Party
The European People's Party is a pro-European centre-right European political party. The EPP was founded in 1976 by Christian democratic parties, but later it increased its membership to include conservative parties and parties of other centre-right perspectives.The EPP is the most influential of...
(EPP) and EPP-ED Group, the results of which became the official EPP position for the Treaty of Amsterdam.
In 1994 he became Vice-President of the EPP, and from 1999 to 2007 he was the Chairman of the EPP-ED Group in the European Parliament. He was the top candidate of the CDU
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...
in the 2004 European elections. He also is a member of the Executive Board (Präsidium) of the CDU.
He is Deputy Chairman of the Advisory Board of A Soul for Europe.
President of the European Parliament
As part of a deal with the socialist group, it was agreed that he would succeed Josep Borrell Fontelles as President of the European Parliament in the second part of this term, which he did on 16 January 2007. He was elected with 450 of 689 valid votes, and defeated Italian Green Monica FrassoniMonica Frassoni
Monica Frassoni is an Italian politician and was a Member of the European Parliament for the North West of Italy until 2009. She is a member of the Italian Green Party, part of the European Greens. Frassoni was co-chair, together with Daniel Cohn-Bendit, of the European Greens–European Free...
, Danish Eurosceptic Jens-Peter Bonde
Jens-Peter Bonde
Jens-Peter Rossen Bonde is a former Member of the European Parliament with the June Movement. He resigned as an MEP in May 2008. Bonde was elected to the European Parliament in the first election in 1979 with the People's Movement against the EU. He has been re-elected 6 times consecutively...
and French Communist Francis Wurtz
Francis Wurtz
Francis Wurtz was a French Member of the European Parliament from 1979 till 2009. Elected in the Île-de-France constituency on the French Communist Party ticket, he sits with the European United Left - Nordic Green Left group, and is its current President...
.
Platform
Pöttering is known as an enthusiastic European Federalist and an ally of Angela MerkelAngela 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...
. He has stated that his priority will be to rejuvenate the European Constitution.
Awards
Pöttering has received the Robert Schuman Medal of EPP-ED, the Grand Order of Merit of Germany, the Grand Decoration of the Republic of Austria, the Mérite Européen en or of Luxembourg, the European Honorary Senator, the ‘MEP of the year 2004’, award given by the newspaper ‘European Voice’, an Honorary Doctorate from Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Opole, Poland, the Grand Cross of the Order of St Gregory the Great,Grand Order of Queen Jelena with Sash and Star, Croatia, the Walter Hallstein Prize 2007, Frankfurt am Main, European Excellence Award 2008 of the Autonomous Community of Madrid ('Premio a la Excelencia Europea 2008'), and the Grand Ernst Moritz Arndt Medal of the Pomeranian Exiles Association. On Tuesday 24 June he was awarded the 'Cavaliere di Gran Croce Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana', the highest honour of the Republic of Italy, at a ceremony conducted by the Italian State President, Giorgio Napolitano.Private life
He lives in BrusselsBrussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
in Belgium. Pöttering is Roman Catholic, divorced and has two sons.
Works
- Adenauers Sicherheitspolitik 1955 – 1963. Ein Beitrag zum deutsch-amerikanischen Verhältnis, Droste Verlag 1975, ISBN 3770004124
- Europas Vereinigte Staaten, Editio Interfrom 2000, ISBN 3720152375, with Ludger Kühnhardt
- Weltpartner Europäische Union, Edition Interfrom 2001, ISBN 3720152529, with Ludger Kühnhardt
- Kontinent Europa. Kern, Übergänge, Grenzen, Edition Interfrom 2002, ISBN 3720152766, zusammen mit Ludger Kühnhardt
- Von der Vision zur Wirklichkeit. Auf dem Weg zur Einigung Europas, Bouvier 2004, ISBN 3416030532
External links
- Biography from the official EU Parliament web site
- Official website
- President Pöttering looks back at 30 years of European elections Last retrieved 24-11-08
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmK-f88gcx8 Pöttering states European Parliament makes 75% of the laws passed by the European Union.
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