Peter Hartz was the human resources executive at the German public company Volkswagen AG (VW). Twenty percent of Volkswagen's shares are owned by the state of Lower Saxony

Lower Saxony

Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...

. Hartz became notable as adviser to German chancellor and former head of the state of Lower Saxony

Lower Saxony

Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...

 Gerhard Schröder

Gerhard Schröder

Gerhard Fritz Kurt Schröder is a German politician, and was Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany , he led a coalition government of the SPD and the Greens. Before becoming a full-time politician, he was a lawyer, and before becoming Chancellor...

, for whom Hartz
developed the so called Hartz-reforms

Hartz concept

The Hartz concept is a set of recommendations that resulted from a commission on reforms to the German labour market in 2002. Named after the head of the commission, Peter Hartz, it went on to become part of the German government's Agenda 2010 series of reforms, known as Hartz I - Hartz IV...

of the German labour market and job agencies - the German welfare benefit, 'Hartz IV', is called after the fourth stage of his reforms.

Resignation

On 8 July 2005 Hartz offered his resignation
(which was accepted a few days later)
amidst allegations of wrongdoings in his area of responsibility at
Volkswagen, which include :

1. kickbacks to Volkswagen managers from bogus companies doing real estate business with Volkswagen, especially at the Czech
   Czech Republic
   The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
   
    subsidiary Škoda Auto
   Škoda Auto
   Škoda Auto , more commonly known as Škoda, is an automobile manufacturer based in the Czech Republic. Škoda became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group in 2000, positioned as the entry brand to the group...
   
   ;
2. favours to members of the workers council (Betriebsrat), which are illegal under German law (the chairman of the workers council, Klaus Volkert, had resigned 30 June 2005), and;
3. the use of prostitutes at the company's expense, sometimes in company-owned apartments and under the influence of Viagra, which had been prescribed by the company's medical service.

Conviction

Following a deal with the prosecution, Hartz confessed to the charges, and on 25 January 2007, he was convicted to a prison term of 2 years, but set free on probation, and to a fine of 576.000 Euro.

See also

• article about the scandal at Volkwagen in Peter Hartz's area of responsibility in the German Wikipedia