Franz Josef Jung | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Jung as Minister of Defence | |
| Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs | |
| In office 28 October 2009 – 27 November 2009 | |
| Chancellor | Angela Merkel |
| Preceded by | Olaf Scholz |
| Succeeded by | Ursula von der Leyen |
| Federal Minister of Defence | |
| In office 22 November 2005 – 27 October 2009 | |
| Chancellor | Angela Merkel |
| Preceded by | Peter Struck |
| Succeeded by | Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg |
| Member of theBundestag | |
| In office 2005–2017 | |
| Minister for Federal and European Affairs ofHesse | |
| In office 7 April 1999 – 7 September 2000 | |
| Preceded by | Norbert Schüren Rupert von Plottnitz |
| Succeeded by | Jochen Riebel |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1949-03-05)5 March 1949 (age 76) |
| Political party | Christian Democratic Union (CDU) |
| Alma mater | University of Mainz |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Website | franz-josef-jung |
Franz Josef Jung (born 5 March 1949) is a German politician of theChristian Democratic Union (CDU). He becameFederal Minister of Defence in theGrand coalition cabinet ofAngela Merkel on 22 November 2005.[1] In October 2009 he becameMinister of Labour and Social Affairs but resigned a month later.
After his military service, Jung studied law at theUniversity of Mainz and is alawyer andcivil law notary. In 1978 Jung successfully completed his doctoral studies at the University of Mainz and was hence awarded the title Dr. jur. (i.e. PhD in law).
In his political career, he held various party functions inHesse (currently as vice chairman of the CDU there) and also served as a state minister. As Minister-PresidentRoland Koch's chief of staff in theHesse chancellery, Jung resigned amid theCDU donations scandal in 2000.[2]
Even before entering the Bundestag, Jung was a CDU delegate to theFederal Convention for the purpose of electing thePresident of Germany in 1989, 1994, 1999 and 2004.[citation needed]
Following the2005 federal elections, Jung became a member of the GermanBundestag and joined thefirst cabinet ofChancellorAngela Merkel.[citation needed]
Between December 2005[3] and March 2009, Jung visited the German military bases inKunduz,Mazar-i-Sharif andFaizabad three times.[4][5] During a later trip to Northern Afghanistan in early April 2009, he joined German Chancellor Angela Merkel in visiting reconstruction efforts in Mazar-i-Sharif.[6]
In September 2007, Jung sparked a debate by his controversial assertion to shoot down jetliners in the case of a terrorist attack on Germany.[7]
Several politicians of the opposition parties as well as politicians from theSPD, especiallyReinhard Bütikofer andKurt Beck, described his move as "unconstitutional" and called for his resignation.[8]
In June 2007, Jung launched the F125 for $3 billion to the ARGE F125 consortium (ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems and Friedrich Lurssen Werft and Blohm + Voss) for 4 Frigates "without MK-41 missile launcher" (as for example has the previous F124 Sachsen class, able to pack enough missiles).[9]
In early 2008, Jung rejected a sharply worded letter from his United States counterpart,Robert Gates, asking that Germany send soldiers and helicopters to southern Afghanistan, where the heaviest fighting was taking place at the time. Instead, Jung announced that Germany would deploy a rapid reaction force in northern Afghanistan to replace Norwegian troops.[10]
On 27 November 2009, Jung tendered his resignation as Minister of Labour and Social Affairs because of theKunduz airstrike inAfghanistan of 4 September 2009.[11] The airstrike was against two fuel tankers that had been hijacked by theTaliban, but also resulted in thedeaths of dozens of civilians.[12] Jung's resignation was over allegations that, whilst he was Defence Minister, he intentionally downplayed the possibility that civilians had been killed in the airstrike.[13] A video taken by the AmericanF-15 fighter bomber involved in the airstrike was leaked to the newspaperBild and is said to have clearly depicted civilians in the target area.[13] However, it is not clear whether Jung knew about the video when he had denied that civilians were killed.[14] Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg succeeded Jung as minister of defence[11] and Ursula von der Leyen replaced him in the post he was holding at the time of his resignation as federal minister of labour.
Jung's resignation came a day after the resignation ofWolfgang Schneiderhan, theChief of Staff of theBundeswehr, and Peter Wichert, a senior Defence Ministry official.[12] Their resignations were described as Germany's "biggest military shake-up in more than two decades" and have been claimed as proof that the defence ministry actively suppressed information about the incident.[13][15]
From 2009 until 2013, Jung was a member of the parliamentary body in charge of selecting the judges of the Highest Courts of Justice, namely theFederal Court of Justice (BGH), theFederal Administrative Court (BVerwG), theFederal Fiscal Court (BFH), theFederal Labour Court (BAG), and theFederal Social Court (BSG).
After the2013 elections, Jung was appointed deputy chairperson of theCDU/CSU parliamentary group in charge of food, agriculture and consumer protection. Following the death ofAndreas Schockenhoff, he took on the foreign policy portfolio in early 2015.
In July 2016, Jung announced that he would not stand in the2017 federal elections and resign from active politics by the end of the parliamentary term.[16] In March 2017, it was announced that Jung is to join the supervisory board of defence and automotive engineering groupRheinmetall.[17]
Ahead of the Christian Democrats’leadership election in 2018, Jung publicly endorsedFriedrich Merz to succeed Angela Merkel as the party's chair.[18]
Jung is a Roman Catholic. He is married with three children and lives inErbach, Rheingau.
Media related toFranz Josef Jung at Wikimedia Commons| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Norbert Schüren, Rupert von Plottnitz | Hessian Minister for Federal and European Affairs 1999–2000 | Succeeded by Jochen Riebel |
| Preceded by | German Minister of Defence 2005–2009 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | German Minister of Labour and Social Affairs 2009 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
