Hans-Gert Pöttering | |
|---|---|
 Pöttering in 2014 | |
| President of the European Parliament | |
| In office 16 January 2007 – 14 July 2009 | |
| Vice President | Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou |
| Preceded by | Josep Borrell |
| Succeeded by | Jerzy Buzek |
| Leader of theEuropean People's Party-European Democrats | |
| In office 20 July 1999 – 16 January 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Wilfried Martens |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Daul |
| Member of the European Parliament forGermany | |
| In office 17 July 1979 – 30 June 2014 | |
| Chair of theKonrad Adenauer Foundation | |
| In office 1 January 2010 – 1 December 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Bernhard Vogel |
| Succeeded by | Norbert Lammert |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1945-09-15)15 September 1945 (age 80) Bersenbrück, Germany |
| Political party | Christian Democratic Union |
| Children | Johannes Benedict |
| Residence(s) | Bad Iburg,Germany |
| Alma mater | University of Bonn University of Geneva Graduate Institute of International Studies Columbia University |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Website | Official website |
Hans-Gert Pöttering (born 15 September 1945) is a German lawyer, historian and conservative politician (CDU,European People's Party), who served asPresident of the European Parliament from January 2007 to July 2009 and as Chairman of the CDU-affiliatedKonrad Adenauer Foundation from 2010 to 2017.
He served as aMember of the European Parliament continuously since the first elections in 1979 until 2014 and was Chairman of theEuropean People's Party-European Democrats 1999–2007. When he stepped down in 2014 he was the European Parliament's longest-serving member. As president of the European Parliament, he proposed the creation of theHouse of European History museum in Brussels.[citation needed]
Pöttering never got to know his father who waskilled in action during the last days of theSecond World War. AfterAbitur and military service, he studied law, political science and history at theUniversity of Bonn, theUniversity of Geneva, theGraduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva and atColumbia University in New York. He took his first state exam in jurisprudence in 1973, earned a PhD in political science and history in 1974 with a dissertation on West German defence policy in the 1950s and 1960s and took his second state exam in jurisprudence in 1976, fully qualifying as an attorney.[citation needed]
Pöttering was a member of theEuropean Parliament from 1979 until 2014. By the end of this period, he was the only member of the European Parliament to have served continuously since the first elections.
From 1984 to 1994, Pöttering was chairman of theSubcommittee on Security and Defence. From 1994 to 1996, he chaired the working group on the Intergovernmental Conference of theEuropean People's Party (EPP) andEPP-ED Group, the results of which became the official EPP position for theTreaty of Amsterdam.
In 1994, Pöttering became Vice-President of the EPP, and from 1999 to 2007, he was the Chairman of theEPP-ED Group in the European Parliament. He was the top candidate of theCDU in the2004 and the 2009 European elections.
Together withVolker Hassemer, he is a member of the advisory board of the pro-European initiative "A Soul for Europe". He was a member of theReconciliation of European Histories Group.[1]
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As part of a deal with the socialist group, it was agreed that he would succeedJosep Borrell Fontelles as President of the European Parliament in the second part of the 2004–2009 term, which he did on 16 January 2007. He was elected with 450 of 689 valid votes, and defeated Italian GreenMonica Frassoni, Danish EuroscepticJens-Peter Bonde and French CommunistFrancis Wurtz.
As President of the European Parliament, he initiated theHouse of European History project. He made reference to the House in his inaugural speech in 2007.[2]For many years, he has been the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of theHouse of European History inBrussels.
On 4 December 2009, Pöttering was elected Chairman of theKonrad Adenauer Foundation from 1 January 2010; he was succeeded byNorbert Lammert in 2018.
When the EPP membership of Hungarian partyFidesz was suspended in 2019, EPP presidentJoseph Daul appointed Pöttering – alongsideHerman van Rompuy andWolfgang Schüssel – to a group of high-level experts who were mandated to monitor Fidesz's compliance with EPP values.[3][4]
Pöttering is known as an enthusiasticEuropean Federalist and an ally ofAngela Merkel. He has stated that his priority will be to rejuvenate theEuropean Constitution.
In February 2020, Pöttering joined around fifty former European prime ministers and foreign ministers in signing an open letter published by British newspaperThe Guardian to condemnU.S. PresidentDonald Trump'sMiddle East peace plan, saying it would create anapartheid-like situation in occupied Palestinian territory.[5]
Germany: Great Cross with Star and Sash of theOrder of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (2010)[6]
Austria: Grand GoldenDecoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (2002)
Holy See: Grand Cross of thePapal Order of St Gregory the Great (2007)
Croatia: Great Cross of Merit of theGrand Order of Queen Jelena with Star and Shoulder Ribbon (2007)
Italy: 1st Class of theOrder of Merit of the Italian Republic (2008)
Ukraine: 2nd Class of theOrder of Prince Jaroslaw the Wise (2008)
Latvia: Grand Cross of theOrder of the Three Stars (2009)
Portugal: Grand Cross of theOrder of Merit (Portugal) (2009)
France: Commander of theLegion of Honour (2011)
Spain: Grand Cross of theOrder of Civil Merit of the Kingdom of Spain (2011)
Poland: Knight Commander's Cross of theOrder of Merit of the Republic of Poland (2013)
Lithuania: Commander of theOrder for Merits to Lithuania (2013)
Hungary: Grand Cross of theOrder of Merit of the Hungarian Republic (2013)
Estonia: 1st Class of theOrder of the Cross of Terra Mariana (2013)
Romania: Grand Cross of theOrder of the Star of Romania (2014)
Tunisia: Grand Officer of theNational Order of Merit of the Republic of Tunisia (2016)[7]
Luxembourg: Mérite Européen Medal in Gold, Fondation du Mérite européen (2002)Pöttering lives inBad Iburg,Germany. He is Roman Catholic, divorced and has two sons.[11]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Leader of theEuropean People's Party-European Democrats 1999–2007 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | President of the European Parliament 2007–2009 | Succeeded by |
