Jürgen Möllemann | |
|---|---|
 Möllemann in 2002 | |
| Vice Chancellor of Germany | |
| In office 18 May 1992 – 21 January 1993 | |
| Chancellor | Helmut Kohl |
| Preceded by | Hans-Dietrich Genscher |
| Succeeded by | Klaus Kinkel |
| Minister of Economics | |
| In office 18 January 1991 – 21 January 1993 | |
| Chancellor | Helmut Kohl |
| Preceded by | Helmut Haussmann |
| Succeeded by | Günter Rexrodt |
| Minister of Education and Science | |
| In office 12 March 1987 – 18 January 1991 | |
| Chancellor | Helmut Kohl |
| Preceded by | Dorothee Wilms |
| Succeeded by | Rainer Ortleb |
| Leader of theFree Democratic Party in theLandtag of North Rhine-Westphalia | |
| In office 1 June 2000 – March 2003 | |
| Preceded by | Achim Rohde(1995) |
| Succeeded by | Ingo Wolf |
| Leader of theFree Democratic Party inNorth Rhine-Westphalia | |
| In office 1996 – 20 October 2002 | |
| Deputy | Ulrike Flach |
| Preceded by | Joachim Schultz-Tornau |
| Succeeded by | Andreas Pinkwart |
| In office 1983–1994 | |
| Preceded by | Burkhard Hirsch |
| Succeeded by | Joachim Schultz-Tornau |
| Member of theBundestag forNorth Rhine-Westphalia | |
| In office 17 October 2002 – 5 June 2003 | |
| Succeeded by | Michael Kauch |
| Constituency | Free Democratic Party List |
| In office 13 December 1972 – 5 June 2000 | |
| Succeeded by | Ina Albowitz |
| Constituency | Free Democratic Party List |
| Member of theLandtag of North Rhine-Westphalia | |
| In office 1 June 2000 – 5 June 2003 | |
| Succeeded by | Daniel Sodenkamp |
| Constituency | FDP List |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 15 July 1945 |
| Died | 5 June 2003(2003-06-05) (aged 57) Marl-Loemühle,North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany |
| Political party | Christian Democratic Union (1962–1969) Free Democratic Party (1970–2003) Independent (2003) |
Jürgen Wilhelm Möllemann (15 July 1945 – 5 June 2003) was a Germanpolitician of theFree Democratic Party (FDP) who served as Minister of State at theForeign Office (1982–1987), asMinister of Education and Research (1987–1991), asMinister of Economics (1991–1993) and as thevice chancellor of Germany (1992–1993) in the government ofChancellorHelmut Kohl.
Jürgen Möllemann was born inAugsburg,Bavaria,Germany, on 15 July 1945. He took hisAbitur in 1965, served his military service as aparatrooper in theBundeswehr, and subsequently studied to become a teacher of German, sports and history at thePädagogische Hochschule (teachers' college) inMünster from 1966 to 1969. He was president of theDeutsch-Arabische Gesellschaft (German-Arabic Society) from 1981 to 1991 and from 1993 until his death in 2003.
Möllemann was initially a member of theChristian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1962 to 1969, but later on became a member of theliberalFree Democratic Party (FDP) in 1970. He was a member of theBundestag from 1972 to 2000 and again from 2002 to 2003. He was president of the FDP in the state ofNorth Rhine-Westphalia from 1983 to 1994 and again from 1996 to 2002, and also was the chairman of the FDP faction in the state parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia from June 2000 to October 2002.
UnderChancellorHelmut Kohl, Möllemann occupied several cabinet positions in the 1980s and early 1990s. He served as Minister of State at theForeign Office (1982–1987), asMinister of Education and Research (1987–1991), asMinister of Economics (1991–1993) and as thevice chancellor of Germany (1992–1993). Möllemann left the cabinet in 1993 after facing criticism for using an officialletterhead for advertising a relative's business idea (the so-calledBriefbogen-Affäre).
In the2002 federal election, Möllemann produced a flyer criticizingIsraeli Prime MinisterAriel Sharon's actions againstPalestinians and CDU politicianMichel Friedman's endorsement of those actions; the flyer was regarded asantisemitic by some, and the debate surrounding these events led to Möllemann leaving the FDP in March 2003 and resigning his position as party leader in North Rhine-Westphalia; however, he kept his seat in the Bundestag without party affiliation, despite promises to resign from it.
Möllemann, a passionate and experiencedskydiver, died on 5 June 2003 in a parachuting incident atMarl-Loemühle.[1] His death was investigated by theEssen district attorney's office, which published a final report on 9 July 2003. While outside interference was ruled out, no definite verdict was reached on whether Möllemann committedsuicide or suffered an accident.[2]
Shortly before his death, Möllemann had been confronted with allegations he had been involved in illegalarms dealing andevaded taxes on millions of euros he allegedly earned from those activities. To enable a full investigation on these charges, the Bundestag lifted hisparliamentary immunity on 5 June 2003 at 12:28, twenty-two minutes before his death. The tax evasion charges were dropped after his death, while other investigations are ongoing.[3]
Möllemann was married to Carola Möllemann-Appelhoff, with whom he had two daughters.
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| Preceded by | Vice-Chancellor of Germany 1992–1993 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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