Karl-Theodor Maria Nikolaus Johann Jacob Philipp Franz Joseph Sylvester Buhl-Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg (born 5 December 1971), known professionally asKarl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, is aGerman businessman, author, journalist, podcaster, and former politician of theChristian Social Union (CSU). He served as a member of theBundestag from 2002 to 2011, as Secretary-General of the CSU from 2008 to 2009, asFederal Minister for Economics and Technology in 2009 and asFederal Minister of Defence from 2009 to 2011.
After the discovery of extensive plagiarism in his doctoral dissertation and the decision of theUniversity of Bayreuth to revoke his doctorate, an affair known as theGuttenberg plagiarism scandal, he resigned from all political posts in March 2011.
In 2011, Guttenberg joined theCenter for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Guttenberg is the chairman and a founder ofSpitzberg Partners, an advisory and investment firm based in New York City.[5][6]
In 1991, after finishing high school (Gymnasium) inRosenheim,[7][8] Guttenberg completed his mandatory military service reaching the rank ofSergeant.[9] Guttenberg studiedlaw at theUniversity of Bayreuth,[10] where he passed the first legalstate examination (said to be the equivalent of amaster's degree) in 1999. Guttenberg chose not to pursue the second state examination (the equivalent of abar exam),[11] and focused on running the Munich-based "Guttenberg GmbH" holding[12] where, along with a few employees, he managed his family's significant assets and various participations.[10] Due to the holding's low revenue and small number of employees, it was said that Guttenberg had exaggerated his business experience.[13] The Guttenberg GmbH had assets under management of at least a quarter billion euros, including a 26.5 percent stake inRhön-Klinikum AG,[14] which was sold in March 2002 toBayerische Hypo- und Vereinsbank for 260 million euros.[15] From 1996 to 2002, Guttenberg was a member of theboard of directors of Rhön-Klinikum AG.[16] Until September 2004, he was a managing director of the KT-Kapitalverwaltung GbR in Munich.[17]
In2002, Guttenberg was elected to theBundestag as the representative ofKulmbach. He was reelected in2005, winning 60.0% of the votes in his constituency. In2009, he was reelected again with 68.1% of the votes in his district, obtaining the highest percentage of votes of all elected representatives in Germany for that election cycle.[26]
From October 2005 to November 2008,[27] Guttenberg served as chairman of theCDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag's Foreign Affairs Committee[28] and as spokesman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag's Committee on disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control. He also chaired the CSU Foreign Policy Expert Committee[29] and the German-British parliamentary group during that time.[30][31]
In early 2004, Guttenberg introduced the concept of aPrivileged Partnership between Turkey and theEuropean Union as a viable alternative toaccession of Turkey to the European Union into the German political discourse.[32][33] Guttenberg based his opposition to full Turkish membership in the EU on the country's insufficient fulfillment of relevant accession criteria,[34] for example with regard to theCyprus dispute.[35] At the same time, he stressed the necessity of maintaining good relations with Turkey and was therefore critical of a French initiative to criminalize the denial of theArmenian genocide.[36]
Guttenberg also repeatedly warned of the looming threat posed to German and European security byIran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.[37] However, he rejected taking rash military action againstIran and instead called for an international diplomatic effort to deal with Tehran's nuclear program.[38][39] As a Member of Parliament, he was a strong critic of the far-left partyDie Linke, which he accused of links toterrorists.[40] He was also a member of theEuropa-Union Parliamentary Group of the German Bundestag and a member of the Board of Trustees of the FoundationMemorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.[41]
As secretary-general, Guttenberg called for tax cuts,[46][47] an increase in family benefits[47] and structural reforms within the CSU to foster more direct political participation of the party base.[48] In addition to domestic policy he also emphasized his focus on international affairs.[49]
During the2008 financial crisis, several major German banks were near failure, includingHypo Real Estate, which received €102 billion of credit and guarantees from Germany's bank rescue fund.[54] In this case, Guttenberg opposed an overly hasty nationalization of Hypo Real Estate,[55] which he considered only as "ultissima ratio, a measure of the very last resort".[56] A few months later he drafted a legislative proposal to minimize the financial risks of failing banks,[57][58] which caused controversy[59] but later became the foundation of the German bank restructuring bill.[60][61]
In the case of troubled German companies asking for state aid, including automakerOpel[62] and now-defunct mail-order serviceArcandor/Quelle,[63] Guttenberg was reluctant to commit government resources. He insisted on strict conditionality, including restructuring, and limited support to only those companies which were otherwise competitive but were temporarily affected by the crisis.[63]
In November 2008, Opel had appealed for governmental assistance because of severe financial problems facing its American parent,General Motors (GM).[64] In 2009, Opel employed 25,000 workers in Germany and indirectly supported 50,000 additional jobs through its supplier network.[64] In March 2009, Guttenberg made his first visit to the US as economics minister, focusing his trip on the future of Opel.[65] In his talks withU.S. Treasury SecretaryTimothy Geithner, the director of theUnited States National Economic Council,Lawrence Summers, andRick Wagoner, thenCEO of General Motors, Guttenberg demanded that GM provide a viable restructuring plan for Opel as a precondition for receiving financial assistance from the German state.[66][67] Guttenberg and Wagoner agreed on the necessity of a private investor for Opel.[68]
After Guttenberg's visit to the US, negotiations between the German government, GM, and potential Opel investors, includingFiat and Canada'sMagna International, were stalled by GM and theU.S. Treasury.[69][70] In contrast to Merkel and other German political leaders, Guttenberg preferred insolvency for Opel rather than the infusion of unconditional financial assistance from the German state.[71] Because of the resultant financial risks to the German state, Guttenberg opposed the sale of Opel to Magna International, favoured by Chancellor Merkel,[72] and—according to media coverage—even offered his resignation over the controversy.[73][74] The Opel-Magna deal later failed,[75] and Opel remained a subsidiary of GM, who had to reimburse financial assistance to Germany.[76] In the summer of 2009, he surpassed Angela Merkel as the most popular politician in Germany.[77]
According to German press reports, Chancellor Merkel offered Guttenberg the choice between theinterior and thedefence ministries while negotiating the distribution of ministerial posts within the new coalition government.[79][80] Guttenberg decided to opt for the defence portfolio[81][82] and took the oath of office on 28 October 2009[83] as part of theSecond Cabinet Merkel. He was the youngest-ever Germandefence minister in the post-war era.[84]
The first political challenge facing defence minister Guttenberg was dealing with theKunduz airstrike of 4 September 2009. Initially, he adopted the position of his predecessorJung and defended the air strike as "militarily appropriate". However, in contrast to Jung, Guttenberg conceded that the strike had also caused civilian casualties.[85] After Guttenberg had received additional information and investigative reports dating back to the tenure of his predecessor Jung, Guttenberg changed his position concerning the "Kunduz airstrike"[86] and dismissedBundeswehrChief of StaffSchneiderhahn and Parliamentary State Secretary of Defence Wichert on 26 November 2009.[87]
Jung, who in the meantime had assumed the position oflabor minister in the second Merkel cabinet, took full political responsibility for the delay in sharing relevant Kunduz air strike information and resigned the following day.[88]
At the demand of the opposition parties, the Bundestag subsequently established a special investigative committee to shed light on the defense ministry's communications policy in connection with the Kunduz air strike.[89][90]The final report of the Bundestag's special investigative committee cleared Guttenberg from the accusation that he had been responsible for the defence ministry's inadequate communications policy following the Kunduz strike.[91][92] The findings were supported by members from the ruling CDU/CSU-FDP coalition while the opposition parties criticized the special investigative committee's report[93] and later published their own account of the investigation.[94][95]
Shortly after taking office, Guttenberg publicly compared the situation faced by Bundeswehr soldiers inAfghanistan to "war".[84][96][97][98] In doing so, Guttenberg broke a major political taboo since up until then Germany's political leadership – including the Chancellor and previous defense ministers – had only referred to the Afghanistan intervention as a "stabilization deployment".[90][99][100]The new classification of the Bundeswehr's Afghanistan deployment as "war" improved the legal status of German soldiers operating under international law.[101]
Guttenberg attempted to elevate public perception of Germany's Afghan mission by personally participating – sometimes along with the Chancellor – at funeral services held for fallen Bundeswehr soldiers.[102][103] In November 2010, Guttenberg established theCombat Action Medal of the Bundeswehr, which is awarded for bravery in combat and to soldiers who were the targets of terrorist or military attacks.[104][105][106]
At the political level, Guttenberg spoke out strongly against a military withdrawal from Afghanistan. He specifically warned against imposing fixed troop withdrawal timetables that do not take into account the security situation on the ground.[107][108] Furthermore, Guttenberg also demanded a stronger involvement of key neighboring states such as Russia, India, and China in the resolution of the Afghan conflict.[109][110]In light of the traditionally challenging security situation in Afghanistan, Guttenberg called for the development of an internationally coordinated long-term security strategy – based on the use of special forces and close intelligence cooperation within the coalition – to stabilize the country even after the eventual withdrawal of all foreign troops.[111]
During his tenure as defense minister, Guttenberg made nine visits to Afghanistan and the German soldiers deployed there.[112][113] To gain a first-hand understanding of the situation on the ground and the military risks of the Bundeswehr's mission, Guttenberg went several times to the frontlines of the Afghan conflict.[114][115] He also invited journalists to accompany him on these trips in an effort to educate the wider German public about the nature of the Bundeswehr deployment in Afghanistan.[116] In December 2010, Guttenberg traveled to Afghanistan along with his wife Stephanie to visit with the troops before the Christmas holidays.[117] In addition, he was also accompanied by German TV moderatorJohannes B. Kerner,[118] who hosted his prime-time talk show at the Bundeswehr camp inMazar-i-Sharif featuring the Guttenbergs and German soldiers deployed there.[119] While other German media and the opposition parties sharply criticized Guttenberg for allowing Kerner to host his show in Afghanistan,[120][121][122] the reaction by the German troops and the general public was predominantly positive.[123][124]
In early 2010, Guttenberg decided to push for fundamental Bundeswehr reforms in an effort to address the structural deficits within the German armed forces[125][126] and to deal with declining defense budgets.[127] The overall goal was to boost the Bundeswehr's expeditionary capabilities[128] while, at the same time, achieving cost reductions. To accomplish these reforms, Guttenberg proposed to reduce the armed forces to 165,000 active duty soldiers and to suspend thedraft,[129][130][131] resulting in the most comprehensive restructuring of the Bundeswehr since its founding in 1955.[132] Guttenberg's reform plans were supported by a blue-ribbon "Bundeswehr Structural Commission"[133] that the minister created in April 2010.[134] The proposals triggered a major debate about the country's draft system and were met with significant political opposition, not least in Guttenberg's own political party.[135] In the end, Guttenberg's view won out and on 29 October 2010, the CSU general party convention approved the minister's motion to suspend the draft by a large majority.[136] Several weeks later, Chancellor Merkel's CDU held its own party convention and also voted in favor of suspending the draft.[137] In November 2010, aUnited States diplomatic cables leak revealed that American diplomats viewed Guttenberg positively, with one cable describing him as a "foreign policy expert, a transatlanticist and a close and well-known friend to the United States".[138]
In 2011, Guttenberg resigned amid controversy over the doctoral dissertation he submitted at theUniversity of Bayreuth, after the first accusations ofplagiarism became public in February 2011. Guttenberg's dissertation,Verfassung und Verfassungsvertrag (lit.'Constitution and Constitutional Treaty'), had been the basis of his 2007 doctorate from theUniversity of Bayreuth.[139][140] Guttenberg at first denied intentional plagiarism, calling the accusations "absurd," but acknowledged that he may have made errors in his footnotes.[141][142][143] In addition, it emerged that Guttenberg had requested a report from the Bundestag's research department, which he had then inserted into his dissertation without attribution.[144] On 23 February 2011, Guttenberg apologized inparliament for flaws in his dissertation, but denied intentional deception and denied the use of a ghostwriter.[145]
On 23 February 2011, the University of Bayreuth rescinded Guttenberg's doctorate.[146][147] In part due to the expressions of confidence by Angela Merkel, the scandal continued to evoke heavy criticism from prominent academics, legal scholars (who accused Guttenberg of intentional plagiarism), and politicians both in the opposition and in the governing coalition.[148][149][150] On 1 March 2011, Guttenberg announced his resignation as Minister of Defense, from his seat in the Bundestag, and from all other political offices.[151]
In May 2011, a University of Bayreuth commission tasked with investigating Guttenberg's dissertation came to the conclusion that Guttenberg had engaged in intentional deception in the writing of his dissertation, and had violated standards of good academic practice.[152][153] The commission found that he had included borrowed passages throughout his dissertation without citation, and had modified those passages in order to conceal their origin.[154][155]
In November 2011, the prosecution inHof discontinued the criminal proceedings for copyright violations against Guttenberg on condition of Guttenberg paying€20,000 to a charity.[156] The prosecutor found 23 prosecutable copyright violations in Guttenberg's dissertation, but estimated that the material damage suffered by the authors of those texts was marginal.[157][158]
The scandal also led to scrutiny of other politicians' doctorates,[159][160][161] notably that of his colleague in the federal cabinetAnnette Schavan and Hungarian PresidentPál Schmitt, who lost their doctorates for similar reasons.
Guttenberg returned to German politics by making a speech during the2017 German federal election in which he hailed Chancellor Angela Merkel. The speech was widely reported on in German media and described as marking his comeback in German politics. Guttenberg also said Germany should preserve its relationship with the United States in order to renew the ties after the end of the Trump era, noting that "they won't forget it if, at a time when they were being mocked by the whole world, we maintained contacts with them and said this relationship is important now and will remain so in future."[162] Guttenberg himself has always ruled out the possibility of a comeback.[163][164][165]
In 2013, Guttenberg formed Spitzberg Partners LLC, a consulting and investment company.[174][175] In September 2014, Spitzberg Partners and Canadian Acasta Capital[176] foundedAtlantic Advisory Partners (AAP), a partnership to promote business and trade between Canada and theEuropean Union in connection with theComprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).[177]
Guttenberg is a strong critic ofRussian presidentVladimir Putin's expansionist foreign policy. In Spring 2014, he decried an "astonishing leadership vacuum in the world" and demanded that the West, and especially Europe, respond to Moscow's aggressions with strong political action. He praised Chancellor Merkel for her firm stance against Putin. Guttenberg appeared together withHenry Kissinger during a CNN interview about theRusso-Ukrainian war and explained the significant domestic political resistance that Merkel's Russia policy faced in Germany.[178] Several months later Guttenberg accused the EU of inaction and a lack of capabilities given the crises in Ukraine and theMiddle East.[179]
Since July 2014, he has also been an advisor toRipple Labs.[180]
In October 2015, former CSU chairmanHorst Seehofer appointed Guttenberg to his competence team for the election campaign.[181] He has also been advisingDeutsche Lufthansa on innovation issues since 2015.[182][183]
AtEdelman, he was initially a founding member of the Global Advisory Board, established in 2018,[184] and was later appointed to the Board of Directors.[185] He is also a board member of theInstitute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD).[186]
Guttenberg is a member of the advisory board ofRenew Democracy Initiative, a non-partisan organization founded in 2017.[187]
In 2022, Guttenberg signed a contract withRTL Television.[188] His documentary onVladimir Putin, "KT Guttenberg − Auf den Spuren der Macht Der Fall Putin", was broadcast on RTL+ in autumn 2022[189] and then onn-tv on 12 December 2022.[190][191] A second programme, "KT Guttenberg − Um Gottes Willen? Die Macht der Kirche in Deutschland" was broadcast on n-tv in January 2024.[192]
In December 2022, he co-hosted the annual review "Menschen, Bilder, Emotionen" withThomas Gottschalk.[193][194]
Since 2023, there is a weekly podcast withGregor Gysi called "Gysi gegen Guttenberg – Der Deutschland-Podcast".[195][196] In September 2024, a book based on their joint podcast was published entitled „Gysi gegen Guttenberg: Gespräche über die Zeit, in der wir leben“.[197][198]
In October 2023, Guttenberg published his book „3 Sekunden – Notizen aus der Gegenwart“, in which he shares his thoughts on everyday observations. These are based on posts he had previously published onLinkedIn.[199] In August 2025, the book „3 Worte – Neue Notizen aus der Gegenwart“ was published.[200][201]
Guttenberg is a member of theHouse of Guttenberg, first documented in 1158, and conferred the rank ofbaron by theHoly Roman Emperor in 1700.[202] Since the adoption of Germany's 1919Weimar Constitution, which abolished the nobility's privileges, "noble titles form part of the name only".[203]
Guttenberg was born inMunich. He lived at his family castle inGuttenberg,Bavaria (district of Kulmbach), a village whose history is closely associated with theHouse of Guttenberg, and in a mansion in a refined part of Berlin, Berlin-Westend. The castle has been in the possession of the Guttenberg family since 1482.[208] In September 2011, it became known that Guttenberg had bought a house for his family inGreenwich, Connecticut, close to New York City.[209]
In February 2000, Guttenberg marriedStephanie Gräfin von Bismarck-Schönhausen (born on 24 November 1976),[215] a great-great-granddaughter of the first Chancellor of GermanyOtto von Bismarck.They have two daughters. In September 2023, it was announced that the couple had separated at the end of 2022.[216][217] In April 2025, the court officially divorced them.[218] Guttenberg isCatholic.[219] Since 2024, Guttenberg has been in a relationship withKatherina Reiche,[220] who was appointed Federal Minister for Economic Affairs in May 2025.[221]
Guttenberg was awarded the "Politikaward" in 2009, which is a German "Politician of the Year" award.[222][223] It was awarded bypolitik & kommunikation, a German periodical for political communications.[224]
In 2010, the German news magazineFocus named him "Man of the Year".[225]
^Genealogisches Handbuch des in Bayern immatrikulierten Adels, Vol. XXV, 2004, p. 422. Further information about zu Guttenberg's family is also based on this source.
^His mother's full name in German isMaria de Mercedes Christiane Josefine Thekla Walpurga Barbara Gräfin und Edle Herrin von und zu Eltz genannt Faust von Stromberg
zu Guttenberg, Karl-Theodor; di Lorenzo, Giovanni (2011).Vorerst gescheitert – Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg im Gespräch mit Giovanni di Lorenzo [Failed for Now – Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg in Conversation with Giovanni di Lorenzo] (in German). Freiburg im Breisgau:Verlag Herder.ISBN978-3-451-30584-9.
zu Guttenberg, Karl-Theodor (2010).Die Idee vom Staatsbürger in Uniform. Lehren aus dem 20. Juli 1944 [The Idea of the Citizen in Uniform: Lessons from July 20th 1944] (in German). Sankt Augustin:Konrad Adenauer Foundation.ISBN978-3-941904-75-0.
zu Guttenberg, Karl-Theodor (2009).Verantwortung in der sozialen Marktwirtschaft [Responsibility in the Social Market Economy] (in German). Stuttgart:Robert Bosch Stiftung.ISBN978-3-939574-18-7.
Altomonote, Carlo;Defraigne, Pierre; Delattre, Lucas; zu Guttenberg, Karl-Theodor;Goulard, Sylvie;Scharping, Rudolf (2006).Le Partenariat Privilégié, Alternative à l'Adhésion [The Privileged Partnership, an Alternative to Membership]. Note bleue de la Fondation Schuman (in French). Paris, Brussels: Fondation Robert Schuman.ISSN1761-2233.
zu Guttenberg, Karl-Theodor (2004).Die Beziehungen zwischen der Türkei und der EU – eine "Privilegierte Partnerschaft [The Relationship between Turkey and the EU – A "Privileged Partnership"] (in German). München: Akademie für Politik und Zeitgeschehen,Hanns-Seidel-Foundation.ISBN3-88795-274-X.
zu Guttenberg, Karl-Theodor; Gartzke, Ulf (2015)."Europas digitale Zukunft" [Europe's digital future] (in German). CIVIS mit Sonde. Retrieved19 January 2016.
Guttenberg, Karl-Theodor zu (15 April 2010)."Offener Brief an eine moralische Instanz" [Open Letter to a Moral Authority].Die Welt (in German). Retrieved12 December 2012.
"Den Wandel gestalten" [Designing the Change] (in German). Europäische Sicherheit. January 2010. Archived fromthe original on 10 February 2013. Retrieved12 December 2012.
zu Guttenberg, Karl-Theodor; Picaper, Jean-Paul (2010)."L' Etoile Montante de la Politique Allemande" [The Rising Star of German Politics] (in French). Politique Internationale. Archived fromthe original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved10 October 2011.
"Schlanker und effizienter" [Leaner and More Efficient] (in German). Die Welt. 20 November 2009. Retrieved12 December 2012.
Guttenberg, Karl-Theodor zu (4 February 2007)."Der ganze Balkan gehört zu Europa" [The Whole Balkans Belong to Europe].Die Welt (in German). Retrieved7 December 2012.
"Eine Lösung für den Kosovo" [A Solution for Kosovo] (in German). Berliner Zeitung. 18 February 2006. Retrieved7 December 2012.
"Wider eine ad hoc Politik" [Against an Ad Hoc Policy] (in German). Internationale Politik. June 2005. Retrieved7 December 2012.
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