 | You can helpexpand this article with text translated fromthe corresponding article in German. (April 2022)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
Mark Hauptmann | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theBundestag for Suhl – Schmalkalden-Meiningen – Hildburghausen | |
| In office 22 October 2013 – 19 March 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Jens Petermann |
| Succeeded by | Kristina Nordt |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1984-04-29)29 April 1984 (age 41) |
| Citizenship | German |
| Political party | CDU |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Politician |
Mark Lars Carsten Hauptmann (born 29 April 1984) was a German politician of theChristian Democratic Union of Germany(CDU) who served as a member of theGerman Bundestag from 2013 until 2021.
After receiving his Senior Highschool Degree in 2003 in the city ofSuhl, Hauptmann studied political science, business communication, economic and social history atFriedrich Schiller University in Jena (FSU),Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka, Japan, andYale University in New Haven, USA. During his studies he was granted scholarships by theKonrad Adenauer Foundation and the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO).
Following his graduation in 2009, Hauptmann started working as head of office and parliamentary assistant to Christian Hirte, MP (CDU) at the German Bundestag in Berlin. Additionally, he became a visiting lecturer to theUniversity of Erfurt (2010) and also to the Friedrich-Schiller University in Jena (2011), where he was teaching political science.
Hauptmann worked at theEuropean Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, for theKonrad Adenauer Foundation's office in Beijing, China, as well as the Thuringia's State Ministry of Transportation, Construction and Economic Development. WithKairos Communication he also started his own business.
Hauptmann is a member of theEvangelical Church in Germany.
In 1999 Hauptmann joined the youth organization of the Christian Democratic Union, theYoung Union (JU). There, he chaired the JU Suhl and served as deputy chair of JU's regional group for the Rhön-Rennsteig area, among others. In 2005, he was elected a board member of Junge Union in the State of Thuringia. He was chairman of the permanent workshop on European and International Affairs. On federal level, he represented JU Thuringia until 2012. Since then, he became a member of the federal board of the Young Union and was appointed chairman of JU's International Commission on Foreign, European and Security Affairs until 2014.
Joining the CDU in 2003, Hauptmann soon got elected to the board of the CDU in Suhl and joined the CDU Thuringia' state committee on European Affairs.
In the2009 European elections, Hauptmann ran for a seat as participant of the CDU's state list for Thuringia.
Hauptmann was unanimously elected CDU direct candidate for the constituency 197 (Suhl - Schmalkalden-Meiningen - Hildburghausen) for the2013 German elections. With 42% of the votes, he won his constituency and became a directly elected Member of the German Bundestag.
Hauptmann was a member of the Committee on Economic Affairs and Energy as well as member of its Subcommittee on Regional Economic Policy and ERP Economic Plans. In this capacity, he served as his parliamentary group’srapporteur on the annual budget of theFederal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, the economic reconstruction of eastern Germany and social policy. He was furthermore a deputy member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the German delegation to theNATO Parliamentary Assembly as well as member of the Subcommittee on Civil Crisis Prevention, Conflict Management, and Coordinated Response.
In addition to his committee assignments, Hauptmann chaired the German-Belarusian Parliamentary Friendship Group from 2018 until 2021.
In March 2021 several Bundestag members of the rulingCDU/CSU coalition became subjects of criminal investigations on the initial suspicion of corruption, for receiving payments from theAzerbaijani Laundromat money laundering scheme,[1][2][3] while others were implicated in allegations of corrupt lobbying practices known as “Caviar diplomacy” in the European Council or what became known as the “Azerbaijan affair” (German:Aserbaidschan-Affäre) scandal in Germany.[4][5]
In March 2021, magazineDer Spiegel reported that the Azerbaijani embassy in Berlin paid €16,744 to advertise a shopping weekend in Baku in a local newspaper that Hauptmann publishes in the state of Thuringia. According to the report, the payment was made after Hauptmann had worked for years to establish cordial ties withAzerbaijan, consistently siding with the country despite its controversialhuman rights record.[6][7] Shortly after theDer Spiegel story, Hauptmann resigned from his parliamentary seat. He claimed that he did nothing wrong but decided to step down to protect his fiancée and children from public harassment.[8][9]
In June 2017, Hauptmann voted against his parliamentary group’s majority and in favor of Germany’s introduction ofsame-sex marriage.[10]
In 2019, Hauptmann joined fellow CDU lawmakers – includingRoderich Kiesewetter andNorbert Röttgen – in co-signing an op-ed inHandelsblatt, calling onChancellorAngela Merkel to keep Chinese telecom companyHuawei out of Germany's5G network, citing national security reasons.[11]
Hauptmann is a member of the Jena Debate Society. In 2006, he won the German national debate tournament and became vice champion in 2007.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
