Rolf Mützenich | |
|---|---|
 Mützenich in 2023 | |
| Leader of theSocial Democratic Party in theBundestag | |
| In office 4 June 2019 – 26 February 2025 Acting: 4 June 2019 – 24 September 2019 | |
| Chief Whip | |
| Deputy | |
| Preceded by | Andrea Nahles |
| Succeeded by | Lars Klingbeil |
| Member of theBundestag forCologne III | |
| Assumed office 17 October 2002 | |
| Preceded by | Konrad Gilges |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Rolf Heinrich Mützenich (1959-06-25)25 June 1959 (age 66) |
| Political party | Social Democratic Party (1975–) |
| Alma mater | University of Bremen |
| Occupation |
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Rolf Heinrich Mützenich (born 25 June 1959) is a German politician of theSocial Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) who served as leader of the SPD group in theBundestag from June 2019 until February 2025
Mützenich was born on 25 June 1959 inCologne and studiedpolitical science andhistory at theUniversity of Bremen and earned hisPhD in 1991.
After completing his doctorate, Mützenich joined the State Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of North Rhine-Westphalia. From 1993 he worked as a research assistant for the SPD parliamentary group in theState Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia until he returned to the State Ministry of Social Affairs in 1998, under the leadership of minister Ilse Brusis. From 2001 to 2002 he served as chief of staff to the President of the North Rhine-Westphalian State Parliament, Ulrich Schmidt.
Mützenich entered in the SPD in 1975. He has been a member of the German Bundestag since the2002 national elections, representingCologne. From 2002 until 2013, he served on the Committee on Foreign Affairs. He was also a member of the Subcommittee on Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-Proliferation from 2006 until 2009.
In addition to his committee assignments, Mützenich has in the past chaired the German Iranian Parliamentary Friendship Group (2006–2009) and the German-Japanese Parliamentary Friendship Group (2010–2013).
Within the SPD parliamentary group, Mützenich belongs to the Parliamentary Left, a left-wing movement.[1] He has been part of internal working groups on the Middle East (2005–2009) andAfghanistan andPakistan (2009–2013). From 2009 until 2013, he served as the group's spokesperson on foreign policy. He later became deputy chairman of the parliamentary group under the leadership of successive chairpersonsThomas Oppermann (2013–2017) andAndrea Nahles (2017–2019).
In the negotiations to form acoalition government under the leadership ofChancellorAngela Merkel following the2017 federal elections, Mützenich was part of the working group on foreign policy, led byUrsula von der Leyen,Gerd Müller andSigmar Gabriel.
In June 2019, Mützenich became acting chairman of the SPD parliamentary group after the startling demission ofAndrea Nahles.[2]
Editorial writers saw Mützenich as chairman responsible for scaring away several qualified candidates for the position of secretary of defense in theScholz cabinet, likeFritz Felgentreu[3] andHans-Peter Bartels,[4] which led toChristine Lambrecht ending up in the position after the 2021 elections.[5]
Over the years, Mützenich has been a vocal critic of the deployment of German forces in Afghanistan.[11]
In 2015, Mützenich criticized SPD "rapprochement romantics" in Germany's relationship withRussia and warned against the "misconception that old-styleOstpolitik was possible following theannexation of Crimea."[12] In 2018, he was one of the most important critics of the decision made by Foreign MinisterHeiko Maas to expel four Russian diplomats over thenerve agent attack onSergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, describing that the expulsion as “too hasty“ and saying there was still no conclusive proof that the Russian government was behind the poisoning.[13]
When Germany entered the process of phasing out its aging fleet ofTornado fighter jets to fulfill itsnuclear sharing obligations with the U.S., Mützenich called for an American nuclear withdrawal in a 2020 interview with newspaperDer Tagesspiegel. According to Mützenich, "nuclear weapons on German territory do not heighten our security, just the opposite", especially during thepresidency of Donald Trump.[14]
Due to his Russia policy and his attitude towards NATO Rolf Mützenich was repeatedly referred to as a "Russlandversteher" or "Putinversteher", which he always denies.[15][16]
Media related toRolf Mützenich at Wikimedia Commons
| Party political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Leader of theSocial Democratic Party in theBundestag 2019–present | Incumbent |
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| National | |
| People | |
