Walter Kolbow | |
|---|---|
 Kolbow in 2015 | |
| Parliamentarian State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Defense | |
| In office 27 October 1998 – 22 November 2005 | |
| Chancellor | Gerhard Schröder |
| Preceded by | Christian Schmidt |
| Member of theBundestag | |
| In office 5 October 1980 – 27 September 2009 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1944-04-27)27 April 1944 Spittal an der Drau,Reichsgau Kärnten,Nazi Germany |
| Died | 28 April 2024(2024-04-28) (aged 80) Ochsenfurt,Bavaria, Germany |
| Nationality | Germany |
| Political party | Social Democratic Party of Germany |
| Alma mater | University of Würzburg |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Walter Kolbow (27 April 1944 – 28 April 2024) was a German politician of theSPD. He wasParliamentary State Secretary[1] (1998–2005) in theFederal Ministry of Defense, as well as deputy chairman of SPD Parliamentary Group inGerman Bundestag (2005–2009).
After primary school in Ingolstadt and Ochsenfurt (Bavaria), Kolbow graduated from Röntgen-GymnasiumWürzburg in 1964 and subsequently served his compulsory military duty until 1966 at theGerman Air Force. He was Captain of the reserve. Afterwards, Kolbow studied law at theUniversity of Würzburg and theGerman University of Administrative Sciences inSpeyer. In 1970 he obtained theErstes Juristisches Staatsexamen and in 1974 theZweites Juristisches Staatsexamen. The year after, Kolbow started working for the local administration ofFrankfurt. Between 1978 and 1980 he did scientific research for theFriedrich Ebert Foundation.
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Kolbow joined theSocial Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) in 1967. Until 2008 he was chairman of the regional section of Unterfranken (Bavaria). He was its honorary chairman.
Between 1972 until 1976 Kolbow was member of the city council of Ochsenfurt, as well as between 1978 until 1981 of Würzburg.
In the1980 West German elections, Kolbow became a Member of the German Bundestag.[2] Between 1994 until 1998 he was his parliamentary group's spokesperson for defense policy. As a result of the1998 elections, he joined the Federal Government ofChancellorGerhard Schröder and was appointed Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Defense under the leadership of successive ministersRudolf Scharping andPeter Struck until 2005. During his time in office, he also served as Germany´s "Humanitarian Representative to Macedonia" coordinating humanitarian aid in Macedonia.[3] Moreover, Kolbow was well respected for his commitment to injured German soldiers because of radar radiation andposttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).[4]
Between 2005 and 2009, Kolbow was vice chairperson of the SPD parliamentary group,[5] responsible for foreign and development politics, defense matters and human rights since 2005. After 29 years of parliamentary work Kolbow retired from the German Bundestag in 2009.
After leaving active politics, Kolbow became counsel of the Berlin Consulting Group[1] supporting public and private institutions in the field of health in Europe. He also served as chairman of the "Commission on Security andBundeswehr Issues" which gives advice to SPD´s federal steering committee.
Kolbow was married and has two children. His son, Alexander Kolbow (SPD), is city councillor of Würzburg.
Walter Kolbow died inOchsenfurt on 28 April 2024, at the age of 80.[8]
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