 | You can helpexpand this article with text translated fromthe corresponding article in German. (November 2021)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
Frank Schäffler (born 22 December 1968) is a German politician of theFree Democratic Party (FDP) who has served as a member of theBundestag from 2005 to 2013 and again from 2017 to 2025.
Schäffler was born 1968 in the German town ofSchwäbisch Gmünd and studiedbusiness administration at theBielefeld University of Applied Sciences.[1] He later worked as an insurance salesman.[2]
Schäffler entered theliberal FDP in 1987 and first served as a member of the Bundestag from 2005 until 2013.[3] During that time, he was a member of the Finance Committee.
In 2011, Schäffler led a group of fellow eurosceptic MPs from the FDP who collected enough signatures to force a non-binding inner-party referendum on the question of whether the party should oppose the creation of the €500 billionEuropean Stability Mechanism and instead take a much tougher line opposing bail-outs for debt-strapped members of theeurozone.[4] The referendum was widely seen as destabilizing the coalition government under the leadership ofChancellorAngela Merkel amid theEuropean debt crisis.[5] In the run-up to the vote, he became the target of attacks from the party's leadership, including from foreign ministerGuido Westerwelle and FDP Secretary GeneralChristian Lindner, who described Schäffler as "Germany'sDavid Cameron"; Lindner subsequently resigned from his position.[4] In 2012, Schäffler co-founded theAlliance Against the ESM.
In 2014, Schäffler co-founded Prometheus — Das Freiheitsinstitut, a member of theAtlas Network.[6][7]
In the2017 elections, Schäffler was re-elected and joined the parliament again. In parliament, he first served on the Finance Committee again from 2018 until 2021 before moving to the Budget Committee and the Committee on Digitization. In addition to his committee assignments, he was a deputy chairman of the German-Swiss Parliamentary Friendship Group.[citation needed]
In the negotiations to form a so-calledtraffic light coalition of theSocial Democratic Party (SPD), theGreen Party and the FDP following the2021 federal elections, Schäffler was part of his party's delegation in the working group on European affairs, co-chaired byUdo Bullmann,Franziska Brantner andNicola Beer.[8]
In 2023, Schäffler announced his candidacy to challengeLukas Köhler as deputy chair of the FDP parliamentary group; in an internal vote, however, he ultimately lost against Köhler.[9]
Schäffler is considered to be alibertarian.[12] He denies thescientific consensus on climate change.[13]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
