Herbert Reul | |
|---|---|
 Reul in 2019 | |
| Minister of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia | |
| Assumed office 30 June 2017 | |
| Prime Minister | Armin Laschet Hendrik Wüst |
| Preceded by | Ralf Jäger |
| Member of the European Parliament | |
| In office 1 July 2004 – 6 July 2017 | |
| Constituency | Germany |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1952-08-07)7 August 1952 (age 72) Langenfeld, Rhineland,West Germany |
| Political party |  German:Christian Democratic Union  EU:European People's Party |
| Alma mater | University of Cologne |
| Website | www |
Herbert Reul (born 31 August 1952) is a German politician of theChristian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been serving as State Minister for Internal Affairs in the government of successiveMinisters-PresidentArmin Laschet (2017–2021) andHendrik Wüst (since 2021).[1] He previously served as aMember of the European Parliament (MEP).
Reul was born in Langenfeld, Rhineland. The son of a mayor, Reul joined the youth wing of the CDU, theJunge Union, at the age of 18. In 1975, while still a student atUniversity of Cologne, he became a town councillor in his hometown ofLeichlingen, near Cologne, and served for 17 years.[2] From 1981 until 1985, he worked as a secondary school teacher.
In the 1985 state elections, Reul gained a seat in theState Parliament ofNorth Rhine-Westphalia and occupied it for 19 years.[3] In parliament, he was his political group's spokesperson on education policy from 1985 to 1991. Between 1991 and 2003, he served as Secretary General of the CDU in North Rhine-Westphalia, under the leadership of successive chairmenNorbert Blüm (1993–99) andJürgen Rüttgers (1999-2003).[4]
Reul first became aMember of the European Parliament in the2004 European elections. During his time in parliament, he was a member of theCommittee on Industry, Research and Energy. Between 2006 and 2009, he also served as the energy spokesman for the German Christian Democrats’ delegation in the European People's Party in the Parliament.[5]
From 2012, Reul was a member of the European Parliament's delegation for relations with theKorean Peninsula. He had previously been a member of the delegation for relations with thePeople's Republic of China between 2004 and 2012.
In addition to his committee assignments, Reul was a member of the European Parliament Intergroup on Long Term Investment and Reindustrialisation,[6] the Sky and Space Intergroup (SSI)[7] and the European Parliament Intergroup on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development.
Reul was widely regarded as one of the driving forces behind blockingMartin Schulz’ reelection asPresident of the European Parliament in early 2017.[8]
From theNorth Rhine-Westphalia state elections in 2017, Reul served as State Minister for Internal Affairs in the government ofMinister-PresidentArmin Laschet.[9] He succeededRalf Jäger. As one of his state's representatives at theBundesrat, he is a member of the Committee on Internal Affairs and of the Defence Committee.[10]
During his time in office, Reul oversaw investigations into the2018 Münster attack[11] and theBottrop and Essen car attack in 2018/2019.[12] In 2020, he ordered an investigation into police officers’ use of force following a public outcry over a video of a police officer detaining a minor by kneeling on his neck.[13]
Since 2021, Reul has been serving as deputy chair of the CDU in North Rhine-Westphalia, under the leadership of chairHendrik Wüst.[14] That same year, he announced his intention to run for a seat in theState Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia in the2022 state elections.[15]
Reul was a CDU delegate to theFederal Convention for the purpose of electing thePresident of Germany in 1994, 1999, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2017 and2022.[16] Since 2012, he has been serving on the Presidium of the CDU, under the leadership of successive chairsAngela Merkel (2012–2018),Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (2018–2021) andArmin Laschet (2021). In the negotiations to form aGrand Coalition of Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) together with the BavarianCSU) and the Social Democrats (SPD) following the2013 German elections, he led the CDU/CSU delegation in the working group on banking regulation and the Eurozone; his co-chair from the SPD wasMartin Schulz.[17]
Together withFrank Henkel,Peter Hintze,Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer,Christine Lieberknecht,David McAllister andAnnette Widmann-Mauz, Reul co-chaired the CDU’s 2014 national convention in Berlin.[18]
Ahead of the Christian Democrats’leadership election in 2018, Reul publicly endorsedAnnegret Kramp-Karrenbauer to succeed Angela Merkel as the party's chair.[19]
Shortly after theCDU donations scandal and amid the campaign for thestate elections in 2000, Reul became the target of public criticism when he – in his capacity as Secretary General of the CDU in North Rhine-Westphalia – had his party pay for a private trip to theBayreuth Festival.[25]
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