Blüm was the only cabinet member who served in his function for all sixteen years ofHelmut Kohl's time asChancellor of Germany. He served as a member of theBundestag from 1972 to 1981 and again from 1983 to 2002. Blüm was part of the left wing of the conservativeChristian Democratic Union (CDU).
Born inRüsselsheim am Main, Blüm attended theVolksschule. In 1950, aged 15, Blüm joined the CDU.[5] This year he also joined theIG Metall. That's why he often was nicknamedHerz-Jesu-Marxist.[6] He trained and worked locally as a toolmaker forOpel from 1949 to 1957.[7] He was engaged in the factory as a youth representative.[7] During this time, he was a founding member of the local Boy Scouts affiliation, theDeutsche Pfadfinderschaft Sankt Georg.[8] In 1961 he passed hisAbitur at anAbendgymnasium in Mainz, thereby obtaining the university entrance qualification.
Blüm was a member of theBundestag for the CDU from 1972 to 1981 and again from 1983 to 2002.[5]
From 1977 to 1987 Blüm was chairman of theChristian Democratic Employees' Association.[4] He was a member of the CDU federal executive committee from 1969 to 2000. He was vice chairman of the federal CDU from 1981 to 1990 and again from 1992 to 2000.[7]
Blüm wasFederal Minister for Labour and Social Affairs from 1982 to 1998.[4] As minister, he was responsible for reforms and changes in the pension system.[11] His greatest political success was the introduction oflong-term care insurance (Pflegeversicherung) in 1995,[2][5] after those reform plans were hotly and controversially debated in the Bundestag.[12]
Blüm served as chairman of the CDU of the state ofNorth Rhine-Westphalia from 1987 to 1999.
Blüm adhered to Christian values and belonged to the left wing of the generally centre-right CDU.[11] Blüm was strongly influenced by theJesuit social philosopherOswald von Nell-Breuning, one of the founders of the modernCatholic social teaching who lectured inFrankfurt. Nell-Breuning taught Blüm about the main three pillars "subsidiarity", "solidarity" and "charity".[13]
During his time in office, Blüm held out and pushed back against demands by fellow CDU politicians to raise the federal retirement age from 65 to 70.[14]
A popular quotation attributed to him is "Die Rente ist sicher" (loosely translated as: "Pensions are safe"),[a] based on the governmental slogan he wielded in 1986: "Eins ist sicher: Die Rente" ("One thing is safe: pensions").[2] This quotation quickly gained notoriety in Germany and became a popular target forcomedy, as well as a cynical reference that would be used by his opponents and critics for years to come.[5]
The politician was a fervent supporter of human rights. On a trip to Chile in 1987, he accused former dictatorAugusto Pinochet of torture.[9]
Blüm once said that "politics is a struggle". "Whoever is in search of harmony must look for another profession. (...) But if you want to change something, you cannot please everybody."[15]
Blüm (1990) giving a speech in the state election campaign of North Rhine-Westphalia
Core issues of his politics weresocial justice and the fight againstunemployment. For Blüm, "the little people" were important, which is why he tried to prevent a division of society into rich and poor with his politics.[11] He saw social peace threatened by theAgenda 2010 that was later passed by the German government.[16]
Blüm was an outspoken critic ofScientology.[17] As a consequence, he was targeted by Scientology advocates, who would claim that the organization was a victim of religiousdiscrimination in Germany.[18]
Despite his good relationship with Helmut Kohl, Blüm criticized his handling of theCDU donations scandal.[19]
After his departure from the Bundestag in 2002, he continued to comment on political issues publicly. Because of his criticism ofIsrael in theMiddle East conflict, he was sometimes accused ofantisemitism, which he rejected.[20][21]
In 2016, he criticised the CDU's refugee policy because of the cold-hearted discussion about refugees. During the refugee crisis, the former minister visited the Greek refugee campIdomeni in 2016 and heavily criticized the EU's treatment of refugees ("This kind of brutality is unworthy of European culture"). Out of solidarity he slept one night in therefugee camp.[22]
In 2016 he opposed an unconditionalbasic income, on whichSwitzerland held areferendum at this time. It would be "unfair" and an "attempted escape from welfare state responsibility".[23]
Blüm married Marita Blüm (née Binger) in 1964.[2][24] The couple had three children, a son and two daughters.[24] Blüm was a practisingRoman Catholic.
Afterblood poisoning in 2019, Blüm became paralysed in his arms and legs.[4][25] He commented in a guest article for the German weeklyDie Zeit in March 2020 about his new life in a wheelchair due to his paralysis, in which he compared his position to that of a puppet whose strings were pulled so that its parts dangled incoherently in the air: "Like a thief in the night, disaster broke into my life in the form of insidious blood poisoning".[26]
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