Werner Müller | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Federal Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy | |
| In office 27 October 1998 – 22 October 2002 | |
| Preceded by | Günter Rexrodt |
| Succeeded by | Wolfgang Clement |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Wilhelm Werner Müller (1946-06-01)1 June 1946 Essen,North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany |
| Died | 15 July 2019(2019-07-15) (aged 73) Essen |
| Political party | Independent |
| Profession | Manager |
| Awards | |
Wilhelm Werner Müller (1 June 1946 – 15 July 2019) was a German businessman and politician. He served asFederal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy from 1998 to 2002. He then became CEO ofRAG AG from 2003, of whichEvonik was derived in 2007. His management of a reduction in Germany's dependence on coal in a socially responsible way won him the Manager of the Year award in Germany in 2008. He was chairman of thesupervisory board ofDeutsche Bahn.
Born inEssen, Müller attended theWindthorst-Gymnasium [de] inMeppen, completing hisAbitur in 1965.[1] He studied inMannheim, both national economy[2] and piano at theMusikhochschule Mannheim.[3][4] He later studied philosophy and linguistics in Duisburg and Bremen.[1]
Müller worked from 1973 forRWE.[2] In 1979, he moved toVEBA,[3] which became part ofE.ON in 2002.[2]
As a politician, Müller, who belonged to no party,[5] served asFederal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy from 1998 to 2002, whenGerhard Schröder (SPD) was Chancellor.[2][5] After the1998 German federal election, Schröder made him minister, after the designated candidate,Jost Stollmann had turned down the position because the responsibilities of the ministry were being reduced.[6] WhenOskar Lafontaine resigned in 1999, Müller was also temporarily appointed as theMinister of Finance. Müller worked towards a firstnuclear power phase-out (Ausstieg aus der Atomenergie) in Germany, in negotiations with the industries.[2]
Müller wasCEO of theRAG AG, the former Ruhrkohle AG, from 2003.[7] In 2007, the company becameEvonik, now with a focus on chemistry, energy and real estate.[1][5] According to former employer Evonik and German President Horst Köhler, Müller managed a reduction in Germany's dependence on coal (Ausstieg aus der Kohleenergie) as an energy source, trying to mitigate the issues caused by this fuel, namely damage to the environment and the largesubsidies needed in mining,[3] in a socially responsible way.[8][9] As CEO of theRAG-Stiftung [de], he organised a reduction of the environmental damage mining had caused.[2] For these activities,Manager Magazin selected him asManager of the Year (Germany) [de] in Germany in 2008.[8][10] That year, he moved from CEO of Evonik to chairman of itssupervisory board.[1][9] Müller held the same position forDeutsche Bahn from 2005 to 2010.[2]
Müller was a member of the supervisory board ofBorussia Dortmund.[2] He was instrumental in the successful application of the Ruhr asEuropean Capital of Culture in2010, uniting the region.[8]
Müller was married; he and his wife Marion had two children.[11] In April 2018, he received theOrder of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia for his life's achievements (für sein Lebenswerk) in the presence of Gerhard Schröder.[11] He resigned from all offices in May 2018, due to his cancer illness.[12] He died in Essen on 15 July 2019.[2][7]
In his laudatio for Müller in 2009, awarding the Great Cross of theOrder of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, PresidentHorst Köhler focused on Müller's ability to speak the language of both politics and economy, and enable dialogue between them. In the matter of nuclear power phase-out, he managed to represent the voters' wishes even though they were not his own view, and he always held constructive discussions with people representing different positions and interests. Köhler mentioned Müller's competence, calm manner, equanimity and dependability. In turning away from coal mining, he created a model of a socially responsible structural transition, with patience and tenacity.[8]
After his death, Schröder acknowledged Müller as a great economic leader who knew the rules of the game of both business and politics, which enabled him to turn opponents to partners.Jean-Claude Juncker,President of the European Commission, noted Müller's enormous expertise, dry humour and calm manner, achieving invaluable benefits for the German miners.Armin Laschet (CDU, Minister-president of North Rhine-Westphalia, called him a visionary, and the founding of the RAG-Stiftung "a genuine work of the century" (ein echtes Jahrhundertwerk).[3]
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy 1998–2002 | Succeeded by |
First Schröder Cabinet (1998–2002) | ||
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| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
