Rainer Arnold | |
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.jpg) Rainer Arnold | |
| Member of theBundestag | |
| In office 1998–2017 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1950-06-21)21 June 1950 (age 74) Stuttgart,Baden-Württemberg,West Germany (nowGermany) |
| Citizenship | German |
| Nationality |  Germany |
| Political party | SPD |
| Alma mater | Ludwigsburg University of Education |
| Occupation | Politician, Member of the German Bundestag (MP) |
Rainer Arnold (born 21 June 1950) is a Germanpolitician and member of theSPD.
Arnold was first elected a member of the GermanBundestag in the1998 federal election. During his time in parliament, he was a member of the Defence Committee, and from 2002 he served as the SPD parliamentary group's spokesperson on defence policy. In addition, he served on the Sub-Committee for Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-Proliferation between 1998 and 2002.
From 2002, Arnold was part of the parliamentary group's leadership under successive chairmenFranz Müntefering,Peter Struck,Frank-Walter Steinmeier, andThomas Oppermann. Within the parliamentary group, he was a member of the working group on municipal policy between 2005 and 2013.
Following the2013 federal elections, Arnold was part of the SPD team in the negotiations with the CDU/CSU on a coalition agreement. He has since served as deputy chairman of the SPD parliamentary group under the leadership ofThomas Oppermann. In addition, between 2014 and 2015, he represented his parliamentary group in a crossparty committee headed by former defense ministerVolker Rühe to review the country's parliamentary rules on military deployments.[1] He also chairs the German-Romanian Parliamentary Friendship Group.[2]
In his capacity as member of the Defence Committee, Arnold traveled extensively to visitBundeswehr troops on their missions abroad, includingKosovo (2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2012),Djibouti (2006),Democratic Republic of the Congo (2006),Afghanistan (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014) andMali (2013, 2014). In January 2015, he accompanied GermanMinister of DefenceUrsula von der Leyen on a visit toJordan, where they met withKingAbdullah II, among others.[3]
In August 2014 duringUrsula von der Leyen's tenure asMinister of Defence, Arnold was extremely unhappy with the state of readiness of the Bundeswehr, and stated that "we are currently unable to meet the commitments we have made toNATO." He was "also annoyed again, because an attempt was made [by the armed forces and ministry] to whitewash and make excuses... Decisions must be made so that weapons projects, which have been in the pipeline for a long time, will finally be put back on the track."[4]
In September 2016, Arnold announced that he would not stand in the2017 federal elections but instead resign from active politics by the end of the parliamentary term.[5]
Arnold has in the past voted in favor of German participation inUnited Nations peacekeeping missions as well as in United Nations-mandatedEuropean Union peacekeeping missions on the African continent, such as inSomalia – bothOperation Atalanta (2010, 2011, 2014 and 2015) andEUTM Somalia (2014, 2015 and 2016) –,Darfur/Sudan (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016),South Sudan (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016),Mali –EUTM Mali (2013, 2014 and 2015) andAFISMA (2013), andMINUSMA (2013 and 2014) –, theCentral African Republic (2014) andLiberia (2015). In 2012 and 2013, he voted against extending the mandate for participation in Operation Atalanta.
Arnold has in the past fought against the proposal for aVeterans Day in Germany, arguing that “in German tradition, soldiers aren’t heroes, but rather victims. And sometimes they committed crimes.” He held that the breadth of Germany's social safety net, with its inexpensive health care, relatively generous unemployment benefits and open access to higher education, means that fewer services are needed specifically for soldiers.[6]
Arnold is married and has one son.
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