Wolfgang Walter Wilhelm Bosbach (born 11 June 1952) is a German politician and member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which he joined in 1972. A lawyer by profession, Bosbach is working at the law firm Winter Rechtsanwälte in Bergisch Gladbach.[1]
Wolfgang Bosbach | |
|---|---|
 Bosbach in 2012 | |
| Member of the Bundestag | |
| In office 1994–2017 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 11 June 1952 Bergisch Gladbach, West Germany |
| Political party | Christian Democratic Union |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | University of Cologne |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Website | wobo |
Political career
editBosbach was a directly elected member of the Bundestag from 1994 until 2017, representing Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis, and the deputy parliamentary group leader of his party from 2000 until 2009. From 1994 until 2002 and from 2009 until 2017, he served on the Committee on Internal Affairs.
Following the 2013 federal elections, Bosbach was part of the CDU/CSU team in the negotiations with the SPD on a coalition agreement.
In August 2016 Bosbach announced that he would not stand in the 2017 federal elections but instead resign from active politics by the end of the parliamentary term due to his deteriorating health.[2] That same month, he agreed to serve as columnist for German tabloid Bild from 2017 on.[3]
Career after politics
editIn 2017, Minister-President Armin Laschet of North Rhine-Westphalia appointed Bosbach as chair of a commission to advise the state government on criminal justice reforms.[4]
Ahead of the 2021 Rhineland-Palatinate state election, CDU candidate Christian Baldauf included Bosbach in his shadow cabinet for the party's campaign to unseat incumbent Malu Dreyer as Minister-President of Rhineland-Palatinate.[5]
Political positions
editEuropean integration
editIn August 2011, Bosbach became the first senior CDU MP to say he would not vote for legal changes to allow the European Financial Stability Facility to buy sovereign bonds on the market.[6] He later criticized the permanent rescue mechanism – called European Stability Mechanism – was a step toward a European transfer union.[7] In 2012, he told German business magazine Wirtschaftswoche that Greece should leave the euro region to overhaul its economy.[8]
On 27 February 2015 Bosbach voted against the Merkel government's proposal for a four-month extension of Greece's bailout; in doing so, he joined a record number of 29 dissenters from the CDU/CSU parliamentary group who expressed skepticism about whether the Greek government under Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras could be trusted to deliver on its reform pledges.[9] On 17 July he voted against the government's proposal to negotiate a third bailout for Greece;[10] in response to the resulting discussions with fellow conservative MPs, he resigned from his office as Chairman of the Committee on Internal Affairs.
Domestic politics
editIn 2013, Bosbach rejected calls to grant Muslims living in Germany two days of official holiday a year to mark important religious festivals, saying there was "no Islamic tradition in Germany" and that religious holidays here reflected the country's Christian heritage.[11]
Other activities
editCorporate boards
edit- 1. FC Köln, Member of the Advisory Board
- Deutsche Telekom, Member of the Data Privacy Advisory Board
- Signal Iduna Allgemeine Versicherung, Member of the Supervisory Board
- Securitas Deutschland, Member of the Supervisory Board (1998–2002)
Non-profit organizations
edit- Gegen Vergessen – Für Demokratie, Member
- Rotary International, Member
- ZDF, Member of the Television Board
- 1. FC Köln, Member of the Advisory Board (-2019)[12]
- Foundation "Remembrance, Responsibility and Future", Member of the Board of Trustees (2000–2006)
- Ursula Lübbe Foundation, Member of the Board of Trustees (2005–2009)
Recognition
edit- 2013 – "Goldenes Steuerrad" (golden steering wheel) of the Großen Mülheimer Karnevals-Gesellschaft von 1903[13]
- 2014 – Honorary senator of the Düsseldorfer Karnevalsgesellschaft Weissfräcke[14]
References
edit- ^ "Impressum – Winter Rechtsanwälte".
- ^ Wahlen 2017: Wolfgang Bosbach will nicht mehr Der Spiegel, 23 August 2016.
- ^ Nach Politiker-Karriere Wolfgang Bosbach wird 'Bild'-Kolumnist Kölnische Rundschau, 25 August 2016.
- ^ Ministerpräsident Laschet beruft Regierungskommission 'Mehr Sicherheit für Nordrhein-Westfalen' State Government of North Rhine-Westphalia, press release of 14 December 2017.
- ^ Arno Becker (13 January 2021), Landtagswahl 2021: CDU-Promi Wolfgang Bosbach in Baldaufs Ratgeberteam Die Rheinpfalz.
- ^ Gerrit Wiesmann (30 August 2011), Merkel fights back over Greek bail-out Financial Times.
- ^ Annette Weisbach (28 June 2012), Germany's Bosbach Says ESM Is Step to Transfer Union, RP Says Bloomberg News.
- ^ Jana Randow (19 May 2012), Germany's Bosbach Says Greece Should Leave Euro Area, WiWo Says Bloomberg News.
- ^ Stephen Brown (27 February 2015), Germany backs Greek extension but bailout fatigue grows Reuters.
- ^ Paul Carrel (17 July 2015), German lawmakers back Greek bailout despite rebellion; Tsipras sacks dissenters Reuters.
- ^ Gareth Jones (28 March 2013), Germany urged to grant Muslims days off for religious festivals Reuters.
- ^ Lars Werner (9 October 2019), Hat der Vorstand jetzt zu viel Macht? Fragen und Antworten zur Reform der FC-Gremien Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger.
- ^ "Auftritt mit Labbese "Bosbach singt besser als Nahles"". express.de (in German). 27 November 2013.
- ^ Karius, Deniz (10 February 2014). "Wolfgang Bosbach legt die närrische Reifeprüfung ab". rp-online.de (in German).
External links
edit
Media related to Wolfgang Bosbach at Wikimedia Commons- Official website (in German)
