Franz Müntefering

Franz Müntefering
Chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Germany
In office 18 October 2008 – 13 November 2009
Preceded by	Kurt Beck
Succeeded by	Sigmar Gabriel
Vice Chancellor of Germany
In office 22 November 2005 – 21 November 2007
Preceded by	Joschka Fischer
Succeeded by	Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Minister of Labour and Social Affairs
In office 22 November 2005 – 21 November 2007
Preceded by	Wolfgang Clement
Succeeded by	Olaf Scholz
Chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Germany
In office 21 March 2004 – 15 November 2005
Preceded by	Gerhard Schröder
Succeeded by	Matthias Platzeck
Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs
In office 27 October 1998 – 29 September 1999
Preceded by	Eduard Oswald
Succeeded by	Reinhard Klimmt
Personal details
Born	(1940-01-16) 16 January 1940 Neheim, Germany
Nationality	German
Political party	SPD
Relations	Michelle Schumann
Occupation	Industrial manager, politician
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Franz Müntefering [fʁants ˈmʏntəˌfeʁɪŋ] (born 16 January 1940) is a German politician and industrial manager. He was Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) from 2004 to 2005 and again from 18 October 2008 to 13 November 2009. He served as Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, as well as Vice-Chancellor, from 2005 to 2007.

Early life and education

Müntefering was born in Neheim (now part of Arnsberg). He trained as an industrial salesman and worked for local metalwork companies.^[1]

Political career

Müntefering joined the SPD in 1966. He was a member of the Bundestag from 1975 to 1992 and again since 1998; from 1995 to 1998 he was a member of the Landtag (state parliament) of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Müntefering was Bundesgeschäftsführer (executive director) of the national SPD from 1995 to 1998. In this capacity, he managed the 1998 campaign that returned the SPD to power in the federal government after 16 years in opposition.^[2]

From 1998 until 1999, Müntefering briefly held the post of Minister of Transportation and Construction in the first cabinet of Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. In this capacity, he organized the government's move from Bonn to Berlin.^[3]

Müntefering was the first to hold the new post of SPD General Secretary from 1999 to 2002, and thereafter became leader of the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag. In February 2004 he was designated to succeed Schröder as party chairman in March 2004.^[4]

Following Schröder’s defeat in the close 2005 elections, Müntefering helped form a grand coalition under the new Chancellor Angela Merkel and her center-right CDU/CSU parties.^[5] During the coalition talks, on 31 October 2005, Müntefering's favoured candidate for Secretary General of the SPD, Kajo Wasserhövel, was defeated by the left-wing candidate Andrea Nahles in a preliminary internal election. Müntefering subsequently announced his intention to resign as SPD Chairman, and was succeeded by Matthias Platzeck at the next party convention on 15 November 2005.

Müntefering became Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs and Vice-Chancellor in the cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel on 22 November 2005. During his time in office, the government agreed to raise the retirement age in steps to 67 from 65 by 2029.

After two years in those posts, Müntefering's spokesman said on 13 November 2007 that Müntefering would resign from them later in the month. The decision was said to be based on "purely familial reasons".^[6] Later in the day, Müntefering said that he would leave his positions in the government on 21 November attributing his decision to the illness of his wife, Ankepetra, who was suffering from cancer.^[7] Upon leaving office on 21 November 2007, he was replaced as Vice-Chancellor by Frank-Walter Steinmeier and as Minister of Labor by Olaf Scholz, both of whom are also members of the SPD.^[8]

Müntefering's wife Ankepetra died on 31 July 2008. Following her death, Müntefering decided to return to active politics and was elected Chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Germany on 18 October 2008.^[9] On 7 September 2008, Kurt Beck resigned as SPD Chairman, and Müntefering succeeded Beck in that post.^[9][10]

Following the SPD's defeat in the federal election of 2009, Müntefering resigned from the position of party chairman of the Social Democratic Party.

Political positions

In April 2005, Müntefering criticized the market economy of Germany and proposed more state involvement to promote economic justice. In this speech, he described private equity firms as "locusts". He subsequently published a "locust list" of companies, which he circulated within the SPD.^[11] This began a debate which dominated the national news, being the subject of front-page articles and covered on the main television news broadcasts nearly every day. Müntefering's suggestions were criticized by employers and many economists, but met with popular support (up to 75% in some opinion polls).

Life after politics

Since leaving active politics, Müntefering has held a variety of honorary positions, including the following:

• Berlin Demography Forum, Chairman of the Advisory Board
• Witten/Herdecke University, Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2014)^[12]
• Herbert and Greta Wehner Foundation, Member of the Board (since 2002)

Controversy

In 2002, news surfaced that, while Müntefering was head of the SPD in the North Rhine-Westphalia during the 1990s, local officials in the city of Cologne and possibly elsewhere allegedly engaged in corruption that involved illegal political donations from builders of waste-disposal facilities. Müntefering denied any knowledge of the anonymous donations and launched an internal investigation into all contracts awarded for the construction of waste-disposal facilities in North Rhine-Westphalia in the 1990s. On March 22, he testified about the affair before Parliament's investigative committee.^[13]

References

External links

• Biography by German Bundestag

Chairmen of the Social Democratic Party of Germany
SPD (1890–1933)	Paul Singer / Alwin Gerisch August Bebel / Paul Singer August Bebel / Hugo Haase Hugo Haase / Friedrich Ebert Friedrich Ebert Friedrich Ebert / Philipp Scheidemann Otto Wels / Herman Müller Arthur Crispien / Otto Wels / Herman Müller Arthur Crispien / Otto Wels Arthur Crispien / Otto Wels / Hans Vogel
SPD-in-exile (1933–1945)	Otto Wels / Hans Vogel Hans Vogel
SPD (since 1946)	Kurt Schumacher Erich Ollenhauer Willy Brandt Hans-Jochen Vogel Björn Engholm Rudolf Scharping Oskar Lafontaine Gerhard Schröder Franz Müntefering Matthias Platzeck Kurt Beck Franz Müntefering Sigmar Gabriel

Transport, Building and Urban Development Ministers of the Federal Republic of Germany
Transportation Verkehr	Hans-Christoph Seebohm (1949–1966) Georg Leber (1966–1972) Lauritz Lauritzen (1972–1974) Kurt Gscheidle (1974–1980) Volker Hauff (1980–1982) Werner Dollinger (1982–1987) Jürgen Warnke (1987–1989) Friedrich Zimmermann (1989–1991) Günther Krause (1991–1993) Matthias Wissmann (1993–1998)
Public Housing Development Wohnungsbau	Hermann-Eberhard Wildermuth (1949–1952) Fritz Neumayer (1952–1953) Victor-Emanuel Preusker (1953–1957) Paul Lücke (1957–1961)
Housing, Urban Development and Regional Planning Wohnungswesen, Städtebau und Raumordnung	Paul Lücke (1961–1965)
Housing and Urban Development Wohnungswesen und Städtebau	Ewald Bucher (1965–1966) Bruno Heck (1966) Lauritz Lauritzen (1966–1969)
Urban Development and Housing Städtebau und Wohnungswesen	Lauritz Lauritzen (1969–1972)
Regional Planning, Construction and Urban Development Raumordnung, Bauwesen und Städtebau	Hans-Jochen Vogel (1972–1974) Karl Ravens (1974–1978) Dieter Haack (1978–1982) Oscar Schneider (1982–1989) Gerda Hasselfeldt (1989–1991) Irmgard Schwaetzer (1991–1994) Klaus Töpfer (1994–1998) Eduard Oswald (1998)
Transportation, Construction and Housing Verkehr, Bau- und Wohnungswesen	Franz Müntefering (1998–1999) Reinhard Klimmt (1999–2000) Kurt Bodewig (2000–2002) Manfred Stolpe (2002–2005)
Transportation, Construction and Urban Development Verkehr, Bau und Stadtentwicklung	Wolfgang Tiefensee (2005–2009) Peter Ramsauer (since 2009)

Vice Chancellors of Germany
German Empire (1871–1918)	Otto zu Stolberg-Wernigerode Karl Heinrich von Boetticher Arthur von Posadowsky-Wehner Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg Clemens von Delbrück Karl Helfferich Friedrich von Payer
Weimar Republic (1919–1933)	Eugen Schiffer Bernhard Dernburg Matthias Erzberger Eugen Schiffer Erich Koch-Weser Rudolf Heinze Gustav Bauer Robert Schmidt Karl Jarres Oskar Hergt Hermann Dietrich
Third Reich (1933–1945)	Franz von Papen Hermann Göring
Federal Republic (1949–)	Franz Blücher Ludwig Erhard Erich Mende Hans-Christoph Seebohm Willy Brandt Walter Scheel Hans-Dietrich Genscher Egon Franke Hans-Dietrich Genscher Jürgen Möllemann Klaus Kinkel Joschka Fischer Franz Müntefering Frank-Walter Steinmeier Guido Westerwelle Philipp Rösler Sigmar Gabriel