Torsten Albig

Torsten Albig
Minister President of Schleswig-Holstein
Assumed office
12 June 2012
Preceded by Peter Harry Carstensen
Mayor of Kiel
In office
11 June 2009 – 6 May 2012
Preceded by Angelika Volquartz
Succeeded by Peter Todeskino (acting)
Personal details
Born (1963-05-25) 25 May 1963
Bremen, Germany
Nationality  Germany
Political party Social Democratic Party (SPD) (1982-)
Profession Civil servant

Torsten Albig (born 25 May 1963 in Bremen) is a German politician from the Social Democratic Party of Germany. In the Schleswig-Holstein state election 2012 Albig became the Minister President of Schleswig-Holstein.

Early life and education

Albig grew up in Ostholstein and Bielefeld. After graduating from high school in 1982, he first studied history and social sciences at the University of Bielefeld but later changed to law.

Lord Mayor of Kiel, 2009-2012

From 2009 to 2012 Albig was the Lord Mayor of Kiel, the state capital of Schleswig-Holstein.

Albig was a SPD delegate to the Federal Convention for the purpose of electing the President of Germany in 2012.

Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein, 2012-present

Torsten Albig was appointed candidate for Minister-President, representing his party, the SPD, in 2011 after a member's decision. At the election in 2012, SPD achieved 30.4% of the votes, not enough to beat the ruling CDU that got 30.8% of the popular vote. SPD and CDU achieved 22 seats each, and the election result made it possible for Albig to form a coalition government with the participation of the Green Party and the SSW, which is a regional party representing the Danish and Frisian minorities. The three parties have a narrow majority in the Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein with 35 of 69 seats. At the appointment in parliament though, he got 37 of 69 possible votes. The new-formed government of Schleswig-Holstein consisting of SPD, The Green Party and the SSW has never been seen before in German history.[1]

Albig succeeded Peter Harry Carstensen in the position as Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein.

In the negotiations to form a Grand Coalition of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU together with the Bavarian CSU) and the SPD following the 2013 federal elections, Albig was part of the SPD delegation in the working group on transport, building and infrastructure, led by Peter Ramsauer and Florian Pronold.

In 2015, Albig – alongside First Mayor of Hamburg Olaf Scholz – negotiated a restructuring deal with the European Commission that allowed the German regional lender HSH Nordbank to offload 6.2 billion euros in troubled assets – mainly non-performing ship loans – onto its government majority owners and avoid being shut down, saving around 2,500 jobs.[2]

Other activities

Personal life

Albig is married and has two children.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Dänen-Ampel steht – Albig regiert in Kiel". Die Welt (in German). 12 June 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  2. ↑ Arno Schuetze and Foo Yun Chee (May 27, 2015), HSH Nordbank strikes rescue deal with EU Reuters.
  3. ↑ Board of Trustees Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival.
  4. ↑ "Kabinett - SPD Schleswig-Holstein". SPD-Landesverband Schleswig-Holstein (in German). 6 June 2012. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
Preceded by
Peter Harry Carstensen		 Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein
12 June 2012 – 		Incumbent
Preceded by
Angelika Volquartz		 Mayor of Kiel
11 June 2009 – 6 May 2012 		Succeeded by
Peter Todeskino
Acting
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