Dirk Niebel

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Dirk Niebel (2011)

Dirk-Ekkehard Niebel (born March 29, 1963 in Hamburg ) is a former German politician ( FDP ). From 2005 to 2009 he was General Secretary of the FDP. From 2009 to December 17, 2013 he was Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development in the Merkel II cabinet . Since 2015 he has worked as a consultant for the armaments and automotive supplier Rheinmetall .

Career

youth

Dirk Niebel grew up as the son of a qualified home economics teacher in a middle-class family in the Hamburg district of Blankenese . The father, Armin Niebel (1926–2013), was a doctor of economics and a former national rugby player . After his parents separated, Niebel grew up with two sisters with his mother. After acquiring the intermediate certificate at the secondary school Dockenhuden and subsequent technical college in 1983 at a trade school in Hamburg-Bahrenfeld lived Niebel a year as a volunteer in a kibbutz in Israel . There he worked in agriculture and fish farming. While still at school in 1982 he spent his holidays in the Israeli kibbutz Kfar Giladi near the Lebanese border.

Study and job

From 1984 to 1991 Niebel served as a temporary soldier . In 1986 he completed the non-commissioned officer course and then a staff service course at the school for military police and staff service of the Bundeswehr in Sonthofen . He graduated from the sergeant's course for paratroopers at the air landing and air transport school in Altenstadt in 1988 as the best of his year. Most recently he was platoon leader of a reconnaissance and reconnaissance platoon for the paratroopers of Airborne Brigade 25 "Black Forest" in Calw . He was released from active service as a sergeant major and after several military exercises (including at the Berlin site command ) promoted to captain of the reserve in 2008 . Since 2004 he has been mob-ordered in the Special Operations Division in Regensburg and is deployed as a liaison officer to Airborne Brigade 26 in Saarlouis.

From 1990 he studied administration in the labor administration department of the Federal University of Applied Sciences for Public Administration and graduated in 1993 with a degree in administrative management (FH) . From 1993 to 1998 he worked as a recruitment agency in upscale service in a branch of the Labor Office of Heidelberg in Sinsheim operates. Most recently, he held the title of Chief Administrative Inspector.

Political party

As a student, Niebel became a member of the Junge Union in 1977 and the CDU in 1979 , both of which he left in 1981. In 1990 he joined the FDP / DVP and was a founding member of the Heidelberg District Association of Young Liberals . Since 2003 Niebel has been a member of the federal executive board of the FDP and the board of trustees of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation . On 5 May 2005. him the elected national party at the suggestion of Guido Westerwelle with 92.4% of the vote as general secretary of the FDP.

In particular, Niebel advocated radical reform of the Federal Employment Agency . According to his ideas, the federal agency should only be responsible for the administration and payment of the insurance benefits of the unemployment insurance .

Niebel was elected as the successor to Hans Freudenberg as district chairman of the FDP Kurpfalz in January 2011 and resigned from this office in January 2014. His successor in this office was Dr. Birgit Reinemund .

Niebel was elected to the FDP Presidium at the 62nd FDP federal party conference in April 2011. Niebel was not re-elected at the 64th FDP federal party conference on March 9 and 10, 2013. His successor in the office of assessor was Wolfgang Kubicki .

MP

From 2004 to 2005 he was a member of the Heidelberg City Council. From 1998 to 2013 he was a member of the German Bundestag . From 2002 to 2005 he was chairman of the Baden-Württemberg regional group in the FDP parliamentary group and from 1998 to 2009 parliamentary group spokesman for labor market policy. Dirk Niebel was always drawn into the Bundestag via the Baden-Württemberg state list. In the federal election in 2013 , he led the state list of the FDP Baden-Württemberg as the top candidate. Due to the failure of his party at the five percent hurdle , he was no longer represented in the 18th Bundestag .

Federal Minister

On October 28, 2009, Niebel took over the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development in the Merkel II cabinet . During the election campaign, Niebel, as FDP General Secretary, pleaded in accordance with the FDP's election program for abolishing the ministry and integrating the tasks into the Foreign Ministry. In his priorities as minister, Niebel differed from his predecessor Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul , who had placed a clear emphasis on multilateral development cooperation, by placing greater emphasis on the aspects of economic cooperation, impact orientation and the involvement of the private sector.

Immediately after taking office, Niebel announced that he wanted to phase out German development aid for the People's Republic of China with the termination of the current programs, as the country itself was now economically strong. New funding commitments were no longer made, but old projects that are binding under international law were completed.

As Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Niebel was opposed to the initiative launched by Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa in 2007 to forego oil drilling in the protected Yasuní National Park if the international community paid for half of the lost profits. Although the Bundestag voted in favor of the idea, it ultimately failed.

Under Niebel, the German Society for Technical Cooperation (GTZ), the German Development Service (DED) and the training company InWEnt merged with effect from January 1, 2011 to form the German Society for International Cooperation GmbH (GIZ). The new organization with 19,000 employees should have 700 fewer normal positions, but two more managing directors than the individual organizations before. The federal establishment plan was relieved by 300 net positions, although the number of positions in the ministry itself was increased. The additional positions in the BMZ, which also benefit the external structure in the partner countries, should strengthen the political steering capacity vis-à-vis the implementing organizations. The merger to form GIZ was also seen as a success by the opposition. In November 2012, Niebel opened the independent German Evaluation Institute for Development Cooperation (DEval). The evaluation institute is located in Bonn, had 38 positions at the time and was initially headed by Helmut Asche . The establishment of the institute was part of the structural reform of German development cooperation, which also included the establishment of Engagement Global gGmbH. As early as January 2012, under the direction of Dirk Niebels, the BMZ created Engagement Global gGmbH, a single point of contact for development-promoting engagement.

Controversy

Niebel's appointment and administration of office have repeatedly been criticized from development aid circles. It acts too little in the interests of the development of the Third World countries, but primarily in the interests of German business enterprises.

The constitutional lawyer Hans Herbert von Arnim and the SPD member of the Bundestag Sascha Raabe accused Niebel in Report Munich of engaging in nepotism or patronage for party friends in the development ministry . After the management of Engagement Global gGmbH was filled with the former mayor of Ettlingen , Gabriela Büssemaker , Niebel von Raabe was reported on suspicion of infidelity . The Berlin public prosecutor's office declared the allegations against Niebel to be baseless and decided not to open an investigation. In March 2013, however , the Federal Audit Office criticized Büssemaker's salary classification as "clearly overrated" and the personnel policy of the gGmbH it runs as fundamentally "uneconomical".

In May 2013, Niebel was criticized for his personnel policy. According to the television magazine Monitor , he is said to have hired more than 40 FDP members and employees since he took office. The chairman of the Association of Employees of the Supreme Federal Authorities (VBOB), Hartwig Schmitt-Koenigsberg, spoke of an "unprecedented process".

In May 2012, a carpet bought by Niebel in Afghanistan was brought to Germany in the official plane of the President of the Federal Intelligence Service . A declaration was only made to customs after Der Spiegel had researched the matter. The opposition, but also Chancellor Merkel, criticized Niebel's behavior. Niebel relied on the fact that carpets from Least Developed Countries such as Afghanistan are not subject to duty, but regretted the mistake. He will pay the incurred import sales tax later. The prosecution saw no evidence of criminal behavior.

The announcement that Niebel will act as a consultant to the Rheinmetall AG Executive Board from 2015 has been publicly criticized. It cannot be ruled out that the job is a reward for his previous voting behavior in the Federal Security Council . According to Rheinmetall, there was no business connection with Niebel before he left the federal government. At the request of the left, the federal government listed all arms deliveries since 2002. It emerged from this that the Federal Security Council had not granted Rheinmetall AG an export license for weapons during Niebel's tenure.

In May 2017, Niebel caused irritation with a post on Facebook that showed a picture of a paratrooper with the slogan “Don't complain, fight” in Fraktur; the soldier pictured is wearing a helmet that was used by the paratroopers in the Wehrmacht ; After the establishment of the Bundeswehr , an explicit decision was made against such helmets. The picture and the slogan have repeatedly been the subject of arguments in the Bundeswehr since the 1990s at the latest and can also be found in the right-wing scene. The FDP distanced itself. At the request of the DPA , Niebel announced that he would not comment on it.

Volunteering

From 1993 to 1996 he was an honorary judge at the Heidelberg Regional Court . In 1996 he became an honorary assessor of the committee for conscientious objection at the district military replacement office in Karlsruhe. In addition, he was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics from 1999 to 2004 . Since 2000 he has been a board member of the German Atlantic Society . From 2003 to 2009 he was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom and from 2000 to 2010 Vice President of the German-Israeli Society . Since 2009 he has been the patron of the German Rugby Association (DRV).

Private

Niebel is married and has three sons (* 1993, * 1995 and * 2000).

literature

  • Talkshow 2.0 - From self-talk to dialogue. In: Sascha Michel, Heiko Girnth (Hrsg.): Polit-Talkshows - Bühnen der Macht. A look behind the scenes. Bouvier, Bonn 2009, ISBN 978-3-416-03280-3 , pp. 86-92.
  • Michael Bohnet : History of German Development Policy: Strategies, Interior Views, Contemporary Witnesses , Challenges , Konstanz / Munich, UVK Verlagsgesellschaft 2015 (utb4320), ISBN 978-3-8252-4320-3 , pp. 183–193.

Web links

Commons : Dirk Niebel  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikiquote: Dirk Niebel  - Quotes

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Kevin P. Hoffmann: Captain Niebel's Third World. In: Der Tagesspiegel . January 17, 2011.
  2. ↑ Dirk Niebel in the Munzinger archive ( beginning of article freely accessible).
  3. ^ Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: obituary, October 19, 2013, p. 9.
  4. ↑ Dirk Niebel, Origin and Family ( Memento from January 14, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), in Wiwo “Köpfe”.
  5. ↑ Dirk Niebel in an interview - "I scurry around". In: Tagesspiegel , November 29, 2009.
  6. ↑ Bettina Röhl : Dick was our Dicki. Cicero Online, May 25, 2005.
  7. ↑ Dagmar Dehmer, Hans Monath: Interview with Dirk Niebel. "I scurry around" . In: Die Zeit , November 29, 2011.
  8. ^ A b Sebastian Christ, Hans Peter Schütz: Development Aid Ministry. Dirk Niebel, minister on probation . In: Stern , October 28, 2009.
  9. ↑ Wolfgang Gieler (Ed.): 50 Years of German Development Cooperation. The BMZ from Walter Scheel to Dirk Niebel. Scientia Bonnensis, Bonn 2011, ISBN 978-3-940766-41-0 , p. 226.
  10. ^ Promotion for Dirk Niebel. In: elde 1/2009, p. 22.
  11. ↑ Rudolf Vierhaus , Ludolf Herbst (ed.), Bruno Jahn (collaborator): Biographical manual of the members of the German Bundestag. 1949-2002. Vol. 2: N-Z. Attachment. KG Saur, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-598-23782-0 , p. 602.
  12. ↑ die-stadtredaktion.de
  13. ↑ rnf.de
  14. ↑ fdp.de: 62nd Federal Party Congress of the FDP in Rostock ( Memento of September 27, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), April 13, 2011. Retrieved on March 11, 2013.
  15. ^ Fr-online.de: Niebel voted out of FDP leadership , March 9, 2013. Accessed March 11, 2013.
  16. ↑ focus.de: FDP lets its ministers Niebel and Bahr fail , March 9, 2013. Retrieved on March 11, 2013.
  17. ^ Niebel top candidate of the Southwest FDP. Merkur Online, accessed June 26, 2013.
  18. ↑ Strengthen the center. Germany program 2009. Program of the Free Democratic Party for the 2009 Bundestag election. (PDF; 293 kB) Retrieved on June 26, 2013.
  19. ↑ Franz Nuscheler in an interview with Tagesschau on September 6, 2012.
  20. ↑ China and India on the cross-off list. Deutsche Welle Online; October 30, 2009.
  21. ↑ Development aid for China. ( Memento from November 2, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , October 30, 2009.
  22. ↑ China gets millions for climate protection. Online trading venue; December 17, 2009.
  23. ↑ Steffen Trumpf: Niebels lonely fight against Yasuní. Zeit Online, October 6, 2011, accessed February 15, 2018 .
  24. ^ Application by members of the CDU, SPD and Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen for the Yasuní National Park and the proposal from Ecuador, June 25, 2008. (PDF; 156 kB) Retrieved on February 22, 2018 .
  25. ↑ Niebels water head. In: taz , November 25, 2010.
  26. ↑ Niebel restructures development aid ( memento from September 10, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ). RP Online; December 16, 2010.
  27. ↑ Niebel unites aid organizations. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , December 16, 2010.
  28. ↑ German Evaluation Institute .
  29. ↑ global engagement .
  30. ^ "Bread for the World" criticizes FDP Minister Niebel Welt Online, January 4, 2010.
  31. ^ Hendrik Loven: Save yourself who can: FDP personnel policy in federal ministries . In: Report Munich . January 10, 2012 ( br.de ( memento of January 13, 2012 in the Internet Archive )).
  32. ↑ Severin Weiland: accusation of infidelity: SPD deputy reports Niebel. In: Der Spiegel , January 26, 2012; Retrieved June 26, 2012.
  33. ↑ "Allegations baseless" - Niebel is not being investigated for nepotism. In: Focus , April 10, 2012.
  34. ^ Hanna Gersmann : Expensive nepotism. In: The daily newspaper . September 8, 2013, archived from the original on September 11, 2013 ; Retrieved September 9, 2013 .
  35. ^ Matthew D. Rose, Achim Pollmeier: Ministry for Self-Help . In: The time . No. 22 , 2013, p. 27 ( zeit.de - short version).
  36. ^ Afghanistan souvenir in the BND jet: Minister Niebel's flying carpet. In: Der Spiegel. June 6, 2012, accessed June 7, 2012 .
  37. ↑ Merkel reprimands Niebel for buying carpets. Zeit-online, June 8, 2012 .
  38. ^ Niebel: Carpet was not subject to duty Deutschlandradio, June 16, 2012. Accessed on June 18, 2012.
  39. ^ The carpet affair is a criminal offense for Niebel. ( Memento from June 30, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) tagesschau.de, from June 27, 2012.
  40. ↑ Rheinmetall AG press release of July 1, 2014 ( Memento of July 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  41. ↑ spiegel.de: July 2, 2014
  42. ↑ Roland Nelles : Armaments lobbyist Niebel: That stinks , Spiegel Online from July 1, 2014
  43. ↑ Ludwig Greven: Stop the armaments lobbyist Niebel , ZEIT Online from July 2, 2014
  44. ↑ Günther Lachmann: Ex-Development Minister Dirk Niebel is upgrading , WELT Online from July 1, 2014
  45. ↑ BT-Drs. 18/3002 : request from the left
  46. ↑ Arms export decisions of the Federal Security Council PDF, 9MB. (PDF, 9MB) Retrieved April 3, 2018 .
  47. ↑ morgenpost.de
  48. ↑ Dirk Niebel: Ex-FDP General Secretary disturbed with Wehrmacht picture on Facebook. In: welt.de . May 13, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2017 .
  49. ^ BMZ: CV Dirk Niebel. ( Memento from January 12, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
personal data
SURNAME Niebel, Dirk
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Niebel, Dirk-Ekkehard (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German politician (FDP), Member of the Bundestag, Federal Minister
DATE OF BIRTH March 29, 1963
PLACE OF BIRTH Hamburg