Christian Schmidt

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Christian Schmidt (2013)

Christian Schmidt (born August 26, 1957 in Obernzenn ) is a German politician ( CSU ) and lawyer. He has been a member of the German Bundestag since 1990 . From February 17, 2014 to March 14, 2018 he was Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture and from October 24, 2017 to March 14, 2018, Acting Federal Minister for Transport and Digital Infrastructure . From 2005 to 2013 he was Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Minister of Defense , after the 2013 Bundestag election until he was appointed Minister as Parliamentary State Secretary atFederal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development . Since 2019 he has also been a member of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Bahn AG and since August 2021 High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina .

education and profession

After attending primary school in Obernzenn and graduating from the Georg-Wilhelm-Steller-Gymnasium in Bad Windsheim in 1976 , Schmidt did his basic military service in the 1st Mountain Division and from 1977 studied law in Erlangen and Lausanne , which he completed in 1982 with the first and Graduated from the Second State Exam in Law in 1985 . He was a scholarship holder of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation . From 1985 up to the assumption of the office as Parliamentary Secretary in 2005, he worked as a lawyer admitted.

Political party

Christian Schmidt (2014)

Schmidt joined the Junge Union and the CSU in 1974 . From 1980 to 1982 he was chairman of the JU district association Neustadt an der Aisch and from 1982 to 1991 of the JU district association Middle Franconia .

Schmidt was from 1989 to 1993 and has been a member of the CSU state executive again since 1999. From 1999 to April 2009 he was also chairman of the CSU district association Fürth- Stadt. Schmidt has been the state chairman of the Evangelical Working Group (EAK) of the CSU since May 2010 . From 2004 to 2014 he was also the state chairman of the working group for foreign, security and European policy (ASP) of the CSU. In May 2011 he also became deputy federal chairman of the Evangelical Working Group of the CDU / CSU.

Schmidt has been deputy chairman of the CSU since October 8, 2011. In this function, he represents the party chairman, particularly in matters of foreign, security and European policy, and maintains contact with friendly parties within the European People's Party (EPP). He maintains the CSU's relations with Israel, Croatia, Austria, the United States and Great Britain in particular.

MP

From 1984 to 1990 Schmidt was a member of the local council of his hometown Obernzenn and the district council of the Neustadt an der Aisch - Bad Windsheim district .

Schmidt has been a member of the German Bundestag since 1990 . From 1991 to 2002 he was chairman of the working group V (foreign affairs, defense, Europe) of the CSU regional group. From 2002 to 2005 he was chairman of the defense working group of the CDU / CSU parliamentary group and its defense policy spokesman. He was also the rapporteur for the Parliamentary Participation Act and on the issue of the deployment of the Bundeswehr inside.

From 1994 to 1998 he was chairman of the German-Israeli parliamentary group and from 1998 to 2005 chairman of the German-British parliamentary group. In addition, he is a member of the German-Baltic, German-Croatian and German-Czech parliamentary groups and was rapporteur in parliament for the German-Czechoslovak Treaty of 1992 and the German-Polish Neighborhood Treaty of 1991. The Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs appointed him in 1997 in the advisory board of the German-Czech discussion forum .

Christian Schmidt has always entered the Bundestag as a directly elected member of the Bundestag constituency of Fürth . In the 2013 federal election, he received 49.2 percent of the first votes in his constituency. In November 2016, he stated that he would run for the Bundestag again in 2017. With 39.9% of the first votes in constituency 243, Schmidt was once again able to secure the direct mandate for the 19th German Bundestag.

In the 19th German Bundestag Schmidt has been a full member of the Foreign Affairs Committee , is a deputy member of the Subcommittee on Foreign Cultural and Educational Policy at.

With the transfer of the office of High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina , Christian Schmidt withdrew his application as a candidate for the CSU in the Fürth constituency and will therefore leave the Bundestag as a member of the Bundestag in autumn 2021.

State Secretary

Christian Schmidt on the bench of the federal government in the German Bundestag next to Ursula von der Leyen , in the foreground Angela Merkel , Sigmar Gabriel and Frank-Walter Steinmeier , 2014.

From November 23, 2005, Schmidt was Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Defense . During this time he worked under the ministers Franz Josef Jung , Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg and Thomas de Maizière . Schmidt's tenure included the dispute over the rehabilitation of the fighter pilot's inspector Werner Mölders (2007), the realignment of the Bundeswehr (since 2010) and Guttenberg's resignation as a result of the plagiarism affair , which he initially defended against the allegations.

Christian Schmidt made a significant contribution to the establishment and adequate funding of the so-called "hardship foundation". This foundation, which was established under the umbrella of the Soldiers' Relief Organization in May 2012, is intended to provide a certain amount of support - also outside of the applicable supply law - in cases of particular hardship that may have arisen due to the exercise of official duties.

In 2013, Schmidt moved to the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development as State Secretary in the Merkel III government .

Thomas Silberhorn succeeded him as State Secretary in the Ministry of Development.

Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture, Minister of Transport

On February 17, 2014, Schmidt succeeded Hans-Peter Friedrich as Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture . From October 24, 2017, Schmidt was also provisional Federal Minister of Transport after Alexander Dobrindt had given up this office.

Christian Schmidt (2016) at the Federation of German Consumer Organizations (vzbv)

Controversial glyphosate approval in 2017

In November 2017, Schmidt single-handedly approved an extension of the EU-wide approval of the controversial herbicide glyphosate by five years, although he had previously agreed to abstain with Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks . The votes of Germany were decisive for the extension of the EU approval of glyphosate by the ministerial round. The German Ministry of Agriculture pointed out that the EU Commission would have renewed the license this week anyway. Schmidt negotiated several points in return for his approval. The role of biodiversity and animal welfare should be strengthened, the dangers should be further educated and the approval procedures should be improved. These points are listed in an annex to the implementing regulation. Schmidt also explained in the ARD that he wanted to "regulate very strictly" the use of glyphosate and examine a ban on private use.

Chancellor Angela Merkel stated on the following day that the approval despite the veto by Environment Minister Hendricks was a violation of the rules of procedure of the federal government and reprimanded Schmidt for his behavior. The approval “did not correspond to the instructions that had been drawn up by the federal government”. According to information from WDR, NDR and Süddeutscher Zeitung , the approval of the Ministry of Agriculture had already been prepared for months despite the lack of a decision by the government and a contradicting coalition agreement; and Horst Seehofer had been informed about the procedure. According to this, Schmidt received recommendations from the plant protection department in July 2017 to check whether the extension could be approved without the consent of the Ministry of the Environment. Several weeks later, the plant protection department asked Chancellor Merkel to be persuaded to use her guideline competence to make the decision, and in October the department pushed for “approval without a departmental position”.

The SPD was outraged by Schmidt's sole decision and spoke of a “breach of trust”. Opposition politicians criticized the procedure as a " lobby decision" for Monsanto and Bayer AG , which Monsanto wanted to take over. The environmental protection association BUND spoke of an "unprecedented foul game".

Katrin Zinkant from the Süddeutsche Zeitung, however, called the new approval of glyphosate “correct” because it was a “first step towards the agricultural turnaround”. It would be about more than just glyphosate, but about saying goodbye to "agriculture overloaded with chemicals that nobody wants anymore". Holger Romann from Bayerischer Rundfunk called the decision “surprising, sensible, overdue” because it ended an eternal drama “on the EU stage”, in a way that the EU Commission was pretty sure about shortly afterwards out of fears Claims for damages by the manufacturer would have done. "Farmers have planning security, and the now hysterical debate, which has only frightened us consumers, will hopefully calm down."

Schmidt himself commented his approach succinctly with the words: "So isser, Schmidt".

High representative

On May 27, 2021, at the suggestion of the German Federal Government, Christian Schmidt was elected as High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Steering Committee of the Council for the Implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement at its meeting in Sarajevo . Only Russia did not support his election in the council meeting, all other 54 countries agreed to the election.

Personal

Christian Schmidt is the third and youngest child in a family of bakers. He has been married to the literary scholar and copywriter Ria Schmidt (née Hess) since 1989. The two have two daughters.

Awards and honors

Memberships

Christian Schmidt is President of the German Atlantic Society e. V. and member of the Society for Christian-Jewish Cooperation .

He sits on the supervisory board of the Center for International Peace Operations GmbH (ZIF) , on the Board of Trustees of the Federal Foundation for the Study of the SED Dictatorship , on the Board of Trustees of the German Foundation for Peace Research , on the Board of Trustees of the Society for Defense and Security Policy. V. and on the advisory board of the American Jewish Committee e. V. Schmidt is an honorary member of the board of the humanitarian aid organization Help - Help for Self-Help e. V.

Schmidt is a member of the Munich-based comrades group of the mountain troops .

When in Frankfurt based Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank Schmidt is in Board of Directors worked as deputy chairman.

Christian Schmidt has been the German Advisory Board Chairman of the German-Czech Discussion Forum since 2013.

Schmidt is a member of the non-partisan European Union Germany , which advocates a federal Europe and the European unification process.

He is the state chairman of the Evangelical Working Group in the CSU.

From April 2019 to December 2020 Schmidt was a member of the commission set up by the federal government for "30 Years of Peaceful Revolution and German Unity ".

Web links

Commons : Christian Schmidt (CSU)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. a b Friedrich-Succession: State Secretary Schmidt becomes the new Agriculture Minister . Mirror online. February 17, 2014. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
  2. ^ Dismissal and appointment of federal ministers . The federal president. February 27, 2001. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
  3. PM of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure from October 25, 2017
  4. Franconian ex-minister Schmidt is now on the railway supervisory board. Retrieved November 14, 2019 .
  5. Supervisory Board of DB AG | Deutsche Bahn AG. Retrieved November 14, 2019 .
  6. Michael Odenwald confirmed as chairman of the supervisory board until 2025 • DB control body is becoming more female. Deutsche Bahn, March 25, 2020, accessed on March 26, 2020 .
  7. ^ A b Christian Schmidt: Schmidt personally, curriculum vitae. Retrieved February 17, 2014 .
  8. A network of the CDU elite? Retrieved December 28, 2019 .
  9. ^ A b Christian Schmidt (Fürth), CDU / CSU . German Bundestag. Archived from the original on March 8, 2015. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  10. Fürth CSU longs for more harmony . Fürth news. May 9, 2015. Accessed February 24, 2015.
  11. The new federal minister of agriculture is a prominent Protestant . kath.net. February 18, 2014. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
  12. Christian Schmidt is also running for the Bundestag in 2017 . Northern Bavaria. November 20, 2016. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  13. City of Fürth - electoral office - preliminary final result constituency 243 - accessed online on September 25, 2017 | 0:01 a.m. - available online
  14. ^ German Bundestag - MPs. Retrieved December 11, 2020 .
  15. Stefan Blank: Well: Christian Schmidt renounces the Bundestag candidacy. In: nordbayern.de from June 9, 2021 - available online
  16. Christian Schmidt: Mölders and the future of tradition in the Bundeswehr . Working group for foreign and security policy. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved on February 24, 2015.
  17. Guttenberg's State Secretary suspects a "communist" campaign . General newspaper. February 16, 2011. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
  18. Guttenberg in need of explanation . Stuttgart news. February 18, 2011. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
  19. Guttenberg twilight startles Union . Handelsblatt. February 18, 2011. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
  20. Aid Fund for Hardship Cases . Federal ministry of defense. May 23, 2012. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
  21. ^ Transatlantic and determined European: Serenade for State Secretary Christian Schmidt . Federal ministry of defense. January 7, 2014. Accessed February 24, 2015.
  22. Christian Schmidt becomes Minister of Agriculture . Southgerman newspaper. February 17, 2014. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
  23. Fürther Nachrichten: Fürther Christian Schmidt now also Minister of Transport. Online edition from October 23, 2017 | 5:29 p.m. - available online
  24. Federal Government: Ministry of Transport could get a new layout. In: handelsblatt.com. October 19, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2017 .
  25. ^ Federal Minister Christian Schmidt takes over for Alexander Dobrindt. In: bmvi.de. Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, October 25, 2017, accessed on November 1, 2017 .
  26. German approval of glyphosate. In: spiegel.de. November 27, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2017 .
  27. Schmidt's solo and the consequences . In: Spiegel-Online , November 28, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  28. Süddeutsche Zeitung: The Poison of Doubt , November 28, 2017 , accessed on November 29, 2017.
  29. a b complaint from Merkel: Schmidt did not follow instructions with glyphosate . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , November 28, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  30. Seehofer knew about the glyphosate vote in advance . In: n-tv , November 28, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  31. Glyphosate: It seems that it has been prepared a long time ago by going it alone . In: WDR , November 28, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  32. Schmidt's ministry has been preparing to go it alone for months . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , November 28, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  33. FOCUS Online: Hofreiter sees lobby decision for Monsanto . In: FOCUS Online . ( focus.de [accessed on November 28, 2017]).
  34. Stefan Sauer: Analysis of the glyphosate vote: SPD outraged, BUND speaks of “foul play” by the Union. Berliner Zeitung , November 28, 2017, accessed on December 3, 2017 .
  35. Katrin Zinkant: The new approval of glyphosate is correct. Süddeutsche Zeitung , November 28, 2017, accessed on December 3, 2017 .
  36. Holger Romann: Commentary on glyphosate yes: Sensible and overdue. Tagesschau , November 28, 2017, accessed on December 3, 2017 (German).
  37. A political folly with serious consequences at t-online.de from November 28, 2017, accessed on July 14, 2019
  38. dpa: Only Russia said no: Fürther Christian Schmidt receives high office. In: nordbayern.de accessed online on May 28, 2021 | 3:35 p.m. - available online
  39. ^ Dpa: Christian Schmidt becomes high representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Spiegel.de accessed online on May 28, 2021 | 3:47 p.m. - available online
  40. The "mountain troops" trial against VVN canceled . Neue Rheinische Zeitung. November 26, 2008. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  41. ^ Rentenbank: About us, Board of Directors . Company website. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  42. PStS Christian Schmidt is the new German chairman of the German-Czech Discussion Forum . German-Czech discussion forum. 2013. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  43. ^ Christian Schmidt website of the Europa-Union Deutschland. Retrieved January 11, 2018
  44. https://www.csu.de/partei/parteiarbeit/arbeitskreise/eak/
  45. ^ Commission "30 Years of Peaceful Revolution and German Unity". Retrieved December 23, 2020 .