Markus Löning

Markus Löning (2012)

Markus Löning (born July 2, 1960 in Meppen ) is a former  German politician ( Free Democratic Party ). From April 2010 to January 2014 he was the Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid . Before that, he was a member of the German Bundestag from 2002 to 2009 and from 2004 to 2009 regional chairman of the FDP in Berlin .

He is an internationally respected advisor and input provider on the subject of corporate responsibility and human rights . Since the end of his political career, he has worked as a consultant for large and medium-sized companies.

Life

education

After graduating from the European School in Luxembourg in 1978 , he studied political science at the University of Kent in Canterbury and at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg , which he completed in 1989 as a Magister Artium .

Career

In 1990 he became the managing director of a graphics company and in 1994 switched to the advertising agency Thienel, Meyer, Partner in Berlin as a freelancer . From 1995 he was the owner and managing director of the  Löning & Partner advertising agency and between 1998 and 2006 he headed the Löning advertising agency . At the beginning of 2014 he founded Löning - Human Rights & Responsible Business - a consulting company that also functions as a think tank . He advises large and medium-sized companies on sustainability and human rights issues. His work is dedicated to combating international human rights violations such as slave labor, the banning of trade unions or working with materials that are harmful to health.

Party career

He has been a member of the FDP since 1989 and has been a member of the regional executive committee of the FDP in Berlin since 1995. In 2000 he was elected deputy state chairman and finally in 2004 state chairman of the FDP Berlin . From 2001 to 2011 he was also a member of the FDP federal executive committee . After losing the election for the top candidacy in Berlin in 2009, Löning informed his regional association on January 25, 2010 that he would no longer run for the state executive at the party congress in March 2010. His successor as chairman of the FDP regional association in Berlin was Christoph Meyer .

From 2005 to 2011 Löning was Vice President of the European Liberal Democratic Party (ELDR).

In 2012 he was elected as Vice President to the Board of the Liberal International . He is also chairman of the global Human Rights Committee of the Liberal International .

In 2017 Löning was re-elected Vice President of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE, formerly ELDR).

MP

From 2002 to 2009 Löning was a member of the German Bundestag . As a member of the Committee for the Affairs of the European Union, he was the European policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group and chairman of the German-Belgian-Luxembourg parliamentary group.

At the state representative assembly on March 28, 2009 Löning ran again for the top candidacy of the Berlin FDP, so state list place 1, for the German Bundestag, but was defeated by  Martin Lindner  with 133 to 214 votes and then did not run.

Documents about his activities as a member of the German Bundestag and for the FDP from 2002 to 2009 are in the  archive of liberalism of  the  Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom  in  Gummersbach .

Federal Government Commissioner

From April 2010 to January 2014 Löning was the Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid . Löning represented German human rights policy to members of government and parliamentarians worldwide. Markus Löning traveled to over 70 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and the USA and also visited various prisons, refugee camps and disaster areas. In November 2011, Volker Beck praised Löning's administration as “courageous”, “committed” and “courageous” "Compared to his predecessor, this is a huge improvement".

Among other things, he campaigned for the asylum procedures for Syrian civil war refugees to be simplified. In September 2013, a plane with the first 107 of a total of 5000 Syrians landed in Hanover, which Germany picks up in a special campaign.

Positions

General

In terms of content, Commissioner Löning's focus in the area of ​​human rights is on the death penalty, freedom of expression and freedom of the press, protection of human rights defenders and the fight against discrimination, especially of minorities. In regional terms, the Commissioner has so far mainly dealt with the human rights situation in Eastern Europe, China, the South Caucasus, Central Asia, North Africa, Turkey and Myanmar. As part of humanitarian aid, he traveled to Pakistan to hand over aid supplies and to support local aid on the occasion of the flood disaster and to Ethiopia on the occasion of the famine in the Horn of Africa. Most recently, in the course of setting up a refugee camp in Jordan and Lebanon, he campaigned for support for the refugees of the Syrian conflict.

Freedom of expression and freedom of the press

In many countries the press and free reporting are restricted, suppressed, censored or banned. Löning acts as the ombudsman for civil society in the country and can thus address the situation in the respective country without fear of reprisals. Because of Germany's excellent work in the field of human rights, Löning's voice carries weight abroad.

Löning's general understanding of freedom of expression and freedom of the press is borne out by statements on measures taken by selected countries as an example: On May 3, 2012, on International Freedom of the Press Day, Löning declared that freedom of expression and freedom of the press were inalienable fundamental and human rights. At the same time, they are the foundation of every democracy. It is important that journalists draw attention to social and political grievances and can report freely about them. Public criticism of politicians, including personal criticism, must also be possible in a free society, said Löning, concerned about the recent wave of proceedings against journalists in Turkey. With a view to the European Union, Löning warned that pan-European tendencies towards concentration in the media sector endanger the freedom of the press. Not only legal issues, but also the variety of media must be in the mind. The European Union has a common core of values, including the independence and diversity of the press. B. urged Hungary in connection with the tightening of Hungarian press law to fully commit to freedom of the press.

Löning made several comments on Russia, z. B. on the arrests on the sidelines of the Duma session in the course of the law to tighten the assembly law. The Russian government must protect its citizens instead of locking them up. Freedom of expression and assembly are part of the European Convention on Human Rights and must also be guaranteed by Russia. Finally, the so-called “agent law” discredits the work of NGOs in Russia. In an interview with Die Welt, Löning also criticized the Russian Prime Minister Putin as "the opposite of a flawless democrat [...] Under Putin, there were clearly setbacks in the development of democracy in Russia."

As an example of a single case, Löning campaigned for the release of the Kazakh cultural worker and director Bolat Atabaev .

death penalty

The Federal Government and the Commissioner Löning are working hard for the abolition of the death penalty . This is z. B. in Belarus , the USA or China is still a very topical issue. Therefore Löning repeats his call for the worldwide abolition of the death penalty over and over again. It violates human dignity. While an increasing number of states are waiving the death penalty, some countries, including China, have not published their convictions. The lack of transparency makes control almost impossible.

In Europe Löning regularly called on Belarus to finally impose a moratorium on the death penalty and not to carry out death sentences. The country was "far removed from European standards and values." Two men in the underground attacks had previously been executed . Because of his statements, Löning was refused entry to Belarus in February 2012. He wanted there u. a. handed over a letter from Federal Foreign Minister Westerwelle to President Lukashenko, with which the Federal Government is campaigning for the pardon of those sentenced to death.

LGBT

Löning's goal is to put the rights of LGBT people more at the center of the human rights policy of the Federal Foreign Office. On the occasion of the International Day Against Homophobia on May 17, 2012, Löning stated that fortunately "in many countries of the world same-sex orientation is recognized". He observed with “great concern” that “gays and lesbians are being persecuted elsewhere”. Everyone must be able to decide how to live their life and their sexual orientation.

Prison visits

In 2012, Löning called for the Guantanamo prison camp in Cuba to be closed. The legal treatment of the inmates is still unacceptable. The USA did not provide any comprehensible arguments for their approach. It is above all the task of the Congress in Washington to move on the matter. In 2012 Löning also visited B. Former members of Yulia Tymoshenko's government, including ex-Interior Minister of Ukraine Yuri Lutsenko, detained and a prison in Turkey.

German-Chinese human rights dialogue

Since July 29, 2010, the German-Chinese human rights dialogue has been taking place regularly in Berlin. The aim is to improve human rights standards in China. So one is z. B. in the discussion about the abolition of the death penalty agreed on the goal, but there are clear differences regarding the time axis. In China, there is a serious discussion of the issue of human rights at both social and government level, but after Löning there is a lot of catching up to do. Löning quoted the appropriate comment of a Chinese delegation member: “It is of little use to talk about table manners if you don't have a table.” In addition, on February 3, 2012 in “Deutschlandradio Kultur”, Löning called on German companies to play a pioneering role in China for humane To adopt working conditions.

ESC in Azerbaijan

In the run-up to the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC), Löning took a clear position on Azerbaijan's human rights deficits. He criticized the non-implementation of 46 judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) against Azerbaijan and referred to the fact that the special rapporteur of the Council of Europe Christoph Strässer , member of the German Bundestag, had not received an entry visa for Azerbaijan as part of his mandate. There is also no pressure from the Council of Europe. Despite Azerbaijan's non-compliance with its obligations, Europe's economic interests in Baku mostly take precedence over humanitarian ones. According to Löning, a boycott of the ESC would have been wrong despite criticism of the government in Baku, as the reporting had only made the situation in the country clear to many.

EM 2012 in Poland and Ukraine

Löning ruled out a boycott of the EM and expressed himself very positively about the behavior of the DFB towards the EM: "Mr. Niersbach has made a very clear commitment by the German Football Association to human rights, freedom of expression and the rule of law." That is a great step forward compared to the last 20 or 30 years that the social responsibility of footballers is being met here. The President of the European Football Association, Michel Platini, should also position himself in this way.

After the political career

After the end of his political career, he worked as a consultant for large and medium-sized companies. He appears as a speaker and writes guest articles in newspapers.

Löning - Human Rights & Responsible Business

At the beginning of 2014 he founded Human Rights & Responsible Business - a sustainability consultancy and think tank . He and his team advise large and medium-sized companies on sustainability and human rights issues. In 2016 the study "Supply chains are human chains: where German companies stand in relation to human rights" was published. 30 large German companies were asked how they manage the issue of human rights.

Award

• 2007 Anti-Bullying Award

Web links

Commons : Markus Löning  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• archived biography at the German Bundestag
• www.loening-berlin.de ( Memento from July 24, 2017 in the Internet Archive )
• Markus Löning - CV. In: Foreign Office . March 24, 2010, accessed March 14, 2011 . 
• Friedrich Schmidt: "The Tunisians rely on us". Development aid for Tunisia. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . March 12, 2011, accessed on March 14, 2011 (Interview with Markus Löning about the situation after the revolution in Tunisia 2010/2011 ). 

Individual evidence

1. ^ The Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid. Retrieved July 25, 2017 . 
2. ^ Löning - Human Rights & Responsible Business. Retrieved January 28, 2018 (German). 
3. ↑ Christoph Meyer is the new head of the Berlin FDP . ( tagesspiegel.de [accessed on July 24, 2017]).
4. ^ Successful Liberal International Congress in Abidjan . In: ALDE Party . ( aldeparty.eu [accessed July 24, 2017]).
5. ^ ALDE Party Congress elects new Bureau members . In: ALDE Party . ( online [accessed December 5, 2017]). ALDE Party Congress elects new Bureau members ( Memento from December 4, 2017 in the Internet Archive )
6. ^ Matthias Lohre: Human Rights Commissioner Markus Löning: The Free ; taz.de, November 2, 2011.
7. ↑ Refugees: First Syrian refugee group reaches Hanover - WELT. Retrieved July 24, 2017 . 
8. ^ "Wüstenkoller" by Daniel Brössler in: Süddeutsche Zeitung of August 2, 2012, p. 3.
9. ↑ http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/DE/Infoservice/Presse/Mommunikations/2012/120502-Loening-Pressefreiheit.html
10. ↑ http://news.naanoo.com/news/bundesregierung- sucht-uneingeschranktes-bewissennis-ungarns-zur- pressefreiheit and https://www.welt.de/politik/ausland/article13820269/Loening-um-Unabhaengigkeit-von -Ungarns-Justiz-besetzt.html and http://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/menschenrechtsbeauftragter-loening-mit-ausfluechten-ist-es-nicht-getan/4148882.html
11. ↑ Russia tightens the right to demonstrate ( Memento from September 10, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
12. ↑ Christoph B. Schiltz: Putin? “Opposite of a flawless democrat” ; welt.de, December 20, 2011. The statement alludes to a sentence by the former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder , who repeatedly referred to Putin as such ( "Putin's minstrel": SPD and CDU attack Schröder for praise for Russia ; spiegel.de, 7 March 2012)
13. ^ Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com): Atabayev: "Thanks to the Goethe Medal, I am free" | Focus on Eastern Europe | DW | 08/25/2012. Retrieved July 25, 2017 . 
14. ^ Kahr Media, Fürstenfeldbruck: New human rights commissioner Löning wants to outlaw the death penalty worldwide - news on the subject of the death penalty - todesstrafe.de. Retrieved July 25, 2017 . 
15. ↑ Death penalty: Belarus executes subway attackers - WELT. Retrieved July 25, 2017 . 
16. ↑ http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/DE/Infoservice/Presse/Mmeldung/2012/120315-MRHHB_Belarus_Todesurteile.html?nn=563986
17. ↑ http://www.siegessaeule.de/artikel-archiv/politik/special-zum-heft-arbeit-mit-lokalen-lgbt-ngos-verstaerken.html
18. ↑ Postponed or canceled? ( Memento from February 18, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
19. ↑ http://de.rian.ru/politics/20120409/263310222.html
20. ↑ http://www.istanbul.diplo.de/Vertretung/istanbul/de/03/Pressemitteilungen/2012/007-PM-Loening.html
21. ↑ Sino-German human rights dialogue at eye level ( memento from February 11, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )
22. ↑ German companies with a role model function ( Memento from February 20, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) and http://www.faz.net/frankfurter-allgemeine-zeitung/politik/um-ein-sachliches-bild-bemueht-11114049.html?tabCounter = 1
23. ↑ http://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/bakumenschenrechte100.html ( Memento from May 29, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) and http://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/dasverhaeltnis- Zwischen-bakuundberlin-neuer-tiefpunkt/ 6636532.html
24. ↑ http://www.dradio.de/dkultur/sendung/interview/1740624/
25. ↑ UPJ network | Corporate Citizenship | Corporate Social Responsibility: Supply chains are human chains. Retrieved July 25, 2017 . 
26. ^ Klaus-Dieter May: Anti-Mobbing-Award