Ole von Beust

Ole von Beust (2009)

Ole Freiherr von Beust (* 13. April 1955 in Hamburg ) is a former German politician of the CDU and lobbyist . From October 31, 2001 to August 25, 2010 he was First Mayor of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg .

Family, education and work

Ole von Beust is the youngest of three sons of Achim-Helge Freiherr von Beust († 2007) and his wife Hanna geb. Wolff († 1995). Beust was the name of an old noble family in the Altmark region with ancestral home in Büste near Stendal . His name until he came of age was Carl-Friedrich Arp Freiherr von Beust. As a child, he was raised by his grandmother in Low German "Ole Popp" (old doll called). The new name Ole he let von Beust on reaching the age of majority in a civil ceremony Enter.

Von Beust completed his Abitur in 1973 at the Hamburg Walddörfer-Gymnasium . In 1975 he began to study law , which he completed in 1980 with the first and 1983 with the second state examination. Since then he has been admitted to the bar as an independent lawyer . Since October 1, 2010, von Beust has also been Senior Advisor to the management consultancy Roland Berger and co-managing partner of von Beust & Coll. Consulting company that offers strategy and communication consulting for companies and associations. Since March 2012 he has been Senior Advisor to the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey (ISPAT). The end of his activity for the authority that he had announced for the end of 2016 was denied by ISPAT in May 2017.

Since May 2013 lives in a registered civil partnership .

politics

Ole von Beust at the CDU federal party conference in Hamburg in 1981

At 16, Ole von Beust came in 1971 in the CDU and in 1973 assistant to the parliamentary group of the CDU. 1976 regional chairman of the German Student Union . From 1977 to 1983 he was state chairman of the Junge Union . From 1992 to 2010 he was a member of the state board of the Hamburg CDU, from 1998 to 2010 he was also a member of the federal board of the CDU .

From 1978 to 2001 von Beust was a member of the Hamburg parliament .

In the state election in Hamburg in 1991 , the CDU reached 35.1% of the vote. The election was contested by several CDU members, including Markus Wegner , because of the undemocratic nomination of candidates within the CDU . Before the Hamburg Constitutional Court , which declared the elections invalid in 1993, Beust appeared as legal advisor for the Hamburg CDU. In the state elections in Hamburg in 1993 , the CDU only achieved 25.1%, while Markus Wegner, with the voters' association Instead of Party , surprisingly moved into Hamburg's town hall with 5.6%. The loser in the election was Jürgen Echternach , the long-time state chairman of the CDU, who had already given up the state chair in the year before the election.

In the state election in Hamburg in 1997 , Beust was the top candidate of the CDU. Since his homosexuality was already an open secret within the party, Beust believes today that it was only established because nobody suspected that he could win. Despite some gains (CDU 30.7%), the election did not lead to a change of government. But the government coalition under Mayor Henning Voscherau, made up of the SPD (36.2%) and the STATT party (3.5%), could not continue to govern because the latter failed to pass the 5% hurdle . On April 21, 2001, he was again elected as the top candidate. In the general election in Hamburg in 2001 , the CDU under Beust's leadership only achieved 26.2%, while the SPD remained the strongest parliamentary group with 36.5%. With the surprisingly strong Rule of Law Offensive party (PRO) (19.4% of the votes) and the FDP (5.1% of the votes), von Beust was still able to form a government and suspended his mandate.

From 1993 to 2001 von Beust was parliamentary group leader of the CDU in the Hamburg citizenship.

First Mayor of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg

First term as mayor (2001-2004)

Ole von Beust 2006 as a guest of honor at the Steuben Parade in New York

On October 31, 2001, he was elected First Mayor . After Kurt Sieveking, Beust was the second First Mayor of Hamburg to be appointed by the CDU. He appointed Ronald Schill (PRO), a controversial public figure, to be his deputy . As von Beust later explained, he was well aware that this was "difficult" in character:

“Schill was a means to an end. The coalition with him was a power-political calculation. I was of the opinion that after 44 years the SPD would have to go, and I had hoped that he would find his way into office. "

On August 29, 2002, Schill, as Hamburg Senator, gave a speech in the Bundestag in a debate on the financing of the flood disaster in East Germany. In it, he criticized the foreigner policy of the red-green federal government and accused it of having paid too much for immigrants instead of creating reserves for disasters. That caused a stir for days. Beust expressed himself critically: "Whoever speaks in the Bundestag or in the Bundesrat has to speak for the country, not as party chairman". Schill did not speak on behalf of the Hamburg Senate.

Schill affair

In August 2003, Ole von Beust dismissed the State Councilor of the Interior Authority Walter Wellinghausen , who had been hit by persistent allegations (official offenses ), as well as the Interior Senator and Second Mayor Ronald Schill . According to von Beust, Schill wanted to prevent Wellinghausen's dismissal by threatening to make it known that Beust had a relationship with Justice Senator Roger Kusch and that he had mixed politics and private life in the same way as Wellinghausen. Beust and Kusch firmly rejected this: They are only college friends and Beust is Kusch's landlord. Schill reiterated his accusations and told of allegedly "clear noises in the apartment" during a visit by Beust to Kusch. He did not blackmail Beust, but merely asked him not to apply two standards to Wellinghausen and himself.

A little later , Roger Kusch publicly came out as homosexual. Ole von Beust was shortly thereafter by a unabgesprochenes interview his father as homosexual outed . He later said he was happy about it and saw it as positive that everything in this regard had already been said by his father. After Schill's dismissal, Beust's popularity rose sharply, while Schill lost sympathy.

On December 9, 2003, von Beust dissolved the government coalition and announced an early election for 2004. On December 18, 2003, Schill and five other MPs resigned from the 'Rule of Law Offensive' party and founded the Ronald Schill parliamentary group .

2004 state elections

The citizenship election on February 29, 2004 , before which the CDU will vote with the triad slogan "Michel - Alster - Ole" and "Ole. Consequent. Fair. Engaged. ”Had contested a pure personal election campaign with von Beust, ended with an election victory for the CDU (47.2%). The CDU thus achieved an absolute majority in Hamburg for the first time; FDP and PRO did not get over the five percent hurdle and left the Hamburg citizenship . Schill moved to Brazil after the election defeat.

There was some criticism of Beust's election campaign from the ranks of the citizens, the red-green opposition and the media. Shortly before the election, ARD broadcast a critical article on the Springer publishing house in its Panorama program , which at the time dominated around 85 percent of the Hamburg newspaper market and was accused of campaigning in favor of Beust.

Second term as mayor (2004-2008)

Ole von Beust with Bild-Zeitung (2008)

At the beginning of his second term of office von Beust reduced the senate from ten to nine senators ( Senate von Beust II ). Because of the absolute majority, the cabinet now consisted only of CDU senators and four non-party members. After two years, Beust fired his Justice Senator Roger Kusch . He justified this with the fact that his authority had come into possession of confidential documents from a parliamentary committee of inquiry without permission and passed them on. Kusch later stated that the unlawful receipt of these documents was merely a "friendly gesture" and a "small compensation for the completely unacceptable treatment" when he was questioned before the committee.

During his second term in office, von Beust was, in accordance with the rotation of November 1, 2007, President of the German Federal Council for one year . In the following year, Beust was the first Vice President of the Federal Council.

2008 general election

At a closed meeting of the CDU in Jesteburg , it was decided to tailor the 2008 election campaign to the mayor as in 2004 (motto: “Alliance for Ole”). On April 1, 2007, von Beust announced that he would withdraw from politics in the event of a defeat by the SPD top candidate Michael Naumann in the state elections on February 24, 2008 . At the regional meeting of representatives of the Hamburg CDU on June 2, 2007, Beust was elected to number 1 on the state list with a result of 98% (193 of 197 votes). According to a study by the University of Hamburg , von Beust received measurable support in the election campaign from the Hamburger Bild newspaper. In the general election, the CDU received 42.6% of the vote, 4.6% less than in 2004.

Third term as mayor (2008-2010)

Since the CDU had lost its absolute majority of the parliamentary seats, Ole von Beust formed a coalition government with the Green Alternative List (GAL) , the first black-green coalition at state level ( Senate von Beust III ). He said he saw some similarities at the federal level. However, the CDU is striving for an alliance with the FDP again.

Resignation 2010

On July 18, 2010, the day of the referendum on the school reform in Hamburg , Ole von Beust announced his resignation as First Mayor of Hamburg with effect from August 25, 2010 at a press conference in Hamburg's town hall half an hour before the polls were closed known. With him, the State Council of the Senate Chancellery Volkmar Schön and the Senator for Culture Karin von Welck resigned. On August 25, 2010, the city council elected Christoph Ahlhaus as First Mayor. Von Beust later gave the reasons for the resignation, on the one hand, to have become thinner in office, to have increasingly scruples about unpopular decisions and worries about criticism and thus less strength and courage to fight things through. On the other hand, in a top office, from an outside perspective, it is quickly “used up” what is initially perceived as “charming, funny, original”. In the 2008 election, he also planned not to run again in 2012.

Privatizations

The Beusts term of office was also marked by privatizations . Although the population voted against it in a referendum, the majority of the Landesbetrieb Hospitals was sold to the private operator Asklepios , with a share of 25.1% remaining with the City of Hamburg. Around 30% of the port company HHLA was also listed on the stock exchange. Over 20% of the issue volume was acquired from private investors and employees, all of whom had a right of first refusal at a price discount of 50%. The ver.di trade unions and the red-green opposition criticized this process because they could only imagine issuing shares without voting rights, so-called people's shares . In this context there were briefly major demonstrations in Hamburg.

In 2002 von Beust gave the last 25.1% stake in the formerly state-owned electricity producer HEW for 869 million euros plus a special payment of 96 million euros to Vattenfall Europe with the words: “This is the best way for the city” . In 2007 he publicly regretted this (“Today I would no longer sell HEW”, as privatization means that “the city no longer has any influence on electricity prices and only has little influence on the company's investments”).

Memberships and engagement

• Ole von Beust has been involved in the Rotary Club Hamburg-Wandsbek since 1986 and is the patron of the “ Schüler Helfen Leben” initiative .
• On March 1, 2009, he joined the “ Mayors for Peace ” initiative .
• In August 2009 he led the lesbian and gay parade on Christopher Street Day in Hamburg. It was under the motto "Flotter 3er for the Basic Law".
• Von Beust is the managing director of the smartparking initiative for parking space management.
• Von Beust was appointed to the Supervisory Board of Senvion SA on September 21, 2017 .

Publications

• Political crisis of confidence in Germany? An inventory. Edited by Martin KW Schweer. Waxmann, Münster 2000, ISBN 3-89325-874-4 .
• Problems of remunicipalisation from the point of view of the municipalities using the example of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. In: Ulrich Ehricke (Hrsg.): Energy industry law in the field of tension between market freedom and sovereign restrictions. Nomos, Baden-Baden 2011, ISBN 978-3-8329-6932-5 .
• Tests of courage. A plea for honesty and consistency. Gütersloher Verlagshaus, Gütersloh 2012, ISBN 978-3-579-06662-2 . Also as an e-book under ISBN 978-3-641-07517-0 .

Web links

Commons : Ole von Beust  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Literature by and about Ole von Beust in the catalog of the German National Library

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Claus Hecking: What became of Ole von Beust? Der Spiegel, July 23, 2017, accessed on May 15, 2020 . 
2. ↑ Ole von Beust: What is the ex-mayor of Hamburg doing today? , Spiegel from July 23, 2017
3. ↑ Ole von Beust and the Hamburg Roland Berger Network , parliamentwatch.de , accessed on October 9, 2010
4. ↑ by Beust & Coll. Consulting company , website, accessed May 15, 2020.
5. ↑ Turkey advertises medium-sized businesses economy-regional.de, March 13, 2012
6. ↑ Erdogan's very special friends from Germany. In: Die Welt , April 7, 2014.
7. ↑ Ole von Beust continues to advertise Erdoğan In: Wiwo.de , May 4, 2017
8. ↑ Ole von Beust marries a 22-year-old ex-intern. In: Die Welt , June 25, 2013.
9. ↑ ^{a b} Matthias Krupa , Tanja Stelzer: "I don't belong to anyone!" Interview with Ole von Beust. In: ZEITmagazin 23 (2011), p. 26.
10. ^ Die Welt September 3, 2001: Schill for castration of non-treatable sex offenders. Möllemann: Some of the things he's really talking about
11. ^ Plenary minutes of the German Bundestag. 14th electoral term, 251st meeting, 29 August 2002, BT-Drs. 14/14251 , pp. 25443-25446 (PDF; 396 kB).
12. ↑ http://www.n-tv.de/politik/Schill-wird-Fuchs-verklagen-article117618.html
13. ↑ see e.g. B. Süddeutsche Zeitung of August 19, 2003: When a friendship broke up in seconds
14. ^ The pink town hall DER SPIEGEL August 25, 2003
15. ↑ "Ole who has freed himself" Interview with Achim-Helge Freiherr von Beust, in the Welt am Sonntag , August 31, 2003
16. ^ Ole von Beust privately in Bunte , Eurogay.net , February 13, 2004
17. ↑ CDU presents new Von Beust poster. In: Hamburger Abendblatt , January 29, 2004.
18. ↑ Hamburg's secret election workers - The Springer press on campaign course , Panorama on ARD, February 26, 2004 (contribution as video)
19. ↑ Von Beust announces withdrawal. In: Die Welt , April 2, 2007.
20. ↑ Ole is the darling of the "Bild" newspaper. In: taz.de , February 15, 2008.
21. ↑ We in the CDU were growth fetishists
22. ↑ Ole von Beust announces resignation as mayor. In: Spiegel Online , July 18, 2010.
23. ↑ Elbphilharmonie: Senator establishes new staff structure. In: Hamburger Abendblatt , September 19, 2008.
24. ↑ Markus Lanz from April 1, 2015.
25. ↑ More than 1000 Asklepios employees want to return to the city. In: Die Welt , June 5, 2007.
26. ↑ HHLA employees are fighting against the Senate. In: Die Welt , February 22, 2007.
27. ↑ Senate finally gives up influence at HEW. In: Die Welt , June 12, 2002.
28. ↑ Interview with Mayor Ole von Beust - The HEW sale to Vattenfall was a mistake BILD-HH of July 12, 2007
29. ^ Club and membership directory of Rotarians in the Federal Republic of Germany 2002/2003
30. ↑ Printed matter 19/2427 TOP 27 Information: Accession of the First Mayor to the “Mayors for Peace” initiative ; On June 3, 2015, Olaf Scholz called this Hamburg joining, http://www.hamburg.de/pressearchiv-fhh/4505964/2015-06-03-pr-ueberlebende-hiroshima/
31. ↑ Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntags-Zeitung , August 9, 2009, No. 32, p. 10
32. ↑ Parking in Hagen could soon be paid for by smartphone , Jens Stubbe, Westfalenpost, April 11, 2017
33. ↑ Violent dispute over fees and data protection , Ralf Henningsen, Sylter Rundschau, June 19, 2017
34. ↑ Team of the Smartparking Platform - smartparking. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on January 23, 2018 ; accessed on January 22, 2018 . 
35. ↑ Voting Results September 21, 2017. Senvion, accessed on October 16, 2017 (English). 
36. ↑ Management of Senvion SA Senvion, accessed on October 16, 2017 (English).