Werner Weidenfeld

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Werner Josef Weidenfeld (born July 2, 1947 in Cochem ) is a German political scientist , university professor and political advisor. From 1987 to 1999 he was the Federal Government's coordinator for German-American cooperation . He is Emeritus Professor of Political Systems and European Integration at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich

Werner Weidenfeld, in 2011.

Life

Weidenfeld graduated from Eichendorff-Gymnasium in Koblenz in 1966 . He then began studying political science, history and philosophy at the University of Bonn . In 1971 Weidenfeld received his doctorate from Hans-Adolf Jacobsen in Bonn. phil. with a dissertation on Gustav Stresemann's policy on England . In 1975 he obtained his habilitation in political science from his academic teacher, the Adenauer expert Hans Buchheim , at the University of Mainz with a thesis on German European policy in the Adenauer era .

From 1975 to 1995 he was Professor of Political Science at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz . He was also professor associé at the Sorbonne in Paris between 1986 and 1988 . From 1987 to 1999 he worked under Helmut Kohl as the federal government's coordinator for German-American cooperation .

In 1992 Weidenfeld became a member of the Executive Board of the Bertelsmann Stiftung in Gütersloh, and until 2004 he was also a member of the Advisory Board and later of the Board of Trustees. A preliminary investigation initiated against Weidenfeld due to an anonymous complaint due to incorrect expense reports was discontinued in 2007 due to insignificance against payment of a fine. Weidenfeld himself suspected “a targeted strategy to damage its reputation.” In 2007, the Bertelsmann Foundation separated from Weidenfeld by mutual agreement. The CAP projects with the foundation continued until the contracts expired at the end of 2010.

Since 1995 he has been Professor of Political Systems and European Unification at the Geschwister-Scholl-Institute for Political Science at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich and Director of the Center for Applied Political Research (CAP). Since 2000 he has also been a permanent visiting professor at the Chinese People's University in Beijing. Weidenfeld retired in the summer semester 2013, and Klaus H. Goetz from the University of Potsdam was appointed as the chair's successor .

Until 2005, Weidenfeld was editor of the journal Internationale Politik for many years . Weidenfeld is a nephew of the Benedictine abbot Ildefons Herwegen and chairman of the board of the "Abbot Herwegen Institute for liturgical and monastic research" of the Maria Laach Abbey, named after him .

In 2012 he was appointed Rector of the Alma Mater Europaea by the European Academy of Sciences and Arts . He took up this position after his retirement at LMU Munich in 2013. Until 2015 he taught at the Zeppelin University in Friedrichshafen.

Work and reception

Weidenfeld published numerous books and essays on international politics. The main focus was on European unification.

The Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) praised the volume The Balkans between Crisis and Stability, co-edited by Weidenfeld in 2002, as a short and concise presentation of various aspects of the subject, which also went in depth. The focus is clearly on Kosovo. The “extremely useful work” is rounded off with a detailed, documentary section in which agreements, speeches and the like on the topic can be found.

In the NZZ, Annette Bingemer criticized the book Rivalität der Partner , published by Weidenfels in 2005 , that his ideas about the new beginning of the transatlantic friendship were only the usual "standard advice": Weidenfeld thinks that he knows that the old roots and the congruent problems are already shared Be rejected away. Bingemer found his program for this to be rather “hollow”; in her opinion, it would hardly bring about a “re-establishment of the transatlantic community”.

The Geneva political scientist Curt Gasteyger praised the work The European Constitution, published in 2007 in the NZZ Weidenfeld , as an “understandable guide” through the European Constitution, which describes the process of European unification in its various stages, the creation and structure of the constitution and its intended implementation in practice clearly shows. The statements are "by no means uncritical" and always instructive.

Honors and prizes

Books (selection)

  • Yalta and the division of Germany: a question of fate for Europe. Pontes Verlag, Andernach / Rhein 1969.
  • Gustav Stresemann's policy on England. v.Hase & Koehler Verlag, Mainz 1972; ISBN 978-3-7758-0828-6 .
  • with Thomas Jansen: Europe - balance sheet and perspective. v.Hase & Koehler Verlag, Mainz 1973; ISBN 978-3-7758-0848-4 .
  • Konrad Adenauer and Europe. Europa Union Verlag, Bonn 1976; ISBN 3-7758-0848-5 .
  • Europe 2000. Future issues of European unification. Olzog Verlag, Munich / Vienna 1980; ISBN 3-7892-7182-9 .
  • The question of the unity of the German nation. Olzog Verlag, Munich / Vienna 1982; ISBN 3-7892-9863-8 .
  • The identity of the Germans. Hanser , Munich 1983; ISBN 3-446-13859-5 .
  • 30 years EG. Balance of European integration. Europa-Union-Verlag, Bonn 1987; ISBN 3-7713-0303-6 .
  • with Melanie Piepenschneider: Youth and Europe: The attitude of the young generation in the Federal Republic of Germany to European unification. Europa-Union-Verlag, Bonn 1987; ISBN 3-7713-0307-9 .
  • Germany Handbook, A double balance 1949–1989. Hanser, Munich / Vienna 1989; ISBN 3-446-15544-9 .
  • The German way. Siedler , Berlin 1990; ISBN 3-88680-377-5 .
  • Europe from A to Z, Pocket Book of European Integration. bpb , Bonn 1991; ISBN 3-89331-392-3 .
  • with Peter M. Wagner and Elke Bruck: Foreign policy for German unity: the years of decision. (First volume of the four-volume history of German unity ), DVA , Stuttgart 1998; ISBN 3-421-05093-7 .
  • with Jürgen Turek: How the future is created: greater risks - less security - new opportunities. Gerling Akademie Verlag , Munich 2002; ISBN 3-932425-46-4 .
  • with Janis A. Emmanouilidis: Understanding the European Constitution. bpb, Bonn 2006; ISBN 3-89331-669-8 .
  • Rivalry between partners: the future of transatlantic relations - the chance for a new beginning. Bertelsmann Foundation Publishing House , Gütersloh 2005; ISBN 978-3-89204-864-0
  • Europe made easy: Answers for young Europeans. Hanser, Munich 2008; ISBN 978-3-446-20988-6 .
  • with Edmund Ratka: The European Union. W. Fink UTB , Paderborn 2010; ISBN 978-3-8252-3347-1 .
  • Europe. One strategy . Kösel, Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-466-37122-8 .

Web links

Commons : Werner Weidenfeld  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Werner Weidenfeld: The England policy Gustav Stresemanns . Mainz 1972, p. 20.
  2. ↑ http://www.manager-magazin.de/magazin/artikel/a-366058-4.html , Klaus Boldt: Debakel in Gütersloh, Manager magazine of August 29, 2005, accessed on April 9, 2014
  3. ↑ Thomas Schuler: Bertelsmann Republik Deutschland: Eine Stiftung macht Politik, Campus-Verlag 2010, p. 206ff
  4. ↑ Kristina Läsker: Dark clouds over the think tank. In: sueddeutsche.de. October 22, 2007, accessed October 30, 2007 .
  5. ↑ Kristina Läsker: Serious allegations against Bertelsmann. In: sueddeutsche.de. October 29, 2007, accessed October 30, 2007 .
  6. ↑ FAZ, October 31, 2007, No. 253 / Page 41: Werner Weidenfeld has to go. In: FAZ.net . October 30, 2007, accessed October 13, 2018 .
  7. ↑ http://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/management/ermittlungen-der-staatsanwaltschaft-bertelsmann-trennt-sich-von-weidenfeld/2879326.html
  8. ^ Max Hägler: Departure of the model Bertelsmann (printed: page 2, October 31, 2007). In: taz, the daily newspaper. October 31, 2007, accessed October 31, 2007 .
  9. ^ Review note on Neue Zürcher Zeitung, March 30, 2002 , Perlentaucher.de , accessed on September 19, 2019
  10. ↑ Review note on Neue Zürcher Zeitung, March 18, 2006 , Perlentaucher.de , accessed on September 19, 2019
  11. ↑ Review note on FNeue Zürcher Zeitung, July 8, 2006 , Perlentaucher.de , accessed on September 19, 2019
personal data
SURNAME Weidenfeld, Werner
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Weidenfeld, Werner Josef (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German political scientist
DATE OF BIRTH July 2, 1947
PLACE OF BIRTH Cochem