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===First Mayor of Hamburg===
===First Mayor of Hamburg===
'''First term'''
On 31 October 2001, Ole von Beust became First Mayor of Hamburg.<ref name="Munzinger" />
On 31 October 2001, Ole von Beust became First Mayor of Hamburg.<ref name="Munzinger" />

When Hamburg experienced an exodus of jobs after major corporations including cigarette-maker [[Reemtsma]], travel and shipping company [[Hapag-Lloyd]], haircare products-maker [[Henkel|Hans Schwarzkopf]] and the [[Vereins and Westbank AG]] were aquired by companies outside of Hamburg, von Beust had Hamburg's investment arm, the Hamburger Gesellschaft für Beteiligungsverwaltung, join forces with retailer [[Tchibo]] for the acquisition of Hamburg-based cosmetics maker [[Beiersdorf]] in 2003. This put American multinational [[Procter & Gamble]] out of the bidding and preserved Beiersdorf as a publicly traded, stand-alone company.<ref>[http://www.dw.com/en/german-group-secures-stake-in-beiersdorf/a-1012814 German Group Secures Stake in Beiersdorf] ''[[Deutsche Welle]]'', October 24, 2003.</ref>


On 19 August 2003, Beust dismissed his vice-mayor, [[Ronald Schill]], causing a scandal. Beust had earlier dismissed Walter Wellinghausen, senator of the interior and Schill's most important official, without consulting Schill beforehand. This was due to public allegations of misconduct on Wellinghausen's part. In a private conversation, Schill then demanded that Beust take back the dismissal, allegedly using personal threats. Beust then decided to dismiss Schill as well.
On 19 August 2003, Beust dismissed his vice-mayor, [[Ronald Schill]], causing a scandal. Beust had earlier dismissed Walter Wellinghausen, senator of the interior and Schill's most important official, without consulting Schill beforehand. This was due to public allegations of misconduct on Wellinghausen's part. In a private conversation, Schill then demanded that Beust take back the dismissal, allegedly using personal threats. Beust then decided to dismiss Schill as well.
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In a later interview, Beust's father confirmed that his son is indeed homosexual.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.welt.de/welt_print/vermischtes/hamburg/article4290216/Die-CSD-Parade-ist-wichtig-fuer-die-ganze-Welt.html |title=Die CSD-Parade ist wichtig für die ganze Welt |publisher=[[Die Welt]] |date=2009-08-10 |accessdate=2009-08-30 |language=German }}</ref> Beust himself considers his sexual orientation a private matter; when asked directly he usually ironically refers the interviewer to his father.
In a later interview, Beust's father confirmed that his son is indeed homosexual.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.welt.de/welt_print/vermischtes/hamburg/article4290216/Die-CSD-Parade-ist-wichtig-fuer-die-ganze-Welt.html |title=Die CSD-Parade ist wichtig für die ganze Welt |publisher=[[Die Welt]] |date=2009-08-10 |accessdate=2009-08-30 |language=German }}</ref> Beust himself considers his sexual orientation a private matter; when asked directly he usually ironically refers the interviewer to his father.


Between 2007 and 2009, von Beust was one of 32 members of the [[Federalism commission (Germany)|Second Commission on the modernization of the federal state]], which had been established to reform the division of powers between federal and state authorities in Germany.
⚫
The [[Hamburg state election, 2004|Hamburg elections of February 29, 2004]], ended with an unprecedented landslide victory for Ole von Beust and the CDU, with the party achieving an overall majority in the city-state's parliament.<ref name=welle2008/> The CDU gained 47.2 percent of the vote, a full 21-point increase from the previous election in September 2001. This was the first time since 1993 the city-state has had only a single ruling party. In the [[Hamburg state election, 2008|Hamburg elections of February 24, 2008]], the CDU gained 42.6 percent of the vote. Thus, the CDU continued to be the strongest party in Hamburg.<ref name=usatoday2008>{{Citation |url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-02-24-germany-elections_N.htm |title=German conservatives win most votes |accessdate=2008-08-13 |publisher=usa today |date=2008-02-24 }}</ref> However, since the CDU lost its absolute majority, it formed a coalition government with the [[Alliance '90/The Greens|Greens]].


'''Second term'''
On July 18, 2010, Ole von Beust announced his resignation, to take effect on August 25.<ref>[http://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/hamburg/vonbeust126.html ]</ref> He was a finalist for the [[World Mayor]] prize of 2010.
⚫
The [[Hamburg state election, 2004|Hamburg elections of February 29, 2004]], ended with an unprecedented landslide victory for Ole von Beust and the CDU, with the party achieving an overall majority in the city-state's parliament.<ref name=welle2008/> The CDU gained 47.2 percent of the vote, a full 21-point increase from the previous election in September 2001. This was the first time since 1993 the city-state has had only a single ruling party.

'''Third term'''
In the [[Hamburg state election, 2008|Hamburg elections of February 24, 2008]], the CDU gained 42.6 percent of the vote. Thus, the CDU continued to be the strongest party in Hamburg.<ref name=usatoday2008>{{Citation |url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-02-24-germany-elections_N.htm |title=German conservatives win most votes |accessdate=2008-08-13 |publisher=usa today |date=2008-02-24 }}</ref> However, since the CDU lost its absolute majority, it formed a coalition government with the [[Alliance '90/The Greens|Greens]]. At the time, the two party’s cooperation was widely seen as a test for a possible coalition at the national level.<ref>[http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704196404575375333858561608 Mayor Resigns, In Blow to Merkel] ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'', July 19, 2010.</ref>

In February 2009, von Beust and Minister President [[Peter Harry Carstensen]] of [[Schleswig-Holstein]] agreed on a €13 billion [[bailout]] of state-owned shipping financier [[HSH Nordbank]].<ref>Chris Bryant (February 24, 2009), [https://www.ft.com/content/ad8c83f2-0272-11de-b58b-000077b07658 States agree €13bn HSH bail-out package] ''[[Financial Times]]''.</ref> The two states were forced to intervene after the [[SoFFin]] fund, which had been set up by the federal government in 2008 to stabilize the financial markets, said it could not help out HSH Nordbank until it got rid of all its bad debts.<ref>[http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/13-billion-euro-bailout-germany-s-hsh-nordbank-saved-from-collapse-a-609632.html Germany's HSH Nordbank Saved from Collapse] ''[[Der Spiegel]]'', February 24, 2009.</ref>

Ahead of the [[German federal election, 2009|2009 national elections]], von Beust was tipped as potential [[Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development|Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development]] in the cabinet of [[Chancellor of Germany|Chancellor]] [[Angela Merkel]]; in the negotiations on a coalition agreement with the FDP, however, the position went to [[Dirk Niebel]].<ref>Christian Vooren (May 22, 2016), [http://www.tagesspiegel.de/themen/reportage/hamburgs-ex-buergermeister-im-portraet-ole-von-beust-der-hobbyist/13565932.html Ole von Beust - der Hobbyist] ''[[Der Tagesspiegel]]''.</ref>

On July 18, 2010, Ole von Beust announced his resignation, to take effect on August 25.<ref>[http://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/hamburg/vonbeust126.html ]</ref> Leaving office alongside von Beust were [[Karin von Welck]], Hamburg's State Minister for Culture, and Volkmar Schoen of the senate chancellery.<ref>Mark Hallam and Catherine Bolsover (July 18, 2010), [http://www.dw.com/en/hamburg-mayor-and-merkel-ally-ole-von-beust-steps-down/a-5813800 Hamburg mayor and Merkel ally Ole von Beust steps down] ''[[Deutsche Welle]]''.</ref>

Shortly after, voters in Hamburg toppled von Beust’s proposed education reforms in the city-state's first binding referendum. The vote assured the preservation of Hamburg's four-year primary schools, rather than extending primary education to six years, which the ruling coalition of Christian Democrats and Greens.<ref>[http://www.dw.com/en/referendum-quashes-hamburg-school-reform-cripples-coalition/a-5814250 Referendum quashes Hamburg school reform, cripples coalition] ''[[Deutsche Welle]]'', July 19, 2010.</ref>


==Life after politics==
==Life after politics==
Upon leaving active politics, von Beust opened his own law firm and joined consultancy [[Roland Berger (company)|Roland Berger]] as advisor.<ref>Matthias Krupa and Tanja Stelzer (June 1, 2011), [http://www.zeit.de/2011/23/Interview-Ole-von-Beust Ole von Beust: "Ich gehöre niemandem!"] ''[[Die Zeit]]''.</ref> In 2012, he succeeded [[Klaus von Dohnany]] as Executive Director of the Hamburg Foundation for Politically Persecuted People.<ref>[http://www.hamburger-stiftung.de/en/uber-uns/ Board of Directors] Hamburg Foundation for Politically Persecuted People.</ref>
Upon leaving active politics, von Beust opened his own law firm and joined consultancy [[Roland Berger (company)|Roland Berger]] as advisor.<ref>Matthias Krupa and Tanja Stelzer (June 1, 2011), [http://www.zeit.de/2011/23/Interview-Ole-von-Beust Ole von Beust: "Ich gehöre niemandem!"] ''[[Die Zeit]]''.</ref> In 2012, he succeeded [[Klaus von Dohnányi]] as Executive Director of the Hamburg Foundation for Politically Persecuted People.<ref>[http://www.hamburger-stiftung.de/en/uber-uns/ Board of Directors] Hamburg Foundation for Politically Persecuted People.</ref>


During a strike of ground crew at Frankfurt airport in February 2012, von Beust was appointed as arbitrator by airport operator [[Fraport]] for negotiations with trade union GdF. The union accepted his proposed settlement plan; Fraport, however, rejected the deal.<ref>[http://www.reuters.com/article/frankfurt-airport-strike-idUSL5E8DJ03120120219 Strike at Frankfurt airport to continue Monday] ''[[Reuters]]'', February 19, 2012.</ref>
During a strike of ground crew at Frankfurt airport in February 2012, von Beust was appointed as arbitrator by airport operator [[Fraport]] for negotiations with trade union GdF. The union accepted his proposed settlement plan; Fraport, however, rejected the deal.<ref>[http://www.reuters.com/article/frankfurt-airport-strike-idUSL5E8DJ03120120219 Strike at Frankfurt airport to continue Monday] ''[[Reuters]]'', February 19, 2012.</ref>
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In late 2015, von Beust was named co-chairman (alongside [[Jürgen Trittin]] and [[Matthias Platzeck]]) of a government-appointed commission tasked with recommending by early 2016 how to safeguard the funding of fulfilling Germany’s [[Energy transition|exit from nuclear energy]].<ref>John O'Donnell and Christoph Steitz (29 November 2015), [http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/29/germany-nuclear-decomissioning-idUSL8N13O0H620151129#ZjssTxwTcEe4wTMM.97 Minister signals German trust could handle nuclear waste storage] ''[[Reuters]]''.</ref> By April 2016, the commission agreed to ask the power firms to pay €23.3 billion ($26.4 billion) into a state fund to cover the costs of nuclear waste storage.<ref>Markus Wacket and Christoph Steitz (27 April 2016), [http://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-nuclear-waste-idUSKCN0XO1X4 German firms could pay less than feared for nuclear clean-up] ''[[Reuters]]''.</ref>
In late 2015, von Beust was named co-chairman (alongside [[Jürgen Trittin]] and [[Matthias Platzeck]]) of a government-appointed commission tasked with recommending by early 2016 how to safeguard the funding of fulfilling Germany’s [[Energy transition|exit from nuclear energy]].<ref>John O'Donnell and Christoph Steitz (29 November 2015), [http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/29/germany-nuclear-decomissioning-idUSL8N13O0H620151129#ZjssTxwTcEe4wTMM.97 Minister signals German trust could handle nuclear waste storage] ''[[Reuters]]''.</ref> By April 2016, the commission agreed to ask the power firms to pay €23.3 billion ($26.4 billion) into a state fund to cover the costs of nuclear waste storage.<ref>Markus Wacket and Christoph Steitz (27 April 2016), [http://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-nuclear-waste-idUSKCN0XO1X4 German firms could pay less than feared for nuclear clean-up] ''[[Reuters]]''.</ref>

==Recognition==
Von Beust was a finalist for the [[World Mayor]] prize of 2010.


==Notes==
==Notes==

Revision as of 10:23, 30 December 2016

Ole von Beust
Ole von Beust in 2009
First Mayor of Hamburg
In office
31 October 2001 – 25 August 2010
Preceded byOrtwin Runde
Succeeded byChristoph Ahlhaus
President of the German Bundesrat
In office
2007–2008
PresidentHorst Köhler
ChancellorAngela Merkel
Preceded byHarald Ringstorff
Succeeded byPeter Müller
Personal details
Born
Carl-Friedrich Arp Ole von Beust

(1955-04-13) April 13, 1955 (age 69)
Hamburg, Germany
Political partyChristian Democratic Union
ResidenceHamburg
Alma materUniversity of Hamburg
Signature

Carl-Friedrich Arp Ole Freiherr von Beust, generally called Ole von Beust (born April 13, 1955), is a German politician who was First Mayor of Hamburg from 31 October 2001 to 25 August 2010, serving as President of the Bundesrat from 1 November 2007 on for one year.[1] He was succeeded as mayor by Christoph Ahlhaus.

Life and work

Born in Hamburg, he is the son of Achim Helge Freiherr von Beust and Hanna, née Wolff, who was considered half Jewish in Nazi Germany.[2] Through his father he is a descendant of Saxon and Austrian statesman Count Friedrich Ferdinand von Beust.

In 1971 Beust became a member of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU). In 1973, after finishing high school, he worked for the CDU group in Hamburg's city-state parliament ("Bürgerschaft"), a position he held until he started to study law in 1975 at the University of Hamburg.[2] From 1977 until 1983 he was Hamburg president of the youth organisation of his party. Since 1978 Beust has been a member of the Hamburg city-state's parliament.[2] In 1983 he successfully completed his studies and became an independent lawyer.[2]

He has been a member of the ruling council of the Hamburg Land CDU since 1992, and of the national ruling council of the CDU party since 1998.

First Mayor of Hamburg

First term On 31 October 2001, Ole von Beust became First Mayor of Hamburg.[2]

When Hamburg experienced an exodus of jobs after major corporations including cigarette-maker Reemtsma, travel and shipping company Hapag-Lloyd, haircare products-maker Hans Schwarzkopf and the Vereins and Westbank AG were aquired by companies outside of Hamburg, von Beust had Hamburg's investment arm, the Hamburger Gesellschaft für Beteiligungsverwaltung, join forces with retailer Tchibo for the acquisition of Hamburg-based cosmetics maker Beiersdorf in 2003. This put American multinational Procter & Gamble out of the bidding and preserved Beiersdorf as a publicly traded, stand-alone company.[3]

On 19 August 2003, Beust dismissed his vice-mayor, Ronald Schill, causing a scandal. Beust had earlier dismissed Walter Wellinghausen, senator of the interior and Schill's most important official, without consulting Schill beforehand. This was due to public allegations of misconduct on Wellinghausen's part. In a private conversation, Schill then demanded that Beust take back the dismissal, allegedly using personal threats. Beust then decided to dismiss Schill as well.

In the (preassigned) press conference Schill held minutes after he had heard of his own dismissal, he spoke vaguely of "homosexual relationships", a "flat in an infamous hustler district" and "certain things happened that let one infer the occurrence of love acts" between Beust and Roger Kusch, who Beust had appointed minister (in German city-states "senator") of justice.[4] Beust in turn stated that Schill threatened to make his alleged liaison with Kusch public under the premise that Beust intermingled public and private affairs. He said he had no sexual relationship with Kusch, that they merely knew each other for 25 years and were good friends, and that Beust was Kusch's landlord. "This is all – absolutely all", according to Beust.[4][5]

His unprepared statement to the press quickly earned Schill an homophobic reputation. A popular radio-station broadcast a song calling him "Mega-Proll" (mega redneck) and gay and lesbian associations protested vocally. Schill however later affirmed Beust's version of the story, except for the accusations of blackmail, saying that he warned Beust to stay clear of nepotism, and that this had nothing to do with Beust's sexual orientation. He stated "I have nothing against homosexuals".

In a later interview, Beust's father confirmed that his son is indeed homosexual.[6] Beust himself considers his sexual orientation a private matter; when asked directly he usually ironically refers the interviewer to his father.

Between 2007 and 2009, von Beust was one of 32 members of the Second Commission on the modernization of the federal state, which had been established to reform the division of powers between federal and state authorities in Germany.

Second term The Hamburg elections of February 29, 2004, ended with an unprecedented landslide victory for Ole von Beust and the CDU, with the party achieving an overall majority in the city-state's parliament.[5] The CDU gained 47.2 percent of the vote, a full 21-point increase from the previous election in September 2001. This was the first time since 1993 the city-state has had only a single ruling party.

Third term In the Hamburg elections of February 24, 2008, the CDU gained 42.6 percent of the vote. Thus, the CDU continued to be the strongest party in Hamburg.[7] However, since the CDU lost its absolute majority, it formed a coalition government with the Greens. At the time, the two party’s cooperation was widely seen as a test for a possible coalition at the national level.[8]

In February 2009, von Beust and Minister President Peter Harry Carstensen of Schleswig-Holstein agreed on a €13 billion bailout of state-owned shipping financier HSH Nordbank.[9] The two states were forced to intervene after the SoFFin fund, which had been set up by the federal government in 2008 to stabilize the financial markets, said it could not help out HSH Nordbank until it got rid of all its bad debts.[10]

Ahead of the 2009 national elections, von Beust was tipped as potential Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development in the cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel; in the negotiations on a coalition agreement with the FDP, however, the position went to Dirk Niebel.[11]

On July 18, 2010, Ole von Beust announced his resignation, to take effect on August 25.[12] Leaving office alongside von Beust were Karin von Welck, Hamburg's State Minister for Culture, and Volkmar Schoen of the senate chancellery.[13]

Shortly after, voters in Hamburg toppled von Beust’s proposed education reforms in the city-state's first binding referendum. The vote assured the preservation of Hamburg's four-year primary schools, rather than extending primary education to six years, which the ruling coalition of Christian Democrats and Greens.[14]

Life after politics

Upon leaving active politics, von Beust opened his own law firm and joined consultancy Roland Berger as advisor.[15] In 2012, he succeeded Klaus von Dohnányi as Executive Director of the Hamburg Foundation for Politically Persecuted People.[16]

During a strike of ground crew at Frankfurt airport in February 2012, von Beust was appointed as arbitrator by airport operator Fraport for negotiations with trade union GdF. The union accepted his proposed settlement plan; Fraport, however, rejected the deal.[17]

In addition, von Beust has been holding various paid and unpaid positions, including the following:

In late 2015, von Beust was named co-chairman (alongside Jürgen Trittin and Matthias Platzeck) of a government-appointed commission tasked with recommending by early 2016 how to safeguard the funding of fulfilling Germany’s exit from nuclear energy.[27] By April 2016, the commission agreed to ask the power firms to pay €23.3 billion ($26.4 billion) into a state fund to cover the costs of nuclear waste storage.[28]

Recognition

Von Beust was a finalist for the World Mayor prize of 2010.

Notes

  • Regarding personal names: Freiherr is a former title (translated as 'Baron'). In Germany since 1919, it forms part of family names. The feminine forms are Freifrau and Freiin. However, the title provides no legal privileges of any sort in Germany.

References

  1. ^ Präsidenten des Bundesrates seit 1949 (in German), retrieved 2008-11-10
  2. ^ a b c d e Munzinger Online; s.v. Ole von Beust
  3. ^ German Group Secures Stake in Beiersdorf Deutsche Welle, October 24, 2003.
  4. ^ a b "A scandal in Germany", European press review, bbc.co.uk, 2003-08-21, retrieved 2008-08-13
  5. ^ a b Mayor von Beust to govern alone after victory in Hamburg election, Deutsche Welle, 2004, retrieved 2008-08-13
  6. ^ "Die CSD-Parade ist wichtig für die ganze Welt" (in German). Die Welt. 2009-08-10. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
  7. ^ German conservatives win most votes, usa today, 2008-02-24, retrieved 2008-08-13
  8. ^ Mayor Resigns, In Blow to Merkel Wall Street Journal, July 19, 2010.
  9. ^ Chris Bryant (February 24, 2009), States agree €13bn HSH bail-out package Financial Times.
  10. ^ Germany's HSH Nordbank Saved from Collapse Der Spiegel, February 24, 2009.
  11. ^ Christian Vooren (May 22, 2016), Ole von Beust - der Hobbyist Der Tagesspiegel.
  12. ^ [1]
  13. ^ Mark Hallam and Catherine Bolsover (July 18, 2010), Hamburg mayor and Merkel ally Ole von Beust steps down Deutsche Welle.
  14. ^ Referendum quashes Hamburg school reform, cripples coalition Deutsche Welle, July 19, 2010.
  15. ^ Matthias Krupa and Tanja Stelzer (June 1, 2011), Ole von Beust: "Ich gehöre niemandem!" Die Zeit.
  16. ^ Board of Directors Hamburg Foundation for Politically Persecuted People.
  17. ^ Strike at Frankfurt airport to continue Monday Reuters, February 19, 2012.
  18. ^ Alliander AG gründet Beirat mit namhaften Persönlichkeiten Alliander AG, press release of January 29, 2016.
  19. ^ Supervisory Board BoxDirect AG.
  20. ^ Supervisory Board CH2 Contorhaus Hansestadt Hamburg AG.
  21. ^ Donner & Reuschel gewinnt Ole von Beust Donner & Reuschel, press release of March 10, 2014.
  22. ^ Sustainability Board ECE Projektmanagement.
  23. ^ Advisory Board Germela.
  24. ^ Varengold Wertpapierhandelsbank AG: Ole von Beust in den Beirat berufen Varengold Bank, press release of December 11, 2012.
  25. ^ Board Wirtschaftsrat der CDU.
  26. ^ Erster Bürgermeister Ole von Beust ist neuer Aufsichtsratsvorsitzender der HafenCity Hamburg GmbH HafenCity Hamburg GmbH, press release of April 26, 2010.
  27. ^ John O'Donnell and Christoph Steitz (29 November 2015), Minister signals German trust could handle nuclear waste storage Reuters.
  28. ^ Markus Wacket and Christoph Steitz (27 April 2016), German firms could pay less than feared for nuclear clean-up Reuters.
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