Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg
- For his grandfather, see Karl Theodor Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg
Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Federal Minister for Economics and Technology | |
| Assumed office February 10, 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Michael Glos |
| Secretary General of the Christian Social Union of Bavaria | |
| In office November 2008 – February 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Christine Haderthauer |
| Succeeded by | Alexander Dobrindt |
| Member of the German Parliament for Kulmbach | |
| Assumed office 2002 | |
| Preceded by | Bernd Protzner |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 5, 1971 Munich, Bavaria, West Germany   |
| Nationality | German |
| Political party | Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU) |
| Spouse(s) | Stephanie, Countess of Bismarck-Schönhausen (b. 1976) |
Karl-Theodor Maria Nikolaus Johann Jacob Philipp Franz Joseph Sylvester Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg (born December 5, 1971 in Munich), known as Karl-Theodor Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg or simply Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, is a German politician of the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU). On February 10, 2009, he was appointed as the Federal Minister for Economics and Technology in the Cabinet of Angela Merkel.
Education and professional background
Karl-Theodor Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg served his military service at the Gebirgsjägerbrigade 23 in Mittenwald and studied political science and law. He earned a doctorate in law with a dissertation on constitutional law in the United States and the EU (2007). He has been the CEO of his family's firm, Guttenberg GmbH, in Munich and Berlin, and a freelance journalist for the conservative daily Die Welt. From 1996 until 2002 he was a member of the advisory board of Rhön-Klinikum, of which his familiy was one of the largest shareholders.
Political career
He was elected to the Bundestag in 2002 as the representative of Kulmbach. Guttenberg was reelected in the 2005 election. In the Bundestag, he has been particularly active within foreign policy, and has chaired the CDU/CSU parliamentary group on foreign policy. He is also chairman of the German-British Parliamentary Association.
In the tradition of his grandfather, he is a strong proponent of German-American friendship and Atlantic cooperation.
As a Member of Parliament, he has been a strong critic of the far-left party Die Linke, which he has criticized of links to terrorists, including the FARC terrorist organization[1].
Described by the press as a rising star in German politics[2], he was the Secretary General of the CSU from November 2008 to February 2009.
Guttenberg was nominated by CSU chairman Horst Seehofer to succeed Michael Glos, who stepped down, as Minister of Economics and Technology in the Federal Government on February 9, 2009. After he was formally nominated by Angela Merkel the same day, Guttenberg was appointed by President Horst Köhler on February 10.
Family
Guttenberg is a member of the prominent Franconian noble House of Guttenberg. His grandfather, Karl Theodor Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg (1921–1972), was a CSU politician and hardline conservative during the Cold War. His grandmother, Rosa Sophie, Princess of Arenberg, is a member of the princely House of Arenberg. Guttenberg's father, the conductor Enoch zu Guttenberg, owned the winery estate Weingut Reichsrat von Buhl. Both his grandfather and his great-grand-uncle, the Catholic monarchist Karl Ludwig Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg, took part in the military resistance to the Nazi regime, the latter was executed after the 20 July plot.
Karl-Theodor's mother, Christiane Gräfin und Edle Herrin von und zu Eltz genannt Faust von Stromberg (now Christiane Henkell-von Ribbentrop), is related to the princely family of Liechtenstein. She divorced Enoch zu Guttenberg in 1977 and married Adolf von Ribbentrop, the son of Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, in 1985, and has two children in her second marriage[3]. In addition to his half-brothers Rudolf and Friedrich von Ribbentrop (born 1989 and 1990), Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg has the brother Philipp Franz von und zu Guttenberg (born 1973), who married a daughter of Godfrey James Macdonald, 8th Baron Macdonald.
In February 2000, Karl-Theodor Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg married Stephanie, Countess of Bismarck-Schönhausen (born 1976), the great-great-granddaughter of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the Prince of Bismarck and the Duke of Lauenburg. They have two daughters. Guttenberg is Catholic. As a Freiherr, a conventional form of address is Baron, both in German and English.
His cousin is the Oscar-winning film director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck.
Private life
Guttenberg lives at his family castle in Guttenberg, Bavaria (district of Kulmbach), and has a villa in Berlin as well. The castle has been in the possession of the Guttenberg family since the 15th century.[4]
Aside from Munich, Guttenberg and Berlin, he has lived in Frankfurt and New York.
Literature
- Genealogisches Handbuch des in Bayern immatrikulierten Adels, Band XXV, 2004, S. 422
References
- ^ http://www.zuguttenberg.de/index.php?url=/home_337.htm
- ^ "Germany gets new economy minister", The Associated Press, February 9, 2009
- ^ thePeerage.com entry on Christiane Gräfin und Edle Herrin von und zu Eltz genannt Faust von Stromberg
- ^ http://www.bild.de/BILD/news/politik/2009/02/09/karl-theodor-zu-guttenberg/hg-portrait-karl-theodor/zu-guttenberg-der-adelige-senkrechtstarter.html