Jump to content

Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 134.130.4.242 (talk) at 17:02, 4 October 2009 (since Gräfin von is part of the surname (not a title), it should not be translated (no nobility in Germany since 1919)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

For his grandfather, see Karl Theodor Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg
Karl-Theodor von und zu Guttenberg
Federal Minister for Economics and Technology
Incumbent
Assumed office
10 February 2009
Preceded byMichael Glos
Secretary General of the Christian Social Union of Bavaria
In office
November 2008 – February 2009
Preceded byChristine Haderthauer
Succeeded byAlexander Dobrindt
Member of the German Parliament for Kulmbach
Incumbent
Assumed office
2002
Preceded byBernd Protzner
Personal details
Born (1971-12-05) 5 December 1971 (age 53)
Munich, Bavaria, Germany
NationalityGerman Germany
Political partyChristian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU)
Spouse(s)Stephanie, Gräfin von Bismarck-Schönhausen (b. 1976)

Karl-Theodor Maria Nikolaus Johann Jacob Philipp Franz Joseph Sylvester Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg (born 5 December 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 10 February 2009, he was appointed Federal Minister for Economics and Technology in the Cabinet of Angela Merkel. He previously held the post as Secretary General of his party, and has been a Member of Parliament since 2002.

After taking office as a cabinet minister, he quickly became one of Germany's most popular politicians[1][2].

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 at the University of Bayreuth. 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, which is responsible for his own family's considerable investments. He has also worked as a freelance journalist for the conservative daily Die Welt.

From 1996 until 2002, he was a member of the advisory board of the private hospital group Rhön-Klinikum, of which his family was one of the largest shareholders (26% in the voting capital). Guttenberg sold his family's share to HypoVereinsbank in March 2002 shortly before starting his political career.[3]

Political career

Member of Parliament

Guttenberg (right), with Angela Merkel, at the 2008 CDU national congress in Stuttgart

He was elected to the Bundestag in 2002 as the representative of Kulmbach. Guttenberg was reelected in the 2005 election, and won his constituency with 60,0% of the votes. In 2009 he was reelected again with 68,1% in his district achieving the highest percentage among all direct representatives in Germany.

In the Bundestag, he has been particularly active as a foreign policy expert, 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 accused of links to terrorists, including the FARC terrorist organization.[4]

Secretary General of the CSU

Described by the press as a rising star in German politics,[5] he was the Secretary General of the CSU from November 2008 to February 2009.

Federal Minister of Economics

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 9 February 2009. After he was formally nominated by Angela Merkel the same day, Guttenberg was appointed by President Horst Köhler on 10 February 2009.

Baron Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg was sworn in by Parliament on 12 February 2009.[6]

In the summer of 2009, he surpassed Chancellor Angela Merkel as the most popular politician in Germany.[7].

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, noted for his opposition to the Ostpolitik. 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.

Stephanie, Gräfin von Bismarck (b. 1976), the wife of Baron Guttenberg

Karl-Theodor's mother, Christiane Gräfin und Edle Herrin von und zu Eltz genannt Faust von Stromberg (now Christiane Henkell-von Ribbentrop), is a member of the Eltz family, which has strong ties with Croatia. She is the daughter of Jakob von und zu Eltz, a former President of the Association of Winemakers in Rheingau who became active in Croatian politics after Croatian independence, and is related to the princely family of Liechtenstein as well a descendant of the Habsburg-Lothringen imperial family, including Maria Theresa of Austria. 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 from her second marriage.[8] In addition to his half-brothers Rudolf and Friedrich von Ribbentrop (born 1989 and 1990), Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg has a younger 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, Prince of Bismarck and Duke of Lauenburg. They have two daughters. Guttenberg is Catholic.

His distant relative is the Oscar-winning film director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck.

Private life

The family castle in Guttenberg, Bavaria

Guttenberg lives both at his family castle in Guttenberg, Bavaria (district of Kulmbach), a village whose history is closely associated with the House of Guttenberg, and in a mansion in Berlin. The castle has been in the possession of the Guttenberg family since 1482.[9] The Guttenberg family owns most of the land in Guttenberg and has the right to appoint the local parish priest, in return of their financial support of the church. The family has had this right for several centuries.

Aside from Munich, Guttenberg and Berlin, he has lived in Frankfurt and New York. Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg enjoys hunting, skiing and tennis.

Title and form of address

As a Freiherr, his conventional form of address, by tradition, is Baron, both in German and English, and in his hometown of Guttenberg, Bavaria, Guttenberg is by courtesy styled as Baron (when addressed: Herr Baron, "My Lord Baron")[10] and referred to as simply the Baron. In an interview, the Mayor of Guttenberg told journalists: "His correct title is Reichsfreiherr. One addresses him as Baron. Here, one must know the correct titles. [...] He is simply the Baron."[11] Baron is also the customary title of a Freiherr used in English and other languages, and Guttenberg is hence sometimes referred to as Baron Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg in languages other than German.[12]

Ancestry

Family of Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg
8. Georg Enoch Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg
4. Karl Theodor Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg
9. Elisabeth, geborene Freiin von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen
2. Enoch Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg
10. Robert Prosper, Duke of Arenberg
5. Rose-Sophie, Princess of Arenberg
11. Princess Gabriele of Wrede
1. Karl-Theodor Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg
12. Karl von und zu Eltz-Kempenich
6. Jakob von und zu Eltz
13. Princess Sophie of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg
3. Christiane Gräfin und Edle Herrin von und zu Eltz genannt Faust von Stromberg
14. Friedrich Mayr von Melnhof
7. Ladislaja Mayr von Melnhof
15. Maria Anna von Meran

Literature

  • Genealogisches Handbuch des in Bayern immatrikulierten Adels, Vol. XXV, 2004, p. 422.

References

  1. ^ http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/450/481916/text/
  2. ^ http://www.fr-online.de/in_und_ausland/politik/aktuell/1850633_Guttenberg-zieht-an-Merkel-vorbei.html
  3. ^ http://www.alacrastore.com/storecontent/Thomson_M&A/Bayerische_Hypo_und_Vereins_acquires_a_minority_stake_in_Rhoen_Klinikum_AG-1280906040.
  4. ^ http://www.zuguttenberg.de/index.php?url=/home_337.htm
  5. ^ "Germany gets new economy minister". The Associated Press. 2009-02-09.
  6. ^ "Guttenberg Sworn In as Economics Minister". Deutsche Welle. 2009-02-12. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  7. ^ http://www.fr-online.de/in_und_ausland/politik/aktuell/1850633_Guttenberg-zieht-an-Merkel-vorbei.html
  8. ^ thePeerage.com entry on Christiane Gräfin und Edle Herrin von und zu Eltz genannt Faust von Stromberg
  9. ^ Frischemeyer, Britta (2009-02-09). "Der adelige Senkrechtstarter". Bild. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ Heeg, Thiemo (2009-02-09). "Der Herr Baron wird Minister". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  11. ^ Haseborg, Volker ter (2009-02-12). "Mein Schloss, mein Dorf, mein Pfarrer". Abendzeitung. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  12. ^ "New German Economy Minister Gets Green Light". Deutsche Welle. 2009-02-10. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

Template:Cabinet Merkel

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Karl-Theodor_zu_Guttenberg&oldid=317867407"