Günther Oettinger

Günther Hermann Oettinger (born October 15 1953 in Stuttgart) is a German politician from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He has been Minister President of the state of Baden-Württemberg since 2005, and chairman of the CDU Baden-Württemberg.

Oettinger studied law in Tübingen. He has been married since 1994 and has one son.

Political career

Oettinger embarked on his political career as a member of the Junge Union, the youth organisation of the CDU; he was chairman of the organization in Baden-Württemberg from 1983 to 1989. From 2001 to 2005 he was chairman of the CDU party in Nordwürttemberg (North Württemberg). He was also chairman of the federal committee for media politics of the CDU.

Oettinger has been a member of the State parliament ("Landtag") of Baden-Württemberg since 1984. From 1991 to 2005 he was leader of the CDU parliamentary party.

In October 2004 the Minister President of Baden-Württemberg Erwin Teufel announced that he was to step down as Minister President and Chairman of the Baden-Württemberg CDU, effective April 19 2005. Oettinger was voted his successor after internal party pre-elections.

On April 29, 2004, Oettinger became Chairman of the CDU in Baden-Württemberg, eight days after succeeding Teufel as Minister President. In 2006 the CDU held onto their majority in the Baden-Württemberg state election; Oettinger was re-elected Minister President. Oettinger heads a coalition regional government made up of the CDU and FDP.

Life and career

Oettinger is known throughout Germany for his Swabian dialect. He can be a fast talker often making him difficult to understand.

On 9 December 2007, Oettinger and his wife announced that they had separated. This was the first time that a Minister-President had announced a marriage breakdown during his term of office, unprecedented in the conservative and religious State of Baden-Württemberg. [ [http://www.n-tv.de/890491.html "Oettinger marriage fails after 13 years"] n-tv online, 09.12.2007 (German)]

Eulogy controversy

On 11 April 2007, Oettinger held a controversial eulogy on one of his predecessors as Minister President of Baden-Württemberg, Hans Filbinger, who was forced to resign in 1978 after allegations surfaced about his role as a navy lawyer and judge in the Second World War, and who died on April 1 at the age of 93.

In his speech at the memorial service in Freiburg, Oettinger described Filbinger as "not a National-Socialist" but an "an opponent of the Nazi regime", who "could flee the constraints of the regime as little as million others". Referring to Filbinger's role as a navy judge, Oettinger pointed out that no-one lost his life because of a verdict by Filbinger and that he did not wield the power and freedom suggested by his critics. [ [http://www.fr-online.de/_img/_cnt/_online/070413_1705_filbinger_rede.doc Full text of Oettinger's eulogy for Hans Filbinger (in German)] (Microsoft Word document, 232 KB). "Frankfurter Rundschau", 12 April 2007.] Oettinger was subsequently accused by politicians and the media of playing down the signifance of the Nazi dictatorship. German Chancellor Angela Merkel reacted with public admonishment, stating that she would have preferred it for "the critical questions" to be raised. [ [http://www.tagesschau.de/aktuell/meldungen/0,1185,OID6618996,00.html "Nach umstrittener Trauerrede zu Filbinger: Merkel rügt Oettinger."] "Tagesschau" online, 13. April 2007.] Oettinger was also criticized by opposition politicians and the Jewish Council; some of his critics even called for his dismissal.

Oettinger at first defended his speech, adding that he regretted any "misunderstanding" about his eulogy although he did not withdraw his comments on Filbinger's past."Eulogy for Former Nazi Prompts Criticism", "The New York Times", April 14, 2007 [http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Germany-Nazi-Era-Judge.html] ] However, on 16 April he distanced himself from his comments. [ [http://www.sueddeutsche.de/,tt2m5/deutschland/artikel/286/110176/ "Oettingers Weltsicht"] Süddeutsche Zeitung vom 17.04.2007]

References