Franz Müntefering

Franz Müntefering (German: [ˈmʏntəˌfeːʁɪŋ] ; born 16 January 1940) is a German politician. He was Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) from 2004 to 2005 and again from 18 October 2008 to 13 November 2009. He served as the minister of Labour and Social Affairs, as well as the vice chancellor of Germany, in the cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2005 to 2007.

Franz Müntefering

Hubertus Heil

Frank-Walter Steinmeier

Office established

Matthias Machnig

(1940-01-16) 16 January 1940
Neheim, Free State of Prussia

Social Democratic

Renate
(m. 1960s; div. 1990s)

Ankepetra Rettich

(m. 1995; died 2008)

Michelle Schumann

(m. 2009)

Industrial manager
politician

Germany

Bundeswehr

1961–1961

German Army (Heer) /
Mechanized infantry (Panzergrenadiertruppe)

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Early life and education[edit]

Müntefering was born in Neheim (now part of Arnsberg). He trained as an industrial salesman and worked for local metalwork companies.^[1]

Political positions[edit]

In April 2005, Müntefering criticized the market economy of Germany and proposed more state involvement to promote economic justice. In this speech, he described private equity firms as "locusts". He subsequently published a "locust list" of companies, which he circulated within the SPD.^[11] This began a debate which dominated the national news, being the subject of front-page articles and covered on the main television news broadcasts nearly every day. Müntefering's suggestions were criticized by employers and many economists, but met with popular support (up to 75% in some opinion polls). The word has since found its way into German language as an established term for shady financial business practices.

German Foundation for Active Citizenship and Volunteering (DSEE), Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2020)

[12]

chairman of the Advisory Board

Berlin Demography Forum

(FES), Member^[13]

Friedrich Ebert Foundation

Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2014)^[14]

Witten/Herdecke University

Member of the Board (since 2002)

Herbert and Greta Wehner Foundation

Deutsche Hospiz- und PalliativStiftung, Member of the Board of Trustees

[15]

(BAGSO), chairman since 2015^[16]

German National Association of Senior Citizens' Organizations

Since leaving active politics, Müntefering has held a variety of honorary positions, including the following:

Müntefering was a SPD delegate to the Federal Convention for the purpose of electing the President of Germany in 2017.^[17]

Controversy[edit]

In 2002, news surfaced that, while Müntefering was head of the SPD in the North Rhine-Westphalia during the 1990s, local officials in the city of Cologne and possibly elsewhere allegedly engaged in corruption that involved illegal political donations from builders of waste-disposal facilities. Müntefering denied any knowledge of the anonymous donations and launched an internal investigation into all contracts awarded for the construction of waste-disposal facilities in North Rhine-Westphalia in the 1990s. On 22 March, he testified about the affair before Parliament's investigative committee.^[2]

Biography by German Bundestag

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Franz Müntefering