Albert Dess ( ; born 17 April 1947) is a German politician who served as

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

(MEP) from 2004 until 2019. He is a member of the

Christian Social Union in Bavaria The Christian Social Union in Bavaria (German: , CSU) is a Christian-democratic and conservative political party in Germany. Having a regionalist identity, the CSU operates only in Bavaria while its larger counterpart, the Christian Democratic ...

, part of the

European People's Party The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian-democratic, conservative, and liberal-conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other political parties. Founded by primarily Ch ...

Education and early career

* 1966: Agricultural college (graduated * 1979:

Master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

* Secondary occupation as farmer * Worked in

commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...

and industry * Managing director of a farming cooperative * 1977: Full-time farmer/training establishment

Political career

Career in local politics

* 1974: District Chairman of the Junge Union * 1981: Member of the CSU district executive * 1984: Municipal Chairman of the CSU * District Chairman (1987), Regional Vice-Chairman (1989–1995) and Regional Chairman (1995) of the CSU Agricultural Association * 1989: Member of the CSU district executive * 1997: Member of the CSU Regional Executive Committee * 1972–1996:

Municipal Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

lor, Berngau * 1978: District Councillor, Neumarkt/Oberpfalz * 1984–1996: Vice-Chairman of Neumarkt/Oberpfalz district council * 1984–1996:

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Berngau Berngau is a municipality in the district of Neumarkt in Bavaria in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and th ...

Member of the German Parliament, 1990–2004

* 1992–2004: Farm policy spokesman for the CSU Regional

Group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

in the Bundestag * 1997–2004: Member of the CDU/CSU Group Executive Committee * 2000–2004: Chairman of the CSU Regional Group working party for Agriculture, Consumer Protection, Environment, Transport, Building and Energy

Member of the European Parliament, 2004–2019

Dess was a member of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development The Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) is a committee of the European Parliament. Responsibilities of the Committee AGRI is the European Parliament committee responsible for: #The operation and development of the Common Agricul ...

(AGRI). He was a substitute for the

Committee on International Trade The Committee on International Trade (INTA) is a committee of the European Parliament. Its current chair, elected on 10 July 2019, is Bernd Lange.Mercosur The Southern Common Market, commonly known by Spanish abbreviation Mercosur, and Portuguese Mercosul, is a South American trade bloc established by the Treaty of Asunción in 1991 and Protocol of Ouro Preto in 1994. Its full members are Argentina ...

and a substitute for the delegation to the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly. In May 2018, Dess announced that he would not stand in the 2019 European elections but instead resign from active politics by the end of the parliamentary term.Helmut Sturm (May 27, 2018)
Europa: Albert Deß tritt nicht mehr an
''

Mittelbayerische Zeitung ''Mittelbayerische Zeitung'' is a regional newspaper for Bavaria, Germany, founded in 1945 by Karl Friedrich Esser. Headquartered in Regensburg, the paper employs 550 and is owned by Mittelbayerischer Verlag KG. The online version can be reache ...

''.

Controversy

Outside Germany, Dess is best known for trying to introduce in the

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...

-written piece of legislation that would have exempted a whole class of vehicle from

pollution control Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

s. The proposal was dropped after the

Volkswagen emissions violation The Volkswagen emissions scandal, sometimes known as Dieselgate or Emissionsgate, began in September 2015, when the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice of violation of the Clean Air Act to German automaker Vol ...

scandal erupted and Dress has thus far refused requests to comment on his actions.

Recognition

* 1998:

Bundesverdienstkreuz The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

with ribbon

References

External links

* * * 1947 births Living people MEPs for Germany 2004–2009 Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Christian Social Union in Bavaria MEPs MEPs for Germany 2009–2014 MEPs for Germany 2014–2019 Members of the Bundestag for Bavaria Members of the Bundestag 2002–2005 Members of the Bundestag 1998–2002 Members of the Bundestag 1994–1998 Members of the Bundestag 1990–1994 {{Germany-CSU-politician-stub