Georg Milbradt (born 23 February 1945) is a German politician of the
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who served as
Minister-President of Saxony
This article lists the Leaders of the Government (german: Vorsitzende des Gesamtministeriums) in the Kingdom of Saxony from 1831 to 1918 and Minister-presidents (german: Ministerpräsidenten) of the Free State of Saxony since 1918.
List of Minist ...
from 2002 to 2008.
Early life
Milbradt was born in
Eslohe
Eslohe is a municipality in the Hochsauerland district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Geography
Eslohe is situated approximately 25 km south-west of Meschede.
Neighbouring municipalities
* Finnentrop
* Lennestadt
* Meschede
* Schm ...
. His family originally was from
Wągrowiec
(german: Wongrowitz) is a town in west-central Poland, from both Poznań and Bydgoszcz. Since the 18th century it has been the a seat of a powiat. Administratively it is attached to the Greater Poland Voivodeship. The town is situated in the mi ...
(''Wongrowitz'') near
Poznań
Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...
(''Posen'') but ended up in
Dortmund
Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...
after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and he passed his
Abitur
''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...
there in 1964. From 1964 to 1968, Milbradt studied economics, law, and mathematics at the
University of Münster
The University of Münster (german: Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, WWU) is a public university, public research university located in the city of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany.
With more than 43,000 students and over ...
. He graduated with a degree in economics in 1968. From 1970 to 1980, he was scientific assistant at the institute for finance at the University of Münster, where he obtained his doctoral degree (Dr. rer. pol., summa cum laude) in 1973 and his
habilitation
Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...
in 1980. From 1980 to 1983, Milbradt worked as substitute professor of finance and political economics at the
University of Mainz
The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (german: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz) is a public research university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany, named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg since 1946. With approximately 32,000 stu ...
; since 1985 he holds the title of an (unsalaried) professor at the economics faculty in Münster.
Political career
Milbradt has been a member of the CDU since 1973. He was head of the finance department of the city of
Münster
Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...
from 1983 to 1990 and then Minister of Finance of Saxony from 1990 to January 2001, but was dismissed from office by Minister-President
Kurt Biedenkopf
Kurt Hans Biedenkopf (; 28 January 1930 – 12 August 2021) was a German jurist, academic teacher and politician of the Christian-Democratic Union (CDU). He was rector of the Ruhr University Bochum.
Biedenkopf made a political career firs ...
because Milbradt had started a debate about Biedenkopf's succession. Milbradt served as member of the state board of the CDU from 1991 and became deputy chairman of the state CDU in 1999 and chairman in 2001. From 1994 until
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
, he was a member of the
Landtag of the Free State of Saxony
The Landtag of Saxony (german: Sächsischer Landtag), also known in English as the Saxon State Parliament, is the legislature of the Free State of Saxony, one of Germany's sixteen states. It is responsible for legislation, control of the gover ...
.
On 18 April 2002, Milbradt was elected as Minister-President of Saxony despite Biedenkopf's explicit opposition. Milbradt first governed with an absolute CDU majority, but in a coalition with the
SPD
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany.
Saskia Esken has been the ...
after the state elections of 19 September 2004, in which the CDU lost a large number of votes.
In April 2008 Milbradt announced that he would resign from the office by the end of May and that
Stanislaw Tillich
Stanislaw Tillich (; hsb, Stanisław Tilich; born 10 April 1959) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, CDU. He served as the 3rd Minister-President, Minister President of Saxony from 2008 to 2017. From 1 November ...
would succeed him. He had been under pressure for months because of his involvement in the liquidity crisis of the government's
Sachsen LB
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
bank. Milbradt has also been criticized for private loans from the bank during his time as Minister of Finance in Saxony; in April 2008, the state government confirmed that Milbradt and his wife had borrowed a total of around €172,000 ($272,000) between 1996 and 1999 to help purchase around €360,000 in investment fund products from a subsidiary of the bank.
Life after politics
In 2010, Milbradt and former Mayor of
Hannover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German States of Germany, state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germa ...
Herbert Schmalstieg served as arbitrators to mediate in a
wage dispute between the
German United Services Trade Union (ver.di) and the country's public sector employers. He later successfully mediated in a similar conflict between train operator
ODEG
Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn GmbH (''ODEG''; literally "East German Railway") is a joint venture, founded in June 2002, of the Prignitzer Eisenbahn (part of the Netinera Group) and BeNEX, with each company owning 50% of the joint venture. It operates pas ...
and the
German Train Drivers' Union (GDL) in 2011. In 2015, the Association of Local Government Employers (VKA) appointed Milbradt as its negotiator in a dispute with employees of day nurseries in Germany; again, Schmalstieg served as his counterpart in the talks.
As a delegate of the
Catholic Church in Germany
, native_name_lang = de
, image = Hohe_Domkirche_St._Petrus.jpg
, imagewidth = 200px
, alt =
, caption = Cologne Cathedral, Cologne
, abbreviation =
, type = Nati ...
, Milbradt was one of the members of the country's temporary National Commission on the Disposal of Radioactive Waste from 2014 and 2016. From 2015 until 2016, he served on a government-appointed commission tasked with recommending how to safeguard the funding of fulfilling Germany's
exit from nuclear energy, under the leadership of co-chairs
Ole von Beust
Ole von Beust (born 13 April 1955) is a former German politician who was First Mayor of Hamburg from 31 October 2001 to 25 August 2010, serving as President of the Bundesrat from 1 November 2007 on for one year. He was succeeded as mayor by Ch ...
,
Matthias Platzeck
Matthias Platzeck (born 29 December 1953) is a German politician. He was Minister President of Brandenburg from 2002 to 2013 and party chairman of the SPD from November 2005 to April 2006.
On 29 July 2013 Platzeck announced his resignation fro ...
and
Jürgen Trittin
Jürgen Trittin (born 25 July 1954) is a German Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, Green politician. He was Federal Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (Germany), Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and N ...
. He was a CDU delegate to the
Federal Convention
The Constitutional Convention took place in Philadelphia from May 25 to September 17, 1787. Although the convention was intended to revise the league of states and first system of government under the Articles of Confederation, the intention fr ...
for the purpose of electing the
President of Germany
The president of Germany, officially the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: link=no, Bundespräsident der Bundesrepublik Deutschland),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international corres ...
in
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
and
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
.
Since 2017, Milbradt has been serving as the German government's special envoy for the Ukrainian reform agenda.
Other activities
*
HHL Foundation, Chairman of the Board
*
Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems
The Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex systems is one of the 80 institutes of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, located in Dresden, Germany.
Research
The research at the institute in the field of the physics of complex systems rang ...
, Member of the Board of Trustees
* Forum of Federations, Member of the Board (2010-2013), Chairman of the Board (from 2013)
*
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...
, Member of the Advisory Board (2004-2006)
Members of the Advisory Board, 2006
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...
.
Milbradt oversees the Schüler Helfen Leben initiative.
Recognition
* 2009 –
* 2004 – Grand Decoration of Honour in Silver with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria
* 2002 – Order of Merit of the Free State of Saxony
The Order of Merit of the Free State of Saxony (german: Sächsischer Verdienstorden) is a civil order of merit, and the highest award of the German state of Saxony. First presented in 1997, it is awarded by the Minister-President of Saxony. The ...
Personal life
Milbradt is married to Angelika Meeth-Milbradt, a professor of economics, since 1975. They have two children.
Works
* ''Die demographische Herausforderung. Sachsens Zukunft gestalten'', by Georg Milbradt and Johannes Meier, Bertelsmann Stiftung, 2004,
* ''Kraft der Visionen'', by Georg Milbradt and Thomas Rietzschel, Kiepenheuer, 2003,
References
* Mühlbradt, Max: ''Das Geschlecht Milbradt (Milbrandt, Mildebrath, Milbrath, Milbrod, Mühlbrecht, Mühlbradt). Nachfahrentafeln''. Landsberg an der Warthe: Selbstverlag des Verfassers 1934.
* Ulrich Brümmer: ''Parteien und Wahlen in Sachsen'', Wiesbaden 2006,
External links
*
Official homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Milbradt, Georg
1945 births
Living people
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz faculty
Christian Democratic Union of Germany politicians
Members of the Landtag of Saxony
Politicians from Dortmund
Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Free State of Saxony
Ministers-President of Saxony
University of Münster faculty