Karl-Theodor Zu Guttenberg
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Karl-Theodor Maria Nikolaus Johann Jacob Philipp Franz Joseph Sylvester Buhl-Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg (born 5 December 1971), known professionally as Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, is a German businessman and politician of the Christian Social Union (CSU). He served as a member of the
Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Common ...
from 2002 to 2011, as Secretary-General of the CSU from 2008 to 2009, as Federal Minister for Economics and Technology in 2009 and as Federal Minister of Defence from 2009 to 2011. After the discovery of plagiarism in his doctoral dissertation and the decision of the
University of Bayreuth A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...
to revoke his doctorate, an affair known as
Guttenberg plagiarism scandal Guttenberg plagiarism scandal refers to the German political scandal that led to the resignation of Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg as Minister of Defence of Germany over the plagiarism of his doctoral dissertation. The first accusations of plagiaris ...
, he resigned from all political posts in March 2011. In 2011, Guttenberg joined the
Center for Strategic and International Studies The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. CSIS was founded as the Center for Strategic and International Studies of Georgetown University in 1962. The center conducts polic ...
(CSIS). Guttenberg is the chairman and a founder of ''Spitzberg Partners'', an advisory and investment firm based in New York City. He returned to German politics during the 2017 federal election by making a speech which was widely described as a comeback.


Education

In 1991, after finishing high school ( Gymnasium) in
Rosenheim Rosenheim is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is an independent city located in the centre of the district of Rosenheim (Upper Bavaria), and is also the seat of its administration. It is located on the west bank of the Inn at the confluence of th ...
, Guttenberg completed his mandatory military service reaching the rank of Sergeant. Guttenberg studied
law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
at the
University of Bayreuth A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...
, where he passed the first legal state examination (said to be the equivalent of a
master's degree 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.
) in 1999. Guttenberg chose not to pursue the second state examination (the equivalent of a
bar exam A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction. Australia Administering bar exams is the responsibility of the bar associat ...
), and focused on running the Munich-based "Guttenberg GmbH" holding where, along with a few employees, he managed his family's significant assets and various participations. Due to the holding's low turnover and small number of employees, it was said that Guttenberg had exaggerated his business experience. The Guttenberg GmbH had assets under management of at least a quarter billion euros, including a 26.5 percent stake in Rhön-Klinikum AG, which was sold in March 2002 to Bayerische Hypo- und Vereinsbank for 260 million euros. From 1996 to 2002, Guttenberg was a member of the board of directors of Rhön-Klinikum AG. Until September 2004, he was a managing director of the KT-Kapitalverwaltung GbR in Munich. Guttenberg studied
law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
at the University of Bayreuth. He successfully defended his thesis "Verfassung und Verfassungsvertrag. Konstitutionelle Entwicklungsstufen in den USA und der EU" ("Constitution and Constitutional Treaty. Stages of Constitutional Development in the USA and EU"), and was awarded the academic degree
Doctor of Law A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL ...
("Doktor der Rechte") in 2007. Following accusations of plagiarism in Guttenberg's thesis, the University of Bayreuth conducted an investigation, culminating on 23 February 2011 with the revocation of Guttenberg's doctorate. In 2019, Guttenberg again received the title "Doctor of Philosophy" from the
University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...
.


Political career

Guttenberg is a member of the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU) and held different positions within the party, including that of secretary general.


Member of Parliament

In 2002, Guttenberg was elected to the
Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Common ...
as the representative of Kulmbach. He was reelected in 2005, winning 60.0% of the votes in his constituency. In 2009, he was reelected again with 68.1% of the votes in his district, obtaining the highest percentage of votes of all elected representatives in Germany for that election cycle. From October 2005 to November 2008, Guttenberg served as chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag's Foreign Affairs Committee and as spokesman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag's Committee on disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control. He also chaired the CSU Foreign Policy Expert Committee and the German-British parliamentary group during that time.


Political positions

In early 2004, Guttenberg introduced the concept of a
Privileged Partnership :''This article deals with cooperation between the European Union and non-member states. For the use of the term to describe Franco-German cooperation at and since the Treaty of Maastricht, see France–Germany relations'' Privileged partnership ...
between Turkey and the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
as a viable alternative to
accession of Turkey to the European Union Turkey is negotiating its accession to the European Union (EU) as a member state, following its application to become a full member of the European Economic Community (EEC), the predecessor of the EU, on 14 April 1987. After the ten founding ...
into the German political discourse. Guttenberg based his opposition to full Turkish membership in the EU on the country's insufficient fulfillment of relevant accession criteria, for example with regard to the Cyprus dispute. At the same time, he stressed the necessity of maintaining good relations with Turkey and was therefore critical of a French initiative to criminalize the denial of the
Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through t ...
. Guttenberg also repeatedly warned of the looming threat posed to German and European security by Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. However, he rejected taking rash military action against
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
and instead called for an international diplomatic effort to deal with Tehran's nuclear program. As a Member of Parliament, he was a strong critic of the far-left party Die Linke, which he accused of links to
terrorists Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
. He was also a member of the Europa-Union Parliamentary Group of the German Bundestag and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation
Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (german: Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas), also known as the Holocaust Memorial (German: ''Holocaust-Mahnmal''), is a memorial in Berlin to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, designed by arc ...
.


Secretary General of the CSU

In September 2008, the CSU suffered heavy losses in the Bavaria state election and lost its absolute majority in the
Bavarian Landtag The Landtag of Bavaria, officially known in English as the Bavarian State Parliament, is the unicameral legislature of the German state of Bavaria. The parliament meets in the Maximilianeum in Munich. Elections to the Landtag are held every f ...
- for the first time in 46 years. As a result of this political defeat the CSU party leadership stepped down and
Horst Seehofer Horst Lorenz Seehofer (born 4 July 1949) is a German politician who served as Minister of the Interior, Building and Community under Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2018 to 2021. A member of the Christian Social Union (CSU), he served as the 18 ...
, the new CSU chairman and
minister-president A minister-president or minister president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments with a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government where they preside over the council of ministers. I ...
of Bavaria, appointed Guttenberg as
secretary general Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...
of the CSU in November 2008. As secretary-general, Guttenberg called for tax cuts, an increase in family benefits and structural reforms within the CSU to foster more direct political participation of the party base. In addition to domestic policy he also emphasized his focus on international affairs.


Federal Minister of Economics

After the resignation of
Michael Glos Michael Glos (born 14 December 1944) is a German politician of the Christian Social Union (CSU) who served as Minister for Economics and Technology in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel from 22 November 2005 until 10 February 2009. Ea ...
on 9 February 2009 Guttenberg became Federal Minister of Economics and Technology in the
first Merkel cabinet The First Merkel cabinet (German: ''Kabinett Merkel I'') was the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany from 22 November 2005 to 27 October 2009 throughout the 16th legislative session of the Bundestag. Led by Christian Democrat Angela M ...
. Guttenberg, the youngest economics minister in the German post-war era, came to office in the midst of a deep global
financial crisis A financial crisis is any of a broad variety of situations in which some financial assets suddenly lose a large part of their nominal value. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many financial crises were associated with banking panics, and man ...
and
recession In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...
. In the wake of the global financial crisis, several major German banks were near failure, including
Hypo Real Estate The Hypo Real Estate Holding AG is a holding company based in Munich, Germany which comprises a number of real estate financing banks. The company's activities span three sectors of the real estate market: commercial property, infrastructure and ...
, which received €102 billion of credit and guarantees from Germany's bank rescue fund. In this case, Guttenberg opposed an overly hasty nationalization of Hypo Real Estate, which he considered only as "''ultissima ratio'', a measure of the very last resort". A few months later he drafted a legislative proposal to minimize the financial risks of failing banks, which caused controversy but later became the foundation of the German bank restructuring bill. In the case of troubled German companies asking for state aid, including automaker Opel and now-defunct mail-order service Arcandor/Quelle, Guttenberg was reluctant to commit government resources. He insisted on strict conditionality, including restructuring, and limited support to only those companies which were otherwise competitive but were temporarily affected by the crisis. In November 2008, Opel had appealed for governmental assistance because of severe financial problems facing its American parent, General Motors (GM). In 2009, Opel employed 25,000 workers in Germany and indirectly supported 50,000 additional jobs through its supplier network. In March 2009, Guttenberg made his first visit to the US as economics minister, focusing his trip on the future of Opel. In his talks with U.S. Treasury Secretary
Timothy Geithner Timothy Franz Geithner (; born August 18, 1961) is a former American central banker who served as the 75th United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013. He was the President of the Federal Reserve Bank o ...
, the director of the
United States National Economic Council United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
,
Lawrence Summers Lawrence Henry Summers (born November 30, 1954) is an American economist who served as the 71st United States secretary of the treasury from 1999 to 2001 and as director of the National Economic Council from 2009 to 2010. He also served as pres ...
, and
Rick Wagoner George Richard "Rick" Wagoner Jr. (born February 9, 1953) is an American businessman and former chair and chief executive officer of General Motors. Wagoner resigned as chairman and CEO at General Motors on March 29, 2009, at the request of the ...
, then CEO of General Motors, Guttenberg demanded that GM provide a viable restructuring plan for Opel as a precondition for receiving financial assistance from the German state. Guttenberg and Wagoner agreed on the necessity of a private investor for Opel. After Guttenberg's visit to the US, negotiations between the German government, GM, and potential Opel investors, including Fiat and Canada's
Magna International Magna International Inc. is a Canadian parts manufacturer for automakers. It is one of the largest companies in Canada and was recognized on the 2020 ''Forbes'' Global 2000. The company is the largest automobile parts manufacturer in North Americ ...
, were stalled by GM and the
U.S. Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...
. In contrast to Merkel and other German political leaders, Guttenberg preferred insolvency for Opel rather than the infusion of unconditional financial assistance from the German state. Because of the resultant financial risks to the German state, Guttenberg opposed the sale of Opel to Magna International, favoured by Chancellor Merkel, and—according to media coverage—even offered his resignation over the controversy. The Opel-Magna deal later failed, and Opel remained a subsidiary of GM, who had to reimburse financial assistance to Germany. In the summer of 2009, he surpassed Angela Merkel as the most popular politician in Germany.


Federal Minister of Defence

The 2009 Bundestag elections led to a change in government, as the incumbent grand coalition of CDU/ CSU and
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 t ...
was replaced by a center-right coalition of CDU/CSU and FDP. According to German press reports, Chancellor Merkel offered Guttenberg the choice between the interior and the
defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indus ...
ministries while negotiating the distribution of ministerial posts within the new coalition government. Guttenberg decided to opt for the defence portfolio and took the oath of office on 28 October 2009 as part of the Second Cabinet Merkel. He was the youngest-ever German defence minister in the post-war era.


Afghanistan

The first political challenge facing defence minister Guttenberg was dealing with the Kunduz airstrike of 4 September 2009. Initially, he adopted the position of his predecessor Jung and defended the air strike as "militarily appropriate". However, in contrast to Jung, Guttenberg conceded that the strike had also caused civilian casualties. After Guttenberg had received additional information and investigative reports dating back to the tenure of his predecessor Jung, Guttenberg changed his position concerning the "Kunduz airstrike" and dismissed
Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...
Chief of Staff Schneiderhahn and Parliamentary State Secretary of Defence Wichert on 26 November 2009. Jung, who in the meantime had assumed the position of labor minister in the second Merkel cabinet, took full political responsibility for the delay in sharing relevant Kunduz air strike information and resigned the following day. At the demand of the opposition parties, the Bundestag subsequently established a special investigative committee to shed light on the defense ministry's communications policy in connection with the Kunduz air strike. The final report of the Bundestag's special investigative committee cleared Guttenberg from the accusation that he had been responsible for the defence ministry's inadequate communications policy following the Kunduz strike. The findings were supported by members from the ruling CDU/CSU-FDP coalition while the opposition parties criticized the special investigative committee's report and later published their own account of the investigation. Shortly after taking office, Guttenberg publicly compared the situation faced by Bundeswehr soldiers in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
to "war". In doing so, Guttenberg broke a major political taboo since up until then Germany's political leadership – including the Chancellor and previous defense ministers – had only referred to the Afghanistan intervention as a "stabilization deployment". The new classification of the Bundeswehr's Afghanistan deployment as "war" improved the legal status of German soldiers operating under international law. Guttenberg attempted to elevate public perception of Germany's Afghan mission by personally participating - sometimes along with the Chancellor - at funeral services held for fallen Bundeswehr soldiers. In November 2010, Guttenberg established the
Combat Action Medal of the Bundeswehr The Combat Action Medal of the Bundeswehr (german: Einsatzmedaille Gefecht) is a military decoration awarded by the German Bundeswehr. The medal is awarded for active participation in combat actions or for the suffering from terrorist attacks. It ...
, which is awarded for bravery in combat and to soldiers who were the targets of terrorist or military attacks. At the political level, Guttenberg spoke out strongly against a military withdrawal from Afghanistan. He specifically warned against imposing fixed troop withdrawal timetables that do not take into account the security situation on the ground. Furthermore, Guttenberg also demanded a stronger involvement of key neighboring states such as Russia, India, and China in the resolution of the Afghan conflict. In light of the traditionally challenging security situation in Afghanistan, Guttenberg called for the development of an internationally coordinated long-term security strategy – based on the use of special forces and close intelligence cooperation within the coalition – to stabilize the country even after the eventual withdrawal of all foreign troops. During his tenure as defense minister, Guttenberg made nine visits to Afghanistan and the German soldiers deployed there. To gain a first-hand understanding of the situation on the ground and the military risks of the Bundeswehr's mission, Guttenberg went several times to the frontlines of the Afghan conflict. He also invited journalists to accompany him on these trips in an effort to educate the wider German public about the nature of the Bundeswehr deployment in Afghanistan. In December 2010, Guttenberg traveled to Afghanistan along with his wife Stephanie to visit with the troops before the Christmas holidays. In addition, he was also accompanied by German TV moderator
Johannes B. Kerner Johannes Baptist Kerner (born 9 December 1964) is a German television host, journalist, and former sportscaster. Early life Born in Bonn, Kerner was raised in Hersel, Bornheim, in a Catholic household. He attended boarding school at Aloisiu ...
, who hosted his prime-time talk show at the Bundeswehr camp in
Mazar-i-Sharif , official_name = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , pushpin_map = Afghanistan#Bactria#West Asia , pushpin_label = Mazar-i-Sharif , pushpin ...
featuring the Guttenbergs and German soldiers deployed there. While other German media and the opposition parties sharply criticized Guttenberg for allowing Kerner to host his show in Afghanistan, the reaction by the German troops and the general public was predominantly positive.


Bundeswehr reform

In early 2010, Guttenberg decided to push for fundamental Bundeswehr reforms in an effort to address the structural deficits within the German armed forces and to deal with declining defense budgets. The overall goal was to boost the Bundeswehr's expeditionary capabilities while, at the same time, achieving cost reductions. To accomplish these reforms, Guttenberg proposed to reduce the armed forces to 165,000 active duty soldiers and to suspend the
draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...
, resulting in the most comprehensive restructuring of the Bundeswehr since its founding in 1955. Guttenberg's reform plans were supported by a blue-ribbon "Bundeswehr Structural Commission" that the minister created in April 2010. The proposals triggered a major debate about the country's draft system and were met with significant political opposition, not least in Guttenberg's own political party. In the end, Guttenberg's view won out and on 29 October 2010, the CSU general party convention approved the minister's motion to suspend the draft by a large majority. Several weeks later, Chancellor Merkel's CDU held its own party convention and also voted in favor of suspending the draft. In November 2010, a
United States diplomatic cables leak The United States diplomatic cables leak, widely known as Cablegate, began on Sunday, 28 November 2010 when WikiLeaks began releasing classified cables that had been sent to the U.S. State Department by 274 of its consulates, embassies, and d ...
revealed that American diplomats viewed Guttenberg positively, with one cable describing him as a "foreign policy expert, a transatlanticist and a close and well-known friend to the United States".


Plagiarism scandal and resignation

In 2011, Guttenberg resigned amid controversy over his dissertation. The first accusations of plagiarism in Guttenberg's dissertation were made public in February 2011. Guttenberg's doctoral dissertation, "Verfassung und Verfassungsvertrag" ("Constitution and Constitutional Treaty"), had been the basis of his 2007 Doctorate from the
University of Bayreuth A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...
. Guttenberg at first denied intentional plagiarism, calling the accusations "absurd," but acknowledged that he may have made errors in his footnotes. In addition, it emerged that Guttenberg had requested a report from the Bundestag's research department, which he had then inserted into his thesis without attribution. On 23 February 2011, Guttenberg apologized in
parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
for flaws in his thesis, but denied intentional deception and denied the use of a ghostwriter. On 23 February 2011, the University of Bayreuth withdrew Guttenberg's doctorate. In part due to the expressions of confidence by Angela Merkel, the scandal continued to evoke heavy criticism from prominent academics, legal scholars (who accused Guttenberg of intentional plagiarism), and politicians both in the opposition and in the governing coalition. On 1 March 2011, Guttenberg announced his resignation as Minister of Defense, from his seat in the Bundestag, and from all other political offices. In May 2011, a University of Bayreuth commission tasked with investigating Guttenberg's dissertation came to the conclusion that Guttenberg had engaged in intentional deception in the writing of his dissertation, and had violated standards of good academic practice. The commission found that he had included borrowed passages throughout his thesis, without citation, and had modified those passages in order to conceal their origin. In November 2011, the prosecution in Hof discontinued the criminal proceedings for copyright violations against Guttenberg on condition of Guttenberg paying €20,000 to a charity. The prosecutor found 23 prosecutable copyright violations in Guttenberg's dissertation, but estimated that the material damage suffered by the authors of those texts was marginal. The doctorate affair also led to scrutiny of other politicians' doctorates, notably that of his colleague in the federal cabinet
Annette Schavan Annette Schavan (; born 10 June 1955) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). She was the Federal Minister of Education and Research in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2005 to 2013, when she resigned foll ...
and Hungarian President
Pál Schmitt Pál Schmitt (; born 1942) is a Hungarian Olympic fencer and politician who served as President of Hungary from 2010 until his resignation in 2012, following his academic misconduct controversy. Schmitt was a successful fencer in his ...
, who lost their doctorates for similar reasons.


Career after politics

In September 2011, Guttenberg joined the Washington-based
Center for Strategic and International Studies The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. CSIS was founded as the Center for Strategic and International Studies of Georgetown University in 1962. The center conducts polic ...
(CSIS). At the
Halifax International Security Forum Halifax International Security Forum (also Halifax Forum or HFX) is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. It is a forum and network for international government and military officials, academic exper ...
in November 2011, Guttenberg made his first public appearance since joining CSIS. During a plenary session on the economic and financial crisis he voiced pessimism about the current state of the EU and decried a severe "crisis of political leadership". In November 2011, Guttenberg published the book ''"Vorerst gescheitert"'' ("Failed for Now"). The publication is based on a series of conversations with the
editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...
of Die Zeit,
Giovanni di Lorenzo Giovanni di Lorenzo (; born 9 March 1959) is an Italian-German journalist. Editor-in-chief (since 2004) of German nationwide weekly newspaper '' Die Zeit'' and former editor-in-chief of Berlin's liberal daily newspaper ''Der Tagesspiegel'' (19 ...
, in which Guttenberg talks extensively for the first time about his political career, the plagiarism scandal and his resignation, as well as his plans for the future. Guttenberg's criticism in the book of the direction which the CSU is headed sparked some controversy within his party. Guttenberg is a strong critic of
Russian president The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
's expansionist foreign policy. In Spring 2014, he decried an "astonishing leadership vacuum in the world" and demanded that the West, and especially Europe, respond to Moscow's aggressions with strong political action. He praised Chancellor Merkel for her firm stance against Putin. Guttenberg appeared together with
Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...
during a CNN interview about the
Ukraine crisis The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since February 2014. Following Ukraine's Revo ...
and explained the significant domestic political resistance that Merkel's Russia policy faced in Germany. Several months later Guttenberg accused the EU of inaction and a lack of capabilities given the crises in Ukraine and the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
. In spring 2014, Guttenberg formed Spitzberg Partners LLC, a consulting and investment company. In September 2014, Spitzberg Partners and Canadian Acasta Capital founded ''Atlantic Advisory Partners'' (AAP), a partnership to promote business and trade between Canada and the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
in connection with the
Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is a free-trade agreement between Canada and the European Union and its member states. It has been provisionally applied, thus removing 98% of the preexisting tariffs between the two parts. ...
(CETA).


Political comeback

Guttenberg returned to German politics by making a speech during the 2017 German federal election in which he hailed Chancellor Angela Merkel. The speech was widely reported on in German media and described as marking his comeback in German politics. Guttenberg also said Germany should preserve its relationship with the United States in order to renew the ties after the end of the Trump era, noting that "they won't forget it if, at a time when they were being mocked by the whole world, we maintained contacts with them and said this relationship is important now and will remain so in future."Ovation for Merkel ally Guttenberg on his political come-back
Reuters


Family and personal life

Guttenberg is a member of the
House of Guttenberg The House of Guttenberg is a prominent Franconian noble family. It traces its origins back to 1149 with a Gundeloh von Blassenberg (Plassenberg), though the first mention in a document is dated 1158. The name Guttenberg is derived from Gutte ...
, first documented in 1158, and conferred the rank of baron by the Holy Roman Emperor in 1700. Since the adoption of Germany's 1919 Weimar Constitution, which abolished the nobility's privileges, "noble titles form part of the name only". His grandfather, Karl Theodor Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg (1921–1972), was a CSU politician and hard-line conservative during the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
, noted for his opposition to the
Ostpolitik ''Neue Ostpolitik'' (German for "new eastern policy"), or ''Ostpolitik'' for short, was the normalization of relations between the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, or West Germany) and Eastern Europe, particularly the German Democratic Republ ...
. During the
Second World War 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 ...
, he narrowly escaped execution after refusing to kill Jews, stating that he would rather shoot SS members. Several other members of Guttenberg's family also offered resistance to the Nazi regime, among them his great-grandfather Georg Enoch Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg, and
Karl Ludwig Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg Karl Ludwig Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg (22 March 1902 – 23/24 April 1945) was a member of the German anti-Nazi resistance. He was executed in the aftermath of the failure of the 20 July plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. The von Guttenberg ...
, a great-great-uncle of Guttenberg. Karl Ludwig was a Catholic monarchist, who prior to the Second World War published the "Weiße Blätter" (White Papers), an important publication of the conservative opposition to the Nazi regime. He belonged to the circle of anti-Hitler conspirators around
Hans von Dohnányi Hans von Dohnanyi (; originally ''Johann von Dohnányi'' ; 1 January 1902 – 8 or 9 April 1945) was a German jurist. He used his position in the Abwehr to help Jews escape Germany, worked with German resistance against the Nazi régim ...
, Justus Delbrück, and
Hans Oster Hans Paul Oster (9 August 1887 – 9 April 1945) was a general in the ''Wehrmacht'' and a leading figure of the anti-Nazi German resistance from 1938 to 1943. As deputy head of the counter-espionage bureau in the ''Abwehr'' (German military inte ...
. After the failure of the 20 July plot he was arrested and later executed. His grandmother, Rosa Sophie Prinzessin von Arenberg (1922–2012), was a member of the
House of Arenberg The House of Arenberg is an aristocratic lineage that is constituted by three successive families that took their name from Arenberg, a small territory of the Holy Roman Empire in the Eifel region. The inheritance of the House of Croÿ-Aarschot ma ...
. Guttenberg was born in
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
. He lived at his family castle in Guttenberg,
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
(district of Kulmbach), a village whose history is closely associated with the
House of Guttenberg The House of Guttenberg is a prominent Franconian noble family. It traces its origins back to 1149 with a Gundeloh von Blassenberg (Plassenberg), though the first mention in a document is dated 1158. The name Guttenberg is derived from Gutte ...
, and in a mansion in a refined part of Berlin, Berlin-Westend. The castle has been in the possession of the Guttenberg family since 1482. Guttenberg's father was
Enoch zu Guttenberg Georg Enoch Robert Prosper Philipp Franz Karl Theodor Maria Heinrich Johannes Luitpold Hartmann Gundeloh Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg (29 July 1946 – 15 June 2018) was a German conductor. He also owned the large winery estate Weingut Reichs ...
, a conductor, who has been decorated with the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Officer's Cross) as well as the
Bavarian Order of Merit The Bavarian Order of Merit (german: Bayerischer Verdienstorden) is the Order of Merit of the Free State of Bavaria. It is awarded by the Minister-President of Bavaria as a "recognition of outstanding contributions to the Free State of Bavaria ...
. He has received many awards for his contributions to classical music, including the German Cultural Award and the
Echo Klassik The Echo Klassik, often stylized as ECHO Klassik, was Germany's major classical music award in 22 categories. The award, presented by the , was held annually, usually in October or September, separate from its parent award, the Echo Music Prize. Th ...
award.
Previously, Enoch zu Guttenberg also owned the winery estate Weingut Reichsrat von Buhl. Guttenberg's mother, Christiane zu Eltz is a member of the
Eltz The House of Eltz was a noted German noble family of the ''Uradel''. The Rhenish dynasty has had close ties to the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia since 1736. History Though older sources mentioned one Eberhard zu Eltz, a Frankish citizen of Trier ...
family, which has strong ties with Croatia. She is the daughter of Ludwine, Countess Pejacsevich de Verocze. Her father was
Jakob von und zu Eltz Jakob Graf und Edler Herr von und zu Eltz-Kempenich genannt Faust von Stromberg, also referred to as Johann Jakob Eltz ( hr, Jakov grof Eltz-Vukovarski; 22 September 1921 – 10 February 2006) was a Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Knight of Ma ...
, a former President of the Association of Winemakers in Rheingau who became active in Croatian politics after Croatian independence. She divorced Enoch zu Guttenberg in 1977, and Karl-Theodor grew up with his father. His mother married secondly Adolf Richard Barthold von Ribbentrop, owner of an
Eltville Eltville am Rhein (from ''Alta Villa'', Latin for "high estate, high town", corrupted to ''Eldeville'', ''Elfeld'' and later Eltville, ) is a town in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. It lies on ...
art gallery and son of Joachim von Ribbentrop, in 1985, and has two children from her second marriage. Guttenberg has a younger brother, Philipp Franz zu Guttenberg (born 1973), who married a daughter of
Godfrey Macdonald, 8th Baron Macdonald Godfrey James Macdonald, 8th Baron Macdonald of Sleat (born 28 November 1947), is a Scottish nobleman, landowner and head of Clan Donald. He is the second child and oldest son of Alexander Godfrey Macdonald, 7th Baron Macdonald of Sleat, and hi ...
. In February 2000, Guttenberg married Stephanie Gräfin von Bismarck-Schönhausen (born 1976), a great-great-granddaughter of the first Chancellor of Germany Otto von Bismarck. They have two daughters. Guttenberg is
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, while his wife is
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
(
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
). In September 2011, it became known that Guttenberg had bought a house for his family in
Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast, Greenwich is home to many hedge funds and other ...
, close to New York City.


Awards

Guttenberg was awarded the "Politikaward" in 2009, which is a German "Politician of the Year" award. It was awarded by ''politik & kommunikation'', a German periodical for political communications. In 2010, the German news magazine ''
Focus Focus, or its plural form foci may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in South Australia Film *''Focus'', a 1962 TV film starring James Whitmore * ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based ...
'' named him "Man of the Year". In 2011, the Carneval Association of
Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...
awarded him the "Order Against Dead Seriousness" ('' Orden wider den tierischen Ernst''), although he did not attend the ceremony in person, sending instead his younger brother.


References


Selected publications


Books

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Articles

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External links

*
Parliament biography

CSIS - Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg

Spitzberg Partners

Google Zeitgeist – Europe At The Crossroads
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guttenberg, Karl-Theodor Zu 1971 births Living people Barons of Germany Defence ministers of Germany Economy ministers of Germany German anti-communists German Roman Catholics Karl Theodor Members of the Bundestag for Bavaria Businesspeople from Munich People involved in plagiarism controversies University of Bayreuth alumni Members of the Bundestag 2009–2013 Members of the Bundestag 2005–2009 Members of the Bundestag 2002–2005 Members of the Bundestag for the Christian Social Union in Bavaria Politicians from Munich Eltz