Monika Wulf-Mathies (born 1942) is a German politician, who was

European Commissioner for Regional Policy The Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms is a portfolio within the European Commission. The current Commissioner is Elisa Ferreira. The portfolio is responsible for managing the regional policy of the European Union, such as the European Region ...

Early life

Wulf-Mathies was born in the rural town of

Wernigerode Wernigerode () is a town in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until 2007, it was the capital of the district of Wernigerode. Its population was 35,041 in 2012. Wernigerode is located southwest of Halberstadt, and is picturesquely s ...

in 1942 after her family was evacuated from wartime Hamburg.

Career

In 1971, at the age of 29, Wulf-Mathies joined the then German Chancellor

Willy Brandt Willy Brandt (; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German politician and statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and served as the chancellor of West Ge ...

’s office in Bonn. In the government of

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Helmut Schmidt Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt (; 23 December 1918 – 10 November 2015) was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), who served as the chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982. Before becoming Cha ...

, she later led the Federal Chancellery’s department of social affairs. In 1976, Wulf-Mathies left the chancellor’s office to join the managing board of the public service trade union ÖTV. Four years later, and to many observers’ surprise, she was elected as the first woman ever to lead one of Germany's most powerful unions, succeeding

Heinz Kluncker Heinz Kluncker (February 20, 1925 (Wuppertal) – April 21, 2005 ( Stuttgart)) was president of the German trade union ÖTV (''Öffentliche Dienste, Transport und Verkehr'' Public service, transport and traffic) from 1964 to 1982. Kluncker was co ...

. In this capacity, she also served as president of

Public Services International Public Services International (PSI) is the global union federation for workers in public services, including those who work in social services, health care, municipal services, central government and public utilities. , PSI has 700 affiliated ...

(PSI) from 1989 until 1995. In 1994, Wulf-Mathies was – again unexpectedly – appointed as one of Germany's two

European Commissioner A European Commissioner is a member of the 27-member European Commission. Each member within the Commission holds a specific portfolio. The commission is led by the President of the European Commission. In simple terms they are the equivalent ...

s by Chancellor

Helmut Kohl Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to 1998. Kohl's 16-year tenure is the longes ...

; she succeeded Peter Schmidhuber. From 1994 until 1998, she served as

in the

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Jacques Santer Jacques Santer (born 18 May 1937) is a Luxembourg politician who served as the 9th President of the European Commission from 1995 to 1999. He served as Finance Minister of Luxembourg from 1979 until 1989, and the 20th Prime Minister of Luxembo ...

. After leaving the European Commission, Wulf-Mathies served as Executive Vice President Head of Corporate Public Policy and Sustainability at

Deutsche Post The Deutsche Post AG, operating under the trade name Deutsche Post DHL Group, is a German multinational package delivery and supply chain management company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is one of the world's largest courier companies. T ...

from 2001 until 2009, working under the leadership of the company's CEO

Klaus Zumwinkel Klaus-Gerhard Maximilian Zumwinkel (, born December 15, 1943) was Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chairman of Deutsche Post between 1990 and 2008. Being under suspicion of Tax avoidance and tax evasion, tax fraud, he resigned from office on Feb ...

. From 2009 until 2011 she worked as policy advisor to the Board of Management, this time under

Frank Appel Frank Appel has been CEO of Deutsche Post since 18 February 2008. His present appointment is through October 2022. He has been Member of the Board of Management of Deutsche Post AG since 1 November 2002. Career Appel served as Chairman of the sup ...

. In 2018, Wulf-Mathies was appointed by intendant

Tom Buhrow Tom Buhrow (born 29 September 1958, in Troisdorf) is a German journalist who has been serving as intendant of the Westdeutscher Rundfunk, WDR since 2013. Early life and education Buhrow studied history and political science in Bonn. Career Car ...

to lead an internal investigation into allegations of sexual harassment at German public broadcaster

Westdeutscher Rundfunk Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln (''West German Broadcasting Cologne''; WDR, ) is a German public-broadcasting institution based in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a constituent member of the conso ...

(WDR).

Other activities

Leibniz Association The Leibniz Association (German: ''Leibniz-Gemeinschaft'' or ''Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz'') is a union of German non-university research institutes from various disciplines. As of 2020, 96 non-university research insti ...

, Member of the Senate (since 2010) * Beethoven Foundation, Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees (since 2004) *

Friedrich Ebert Foundation The Friedrich Ebert Foundation (''German: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung e.V.; Abbreviation: FES'') is a German political party foundation associated with, but independent from, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Established in 1925 as the ...

(FES), Member of the Board of Trustees * ''

Gegen Vergessen – Für Demokratie Gegen Vergessen – Für Demokratie (Against Oblivion – For Democracy) is a German organization promoting diversity, tolerance and democratic participation, and opposing racism, prejudice and right-wing and left-wing extremism. It focuses in ...

'', Member of the Advisory Board *

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine U ...

, Deputy Chairwoman of the University Council (2008-2013) *

Deutsche Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...

, Member of the Supervisory Board (1978-1995) *

European Movement Germany European Movement Germany (EM Germany) is a non-partisan network of interest groups in the field of EU politics in Germany. It cooperates closely with all EU stakeholders on a national and European level, most particularly with the German Federal ...

, Honorary President

Controversy

When Home Affairs Minister

Friedrich Zimmermann Friedrich Zimmermann (18 July 1925 – 16 September 2012) was a German politician and a member of the Christian Social Union (CSU). From 1982 to 1989, he was the federal minister of interior. From 1989 to 1991 he held the position of federal min ...

published memoirs in which he described trying to dampen her negotiating ardour by putting his hand on her knee, Wulf-Mathies demanded and obtained a retraction of the offending work from circulation.Wolfgang Hoffmann (May 1, 1992)
Im Auftrag des Kanzlers
''

Die Zeit ''Die Zeit'' (, "The Time") is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wulf-Mathies, Monika 1942 births German European Commissioners Living people Politicians from Bonn People from Wernigerode Women European Commissioners 21st-century German women politicians