Torsten Albig (born 25 May 1963) is a German

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

from the

Social Democratic Party of Germany 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 ...

. From 2012 until 2017 he served as the 13th

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 system, parliamentary or semi-presidential system, semi-presidential system of government where ...

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...

Early life and education

Albig grew up in

Ostholstein Ostholstein (; da, Østholsten) is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the southwest and clockwise) the districts of Stormarn, Segeberg and Plön, the Baltic Sea and the city of Lübeck. History The district was es ...

and

Bielefeld Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Detmold and the ...

. After graduating from high school in 1982, he first studied history and social sciences at the

University of Bielefeld Bielefeld University (german: Universität Bielefeld) is a university in Bielefeld, Germany. Founded in 1969, it is one of the country's newer universities, and considers itself a "reform" university, following a different style of organization a ...

but later changed to law.

Political career

Lord Mayor of Kiel, 2009–2012

From 2009 to 2012 Albig was the Lord Mayor of

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

, the state capital of Schleswig-Holstein.

Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein, 2012–2017

Torsten Albig was appointed candidate for

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. It ...

, representing his party, the SPD, in 2011 after a member's decision. At the election in 2012, the SPD achieved 30.4% of the votes, not enough to beat the ruling CDU that got 30.8% of the popular vote. Both the SPD and CDU achieved 22 seats each, and the election result made it possible for Albig to form a coalition government with the participation of the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

and the SSW, which is a regional party representing the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

and Frisian minorities. The three parties had a narrow majority in the

Landtag A Landtag (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence in non- ...

of Schleswig-Holstein with 35 of 69 seats. At the appointment in parliament though, he got 37 of 69 possible votes. The new-formed government of Schleswig-Holstein consisting of the SPD, The Green Party and the SSW had never been seen before in German history. Albig succeeded

Peter Harry Carstensen Peter Harry Carstensen (born 12 March 1947) is a German politician, in the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party. From 2005 to 2012 he was Minister President of the state of Schleswig-Holstein, serving as ...

in the position as Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein. Albig served as an SPD 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 2012 and 2017. Together with

Doris Ahnen Doris Maria Ahnen is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who has been serving as Minister for Finance in the state government of Rhineland-Palatinate since 2014. Prior to that she served as the Minister for Education, Re ...

Martin Dulig Martin Dulig (born 26 February 1974) is a German politician for the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Until 20 December 2019 he has been the Saxony, Saxon State Minister of Labor and Traffic and Deputy Minister President of Saxony in the ...

Heiko Maas Heiko Josef Maas (; born 19 September 1966) is a German lawyer and politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who served as the Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs (2018–2021) and as the Federal Minister of Justice and Consumer Protectio ...

and

Manuela Schwesig Manuela Schwesig (' Frenzel, born 23 May 1974) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party serving as Minister President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern since 4 July 2017. She is the first woman to serve as head of government of this state. P ...

, he co-chaired the SPD’s national convention in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

in 2013. In the negotiations to form a '' Grand Coalition'' 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 ...

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Oppo ...

's Christian Democrats ( CDU together with the Bavarian CSU) and the SPD following the 2013 federal elections, Albig was part of the SPD delegation in the working group on transport, building and infrastructure, led by

Peter Ramsauer Peter Ramsauer (born 10 February 1954) is a German politician of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU) who served as the Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Development in the Second Merkel cabinet. Early life and education ...

and

Florian Pronold Florian Pronold (born 28 December 1972) is a German lawyer and politician of the SPD who served as member of the German Bundestag from 2002 until 2021. From 11 July 2009 to 20 May 2017, he was state chairman of the SPD Bavaria. From 2013 until ...

. In 2015, Albig – alongside

First Mayor of Hamburg The following is a chronological list of mayors of Hamburg, a city-state in Germany. The mayors are the head of the city-state, part of the government of Hamburg. Since 1861, according to the constitution of 28 September 1860, the state has bee ...

Olaf Scholz Olaf Scholz (; born ) is a German politician who has served as the chancellor of Germany since 8 December 2021. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party (SPD), he previously served as Vice Chancellor of German ...

– negotiated a restructuring deal with the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

that allowed the German regional lender HSH Nordbank to offload 6.2 billion euros in troubled assets – mainly non-performing ship loans – onto its government majority owners and avoid being shut down, saving around 2,500 jobs.

Life after politics

Since 2018, Albig has been serving as Vice President Corporate Representation of

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 ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Other activities

* HSH Nordbank Art Foundation, vice chairman of the board of trustees *

Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival The Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival is a classical music festival held each summer throughout the state of Schleswig-Holstein in Northern Germany. History The festival was founded in 1986 by German concert pianist Justus Frantz. In 2006, the 21 ...

, chairman of the board of trustees (-2017) * University Medical Center Schleswig Holstein, ex-officio chairman of the board of trustees (-2017) * Förde Sparkasse, ex-officio member of the supervisory board (2008–2010)

Personal life

Albig is married and has two children.

References

External links

*
faz.de:Im Porträt Torsten Albig (german)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Albig, Torsten 1963 births Living people Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians Politicians from Bremen Mayors of places in Schleswig-Holstein Ministers-President of Schleswig-Holstein Members of the Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein