Willy Wimmer (born 18 May 1943) is a German politician belonging to the

Christian Democratic Union of Germany The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (german: link=no, Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands ; CDU ) is a Christian democratic and liberal conservative political party in Germany. It is the major catch-all party of the centre-right ...

(CDU). He was 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 Commons ...

from 1976 to 2009.

Life and politics

Wimmer was born 1943 in the German town of

Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach (, li, Jlabbach ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located west of the Rhine, halfway between Düsseldorf and the Dutch border. Geography Municipal subdivisions Since 2009, the territory of Mönchengladbac ...

and 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 Cologne The University of Cologne (german: Universität zu Köln) is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in the year 1388 and is one of the most prestigious and research intensive universities in Germany. It was the sixth university to ...

. Wimmer entered the CDU in 1959 and served on the

city 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 counc ...

in his home town

from 1969 to 1980. Wimmer was elected as a 'Direktkandidat' (direct candidate) to the Bundestag in 1977 for the first time. From 1985 to 1992 Wimmer was ' Parlamentarischer Staatssekretär' (parliamentary state secretary), a parliament-elected bureaucratic post in the Ministry of Defence. In 1994, Wimmer was elected vice president of the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

. Wimmer is an outspoken critic of military interventions.

References

Living people 1943 births Christian Democratic Union of Germany politicians 21st-century German politicians People from Mönchengladbach {{Germany-CDU-politician-stub