Hans-Gert Pöttering (born 15 September 1945) is a German lawyer, historian and conservative politician ( CDU,

European People's Party The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian democracy, Christian democratic, liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative, and conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other p ...

), who served as

President of the European Parliament The president of the European Parliament presides over the debates and activities of the European Parliament. They also represent the Parliament within the European Union (EU) and internationally. The president's signature is required for Euro ...

from January 2007 to July 2009 and as Chairman of the CDU-affiliated

Konrad Adenauer Foundation The Konrad Adenauer Foundation ('' German: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V.; Abbreviation: KAS'') is a German political party foundation associated with but independent of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The foundation's head ...

from 2010 to 2017. He served as a

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

continuously since the first elections in 1979 until 2014 and was Chairman of the

European People's Party-European Democrats The European People's Party Group (EPP Group or simply EPP) is a political group of the European Parliament consisting of deputies (MEPs) from the member parties of the European People's Party (EPP). Sometimes it also includes independent ME ...

1999–2007. When he stepped down in 2014 he was the European Parliament's longest-serving member. As president of the European Parliament, he proposed the creation of the

House of European History The House of European History (HEH) is a history museum and cultural institution in Brussels, Belgium, focusing on the recent history of Europe. It is an initiative by the European Parliament, and was proposed in 2007 by the Parliament's then ...

museum in Brussels.

Early life and education

Pöttering never got to know his father who was

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

during the last days of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After

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 ...

and military service, he studied law, political science and history at the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

, the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public university, public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a Theology, theological seminary. It rema ...

, the

Graduate Institute of International Studies Graduate may refer to: Education * The subject of a graduation, i.e. someone awarded an academic degree ** Alumni, a former student who has either attended or graduated from an institution * High school graduate, someone who has completed hi ...

in Geneva and at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in New York. He took his first state exam in jurisprudence in 1973, earned a PhD in political science and history in 1974 with a dissertation on West German defence policy in the 1950s and 1960s and took his second state exam in jurisprudence in 1976, fully qualifying as an attorney.

Political career

Member of the European Parliament, 1979–2014

Pöttering was a member of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

from 1979 until 2014. By the end of this period, he was the only member of the European Parliament to have served continuously since the first elections. From 1984 to 1994, Pöttering was chairman of the Subcommittee on Security and Defence. From 1994 to 1996, he chaired the working group on the Intergovernmental Conference of the

(EPP) and EPP-ED Group, the results of which became the official EPP position for the

Treaty of Amsterdam The Treaty of Amsterdam, officially the Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty on European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related acts, was signed on 2 October 1997, and entered into force on 1 May 1999; i ...

. In 1994, Pöttering became Vice-President of the EPP, and from 1999 to 2007, he was the Chairman of the EPP-ED Group in the European Parliament. He was the top candidate of the CDU in the 2004 and the 2009 European elections. Together with Volker Hassemer, he is a member of the advisory board of the pro-European initiative " A Soul for Europe". He was a member of the

Reconciliation of European Histories Group The Reconciliation of European Histories Group is an informal all-party group in the European Parliament involved in promoting the Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism, Prague Process in all of Europe, aimed at coming to terms ...

President of the European Parliament, 2007–2009

As part of a deal with the socialist group, it was agreed that he would succeed Josep Borrell Fontelles as President of the European Parliament in the second part of the 2004–2009 term, which he did on 16 January 2007. He was elected with 450 of 689 valid votes, and defeated Italian Green Monica Frassoni, Danish Eurosceptic

Jens-Peter Bonde Jens-Peter Rossen Bonde (27 March 1948 – 4 April 2021) was a Danish politician who served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) with the June Movement. He resigned as an MEP in May 2008. Bonde was elected to the European Parliament in the ...

and French Communist Francis Wurtz. As President of the European Parliament, he initiated the

project. He made reference to the House in his inaugural speech in 2007. For many years, he has been the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

Later career

On 4 December 2009, Pöttering was elected Chairman of the

from 1 January 2010; he was succeeded by Norbert Lammert in 2018. When the EPP membership of Hungarian party

Fidesz Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance (; ) is a national-conservative political party in Hungary led by Viktor Orbán. It has increasingly identified as illiberal. Originally formed in 1988 under the name of Alliance of Young Democrats () as ...

was suspended in 2019, EPP president Joseph Daul appointed Pöttering – alongside Herman van Rompuy and

Wolfgang Schüssel Wolfgang Schüssel (; born 7 June 1945) is a retired Austrian politician. He was Chancellor of Austria for two consecutive terms from February 2000 to January 2007. While being recognised as a rare example of an active reformer in contemporary A ...

– to a group of high-level experts who were mandated to monitor Fidesz's compliance with EPP values.

Political positions

Pöttering is known as an enthusiastic European Federalist and an ally of

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...

. He has stated that his priority will be to rejuvenate the

European Constitution The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE; commonly referred to as the European Constitution or as the Constitutional Treaty) was an unratified international treaty intended to create a consolidated constitution for the European ...

. In February 2020, Pöttering joined around fifty former European prime ministers and foreign ministers in signing an open letter published by British newspaper ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' to condemn

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

's Middle East peace plan, saying it would create an

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

-like situation in occupied Palestinian territory.

Recognition

National honours

* : Great Cross with Star and Sash of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

(2010)

Foreign honours

* : Grand Golden Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (2002) * : Grand Cross of the Papal Order of St Gregory the Great (2007) * : Great Cross of Merit of the Grand Order of Queen Jelena with Star and Shoulder Ribbon (2007) * : 1st Class of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...

(2008) * : 2nd Class of the Order of Prince Jaroslaw the Wise (2008) * : Grand Cross of the

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars () is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is ''Per aspera ad astra'', meaning "Through hardships towards the ...

(2009) * : Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit (Portugal) The Order of Merit () is a Portuguese Honorific Order of civil merit intended to award those responsible for meritorious acts or services performed in the exercise of any functions, both in the public and the private sphere, which reveal self-sacr ...

(2009) * : Commander of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(2011) * : Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit of the Kingdom of Spain (2011) * : Knight Commander's Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland The Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland () is a Polish order of merit created in 1974, awarded to persons who have rendered great service to Poland. It is granted to foreigners or Poles resident abroad. As such, it is sometimes referred to as ...

(2013) * : Commander of the Order for Merits to Lithuania (2013) * : Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Hungarian Republic (2013) * : 1st Class of the

Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana (, also the Order of the Cross of St. Mary's Land) was instituted by the President of Estonia, Lennart Meri, on 16 May 1995 to honour the independence of the Estonian state. (The Latin name ''Terra Mariana'' ...

(2013) * : Grand Cross of the

Order of the Star of Romania The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the Order of Michael the Brave. It is the oldest Order of Romania. It is awarded by the Preside ...

(2014) * : Grand Officer of the National Order of Merit of the Republic of Tunisia (2016)

Awards

* Robert Schuman Medal of EPP-ED (1995) * : Mérite Européen Medal in Gold, Fondation du Mérite européen (2002) * European Honorary Senator, the 'MEP of the Year 2004' by newspaper ‘ European Voice’ (2004) * Walter Hallstein Prize (2007) * European Excellence Award of the

Autonomous Community of Madrid The Community of Madrid (; ) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities and 50 provinces of Spain, provinces of Spain. It is located at the heart of the Iberian Peninsula and Meseta Central, Central Plateau (); its capital and largest munici ...

('Premio a la Excelencia Europea', 2008) * Ben Gurion Medal of Ben Gurion University (2010) * Polish-German Prize (2011)

Honorary degrees

* Doctor Honoris Causa of Babeş Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania * Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Opole, Poland * Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland * Doctor Honoris Causa of the

Miguel de Cervantes European University Miguel de Cervantes European University (, UEMC) is a private university located in Valladolid, Castilla y León (Spain). UEMC has 4,500 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in three Faculties and offers 17 Bachelor's degrees, 6 double de ...

, Santiago de Chile * Doctor Honoris Causa of Bahçeşehir University in Istanbul, Turkey * Doctor Honoris Causa of the

University of Wrocław The University of Wrocław (, UWr; ) is a public research university in Wrocław, Poland. It is the largest institution of higher learning in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, with over 100,000 graduates since 1945, including some 1,900 researcher ...

, Poland * Doctor Honoris Causa of Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines * Honorary Professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina * Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Korea, Seoul * Doctor Honoris Causa of the European Humanities University, Vilnius * Honorary citizen of Bersenbrueck (Germany) and

Opole Opole (; ; ; ) is a city located in southern Poland on the Oder River and the historical capital of Upper Silesia. With a population of approximately 127,387 as of the 2021 census, it is the capital of Opole Voivodeship (province) and the seat of ...

(Poland)

Other activities

* Friends of Europe, Member of the Board of Trustees * Reimagine Europa, Member of the Advisory Board * Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, Member of the Executive Board

Personal life

Pöttering lives in Bad Iburg,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. He is Roman Catholic, divorced and has two sons.

Works

* ''Adenauers Sicherheitspolitik 1955–1963. Ein Beitrag zum deutsch-amerikanischen Verhältnis'', Droste Verlag 1975, * ''Europas Vereinigte Staaten'', Editio Interfrom 2000, , with Ludger Kühnhardt * ''Weltpartner Europäische Union'', Edition Interfrom 2001, , with Ludger Kühnhardt * ''Kontinent Europa. Kern, Übergänge, Grenzen'', Edition Interfrom 2002, , zusammen mit Ludger Kühnhardt * ''Von der Vision zur Wirklichkeit. Auf dem Weg zur Einigung Europas'', Bouvier 2004, * ''United for the Better: My European Way'', John Harper Publishing 2016,

References

External links

Biography
from the official EU Parliament web site
Official website

Last retrieved 24-11-08 * . , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Pottering, Hans-Gert 1945 births Living people People from Osnabrück (district) German Roman Catholics Presidents of the European Parliament Christian Democratic Union of Germany MEPs MEPs for Germany 1979–1984 MEPs for Germany 1984–1989 MEPs for Germany 1989–1994 MEPs for Germany 1994–1999 MEPs for Germany 1999–2004 MEPs for Germany 2004–2009 MEPs for Germany 2009–2014 University of Bonn alumni Columbia University alumni Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies alumni Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany German legal scholars Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 1st Class Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise