Rolf Schwanitz
Rolf Schwanitz | |
---|---|
Born | 2 April 1959 |
Occupation | Politician |
Political party | SDP SPD |
Children | 2 |
Rolf Schwanitz (born 2 April 1959) is a German politician.[1] From 1998 till 2005, he served under Federal Chancellor Schröder as a Minister of State in the Federal Chancellery.[2] He was then, from 2005 till 2009, Parliamentary State Secretary in the Health ministry under Federal Chancellor Merkel.[1]
Life
Early years
Schwanitz was born in Gera, a long established city some 75 km (40 miles) west of Dresden, and then in the heart of East Germany's southern industrial region. After successful completion of his school career he undertook a professional training in construction work. He then studied Business administration at Jena and Law at East Berlin. He emerged from his tertiary education with degrees in Engineering Economics and in Jurisprudence, before taking a position as a research assistant in the Business Administration department at the Technology Institute at Zwickau.[2]
Politics
In October 1989 Rolf Schwanitz joined
He is also a member of the leadership circle of the Seeheimer Kreis, a working group of SPD politicians that describes itself as "undogmatic and pragmatic".
Religion
A party colleague has described Schwanitz as "a passionately convinced atheist".[5] Since 2010 he has supported the creation of a working group on "Secularism and secularists in the SPD".[6] The objective of such a group should be that "Religious and non-religious communities must rank equally, and enjoy the same level of respect from the state, acting on behalf of society, with no privileges allowed to one side."[7] He wants to end "gender based discrimination involving those working with the church. The churches enjoy exemptions involving decisions on promotions and pay levels".[8] He goes on, "If a third of the German population, sharing the non-religious perspective, also recognise the issue, then we need to raise it up the public agenda with an SPD working group".[9][10]
Schwanitz was very sharply critical of the public representation of the papal visit to Germany in September 2011,[11] when he was one the members of parliament who refused to attend Pope Benedict's high-profile speech to the Bundestag.
National politics
Following the
and representing the Karl-Marx-Stadt electoral district.He was one of the 144 deputies in the chamber who on 3 October 1990, as part of the German reunification process, became members of the Bundestag (National Assembly) of a reunited Germany. In the first post unification election, which took place in December 1990, Schwanitz's name was on the SPD list for the Saxony electoral district and he was elected to the Bundestag. He enjoyed electoral success in the Bundestag elections in 1994, 1998, 2002, 2005 and 2009, but did not contest a seat in 2013.[12]
In the 2005 election he attracted nationwide criticism with an election poster showing the coffins of US soldiers, inside a cargo plane, being returned from the
Ministerial Office
During 1990, Rolf Schwanitz served in East Germany's last government under Prime Minister Lothar de Maizière. Schwanitz was appointed a Parliamentary Secretary of State, working in the department of the Justice Minister Kurt Wünsche.[1][3]
The
The largest two parties both lost ground in the 2005 election, and in the end a "
The principal losers in the 2009 election were the SPD. Rolf Schwanitz resigned his office as the Social Democrats went into opposition.
Other activities
- Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES), Member of the Board of Trustees[15]
- Giordano Bruno Foundation, member of the advisory board.[16]
- Institute for Secular Law, member of the advisory board.[17]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Helmut Müller-Enbergs. "Schwanitz, Rolf * 2.4.1959 SPD-Politiker, Staatsminister im Bundeskanzleramt". Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur: Biographische Datenbanken. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
- ^ a b c Publisher-editor Rudolf Augstein (18 December 2000). "Rolf Schwanitz". Der Spiegel (online). Retrieved 1 December 2014.
{{cite web}}
:|author1=
has generic name (help) - ^ a b c d "Rolf Schwanitz, SPD Diplomjurist, Diplomingenieurökonom, Parlamentarischer Staatssekretär a.D." Deutscher Bundestag. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
- ^ ""Die Chronik der Wende" ... 163 Tage Rückblick auf die Wendezeit ... Neues Forum (New Forum)". Rundfunks Berlin-Brandenburg (online). Retrieved 1 December 2014.
- ^ Conversation with Wolfgang Thierse
- ^ „Laizistische Sozis“
- ^ „Religionsgemeinschaften und auch Religionsfreie müssen dieselbe Rangigkeit und dieselbe Wertschätzung in der Gesellschaft durch den Staat genießen, aber keine Privilegierung zu einer Seite“
- ^ „Schlechterstellung der Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter im kirchlichen Bereich. Wir haben dort Sonderrechte, dass das Mitbestimmungsrecht nicht gilt, wir haben dort Sonderrechte, was Tarifsituationen betrifft“
- ^ „wenn ein Drittel der Bevölkerung in Deutschland aus Konfessionsfreien besteht, die dieses Thema auch sehen, dann muss man einen solchen Arbeitskreis quasi auch auf Augenhöhe in der SPD auch aufbauen“
- )
- ^ "SPD-Politiker wollen Papst-Rede boykottieren". Rheinische Post, Düsseldorf (online). 25 June 2011. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
- ^ Günter Bannas (25 January 2013). "Bundestagswahl 2013 Und mit uns geht die Zeit: Viele wollen nicht, andere lässt man nicht, bei manchen ist es eine Mischung aus beidem: Mehr als neunzig Abgeordnete kandidieren nicht mehr für den Bundestag". Faz.net. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (online). p. 2 or 1 according to selected pagination. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
- ^ Severin Weiland (16 September 2005). "Wahlkampffinale: Wählt die Schrill-Partei! Schrill, schriller, am schrillsten - so lautet das Motto einiger Politiker im Wahlkampfendspurt. "Ich hab' Krebs, mir ist die Zukunft genauso egal", heißt es in einem, jetzt zurückgezogenen, Anti-SPD-Cartoon bei der Frauen-Union. Und SPD-Mann Schwanitz plakatiert Särge von US-Soldaten". Der Spiegel (online). Retrieved 2 December 2014.
- ^ David Vickrey (17 September 2005). "Iraq War Surfaces as German Election Issue". Dialog International. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
- ^ Board of Trustees Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES).
- ^ "Rolf Schwanitz | Giordano Bruno Foundation". giordano-bruno-stiftung.de. 23 February 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- ^ "Rolf Schwanitz | ifw - Institut für Weltanschauungsrecht". weltanschauungsrecht.de. Retrieved 23 May 2021.