Philipp Rösler
| Philipp Rösler | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Philipp Rösler | |
| Vice Chancellor of Germany | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 16 May 2011 |
|
| Chancellor | Angela Merkel |
| Preceded by | Guido Westerwelle |
| Federal Minister of Economics and Technology | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 12 May 2011 |
|
| Chancellor | Angela Merkel |
| Preceded by | Rainer Brüderle |
| Chairman of the Free Democratic Party | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 13 May 2011 |
|
| Preceded by | Guido Westerwelle |
| Federal Minister of Health | |
| In office 28 October 2009 – 12 May 2011 |
|
| Preceded by | Ulla Schmidt |
| Succeeded by | Daniel Bahr |
| Minister for economics, labour and transport of Lower Saxony | |
| In office 18 February 2009 – 22 October 2009 |
|
| Preceded by | Walter Hirche |
| Succeeded by | Jörg Bode |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 February 1973 [N 1] Ba Xuyen Province, South Vietnam (now Soc Trang Province, Vietnam) |
| Nationality | German |
| Political party | FDP |
| Spouse(s) | Wiebke Rösler (2003–present) |
| Children | Grietje and Gesche Rösler |
| Residence | Hannover |
| Alma mater | Hannover Medical School |
| Occupation | Heart and chest surgeon |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Website | www.philipp-roesler.de |
Philipp Rösler (born 24 February 1973) is a German politician and currently (since 2011) the Federal Minister of Economics and Technology and the Vice Chancellor of Germany. He is the Chairman of the liberal Free Democratic Party (since 2011). Rösler, who was born in Vietnam, is the first cabinet minister of Asian background in Germany.[1]
Early life and education
Rösler was born in Khanh Hung, Ba Xuyen Province, in the former South Vietnam (now Soc Trang Province, Vietnam) on 24 February 1973.[2][3] He was adopted from a Roman Catholic orphanage near Saigon[4] by a German couple that already had two biological children and brought to West Germany at the age of nine months.[3] He was raised by his adoptive father, who is a career military officer, after the couple separated when he was four years-old.[5] He grew up in Hamburg, Bückeburg and Hanover, where he graduated from high school in 1992.[6] After training to become a combat medic in the German Bundeswehr (the Federal Defence Force), Rösler was accepted to study medicine at the Hanover Medical School. Following this, he continued his education at the Bundeswehr hospital in Hamburg. He earned his Doctorate in cardio-thoracic-vascular surgery in 2002.[6] Then he left the service as a Stabsarzt (a rank for German medical officers equivalent to an army captain)[7] in 2003.[8] He is a heart and chest surgeon by medical training.[5]
Career
Rösler joined the FDP and its political youth organisation, the Young Liberals, in 1992.[5] He was secretary of the FDP in the state of Lower Saxony from 2000 to 2004 and has been chairman of the FDP parliamentary group in the Lower Saxon state assembly since 2003. From 2001 to 2006, Rösler was a member in the regional assembly of Hanover (district), where he was also deputy chairman of the parliamentary group. In May 2005, he was elected an observer of the federal FDP executive committee. He received 95% of the votes, the best result of that party conference. At the state party conference in March 2006, Rösler was elected as chairman of the Lower Saxon FDP with 96,4% of the votes; he succeeded Walter Hirche, who had decided to step down after twelve years at the helm. In April, 2008, Rösler was confirmed as the Lower Saxon FDP party chairman, receiving 95% of the votes.
At the federal party conference in June 2007, Rösler was re-elected as a member of the party executive committee. The following month, he was elected to stand as his party’s main candidate in the Lower Saxon state election in January 2008. In that election, he received 10.9% of the votes in his local constituency, Hanover-Döhren. On 18 February 2008, Rösler was appointed minister for economy, labour and transport[9] as well as deputy prime minister of the state of Lower Saxony.
In October 2009, Rösler succeeded Ulla Schmidt as Federal Minister of Health in Angela Merkel's cabinet.[10] Rösler succeeded Rainer Brüderle as Federal Minister of Economics and Technology on 12 May 2011 and Guido Westerwelle as Chairman of the FDP on 13 May 2011 and was also instated as Vice-Chancellor of Germany on 16 May 2011.[11][12]
Rösler strongly supported the presidential candidacy of Joachim Gauck, originally proposed by the SPD and Greens, and reportedly secured his nomination by convincing his coalition partner, the CDU/CSU, to back the nomination.[13]
Personal life
He is a Roman Catholic,[14] and a member of the General Conference of the Central Committee of German Catholics. He has been married to Wiebke Rösler, also a physician, since 2003. The couple have twin girls, Grietje and Gesche, born in 2008.
Notes
- ^ Rösler's exact date of birth is unknown; 24 February 1973 is used in official documents.
References
- ^ "German Parties Agree on New Coalition". Der Spiegel. 24 October 2009. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
- ^ Von Jurgen Damsch (1 November 2009). "Erinnern Sie sich an diesen Waisenjungen, Schwester?". Bild. Retrieved 2 November 2009.
- ^ a b "Abgeordnete - Niedersächsischer Landtag". Landtag-niedersachsen. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
- ^ "Our guest on 08.02.2009 Philipp Rösler, Politician and Doctor". Deusche Welle. 8 February 2009. Retrieved 29 October 2009.
- ^ a b c "Philipp Rösler: From Vietnamese orphanage to vice chancellor". The Local. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
- ^ a b "Diversity in Germany's cabinet". German Missions. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
- ^ cicero.de (German)
- ^ Biography at munzinger.de (German)
- ^ handelsblatt.com
- ^ Spiegel.de
- ^ Gessat, Michael (13 May 2011). "Vietnam-born doctor takes reins of German liberal party". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
- ^ "Philipp Rösler neuer Vizekanzler" (in German). German government. 18 May 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
- ^ "FDP beharrt auf Gauck: Rösler feiert gefährlichen Sieg - Politik". sueddeutsche.de. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
- ^ "D: Rösler und die Kirche". Oecumene.radiovaticana. 6 April 2011. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
External links
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