Maria Böhmer

Maria Böhmer (born 23 April 1950) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Under the leadership of successive ministers Frank-Walter Steinmeier (2013-2017) and Sigmar Gabriel (2017), she served as Minister of State in the Federal Foreign Office, primarily responsible for cultural relations and education policy.

Maria Böhmer
Minister of State for Cultural and Educational Relations
In office
17 December 2013 – 14 March 2018
MinisterFrank-Walter Steinmeier
Sigmar Gabriel
Preceded byCornelia Pieper
Succeeded byMichelle Müntefering
Minister of State for Migration, Refugees and Integration
In office
22 November 2005 – 17 December 2013
ChancellorAngela Merkel
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byAydan Özoğuz
Member of the Bundestag
In office
3 October 1990 – 24 September 2017
Personal details
Born (1950-04-23) 23 April 1950
Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate West Germany
(now (Germany))
Political partyChristian Democratic Union
Alma materUniversity of Mainz

Early life and education

Born into a family of wine growers,[1] Böhmer studied mathematics, physics, political science and education. Upon receiving her PhD, she conducted research at the universities of Cambridge and Augsburg and gained a post-doctoral qualification in education at the University of Mainz in 1982.[2] In 1993/94, Christian Baldauf was a research associate to her.

Political career

From 1982 to 1990, Böhmer served as State Commissioner for Women in Rhineland Palatinate. From 1990, she was a member of the Bundestag as well as of the Federal Executive Board of the CDU.

Between 1994 and 1998, Böhmer served on the Committee on Labour and Social Affairs as well as on the Committee on Family Affairs. From 2000, she was part of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group's leadership, first under chairman Friedrich Merz (2000–02) and later under chairwoman Angela Merkel (2002–05). From 2001, she served as Chairwoman of the Frauenunion, the CDU's women's organisation.[3] In this capacity, she later publicly endorsed Merkel as the party's candidate to challenge incumbent Chancellor Gerhard Schröder in the 2002 federal elections; instead, Edmund Stoiber ended up being the joint candidate of CDU and CSU.[4]

In 2003, Böhmer was part of a group assigned by then-opposition leader and CDU chairwoman Angela Merkel to draft alternative proposals for social welfare reform in response to Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's "Agenda 2010". The so-called Herzog Commission – named after its chairman, former German President Roman Herzog – recommended a comprehensive package of reform proposals including, among other things, decoupling health and nursing care premiums from people's earnings and levying a lump monthly sum across the board instead.[5]

Minister of State for Integration in the Federal Chancellery, 2005–13

Following the 2005 federal elections, Böhmer was part of the CDU/CSU team in the negotiations with the SPD on a coalition agreement.[6] In November 2005, she joined the first cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel and became Minister of State for Integration in the Federal Chancellery and German Federal Government Commissioner for Migration, Refugees and Integration.[7] In the negotiations to form a coalition government following the 2009 federal elections, she led the CDU/CSU delegation in the working group on families, integration of immigrants and culture.

In 2010, Böhmer proposed to introduce legally binding quotas to boost the low number of people with immigrant backgrounds in public sector jobs, saying it would ensure that the public service sector better mirrored the country's population; however, Germans politicians – both from Böhmer's own conservative Christian Democratic Party as well as from the centre-left opposition – opposed the measure.[8] With a focus on improving the integration of the country's immigrant population, Böhmer later that year rejected the conservative MEP Markus Ferber's call for having immigrants undergo intelligence tests before they are granted residency or citizenship rights in the country.[9] In tackling Germany's shortage of qualified workers, Böhmer favours targeting highly qualified foreign workers through measures such as lowering the minimum wage threshold for migrant workers.[10] Since 2010, Böhmer has been the patron of the German version of anti-racism education charity Show Racism the Red Card.[11]

After the deaths of nine Turkish citizens in a fire at a Ludwigshafen house on 3 February 2008, which media reports said may have been the result of arson involving neo-Nazis, Böhmer visited the fire site with Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.[12] In 2010, Böhmer accompanied Chancellor Merkel on a two-day state visit to Turkey. On the occasion of the German government's official celebration to mark the 50th anniversary of the German-Turkish recruitment agreement in 2011, Böhmer – together with Merkel and Erdoğan – thanked the first Turkish guest workers for their services to Germany.[13] When Erdoğan in 2011 called on the large Turkish community living in Germany to teach their children the Turkish language first and then German, Böhmer countered that "[o]nly those with good German have opportunities to advance in our country."[14] In a controversy surrounding a neo-Nazi terrorist cell trial in 2013, she called on the Munich Higher Regional Court to give Turkish media access to the trial.[15]

Minister of State in the Federal Foreign Office, 2014–2018

Following the 2013 federal elections, Böhmer was again part of the CDU/CSU team in the negotiations with the SPD on a coalition agreement.

As Minister of State in the Federal Foreign Office, Böhmer was primarily responsible for cultural relations and education policy as well as of the Asia and South America regions. In 2015, she served as chairwoman of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.[16] When Böhmer’s term as chairwoman ended, Steinmeier appointed her as Special Representative of the Federal Foreign Office for UNESCO World Heritage, UNESCO Cultural Conventions and UNESCO Education and Science Programmes.[17]

During her time in office, Böhmer witnessed the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro (CAB) between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front on 27 March 2014 at the Malacañang Palace in Manila.[18] As Germany's official representative, she took part in the inauguration ceremony for Chilean President Michelle Bachelet on 11 March 2014.[19] Since 2014, she has accompanied German President Joachim Gauck on state visits to the Czech Republic (May 2014), Luxembourg (November 2014),[20] Tanzania (February 2015),[21] Peru (March 2015), and Ireland (July 2015).[22]

In September 2016, Böhmer announced that she would not stand in the 2017 federal elections but instead resign from active politics by the end of the parliamentary term.[23]

Lifer after politics

In December 2017, Böhmer was nominated as President of the German Commission for UNESCO.[24]

Other activities
  • Stiftung Hambacher Schloss, Deputy Chair of the Advisory Board (since 2020)[25]
  • Hertie-Stiftung, Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2016)[26]
  • START-Stiftung, Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees (since 2016)[27]
  • Central Committee of German Catholics, Member[28][29]
  • Deutschlandstiftung Integration, Member of the Board of Trustees
  • European Foundation for the Speyer Cathedral, Member of the Board of Trustees
  • Federal Cultural Foundation, ex-officio Member of the Board of Trustees
  • International Journalists' Programmes, Member of the Board of Trustees
  • Leibniz Association, Member of the Senate
  • Stiftung Lesen, Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2015)
  • Tarabya Academy, Chairwoman of the Advisory Board
  • Turkey: Culture of Change Initiative (TCCI), Member of the Advisory Board[30]
  • ZDF Television Council, Member (1992–2016) and deputy chairwoman (2002–2016)[31]
  • 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, Member of the Board of Trustees[32]

References
  1. Heike Schmoll (12 July 2007), Die integrative Staatsministerin Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
  2. Board of Trustees: Maria Böhmer CIVIS Media Foundation.
  3. Board of Trustees: Maria Böhmer CIVIS Media Foundation.
  4. Ulrich Deupmann and Christoph Schult (7 January 2002), Die Einsame und der Ängstliche Der Spiegel.
  5. German Opposition Split Over Reforms Deutsche Welle, 8 October 2003.
  6. Am Montag soll auch Merkels Liste stehen Hamburger Abendblatt, October 14, 2005.
  7. Board of Trustees: Maria Böhmer CIVIS Media Foundation.
  8. Sonia Phalnikar (15 January 2010), German politicians reject immigrant quotas in the public sector Deutsche Welle.
  9. Allan Hall (29 June 2010), German politicians suggest immigrant 'intelligence test' The Daily Telegraph.
  10. Andreas Cremer (22 August 2007), Merkel to Tackle Skills Shortage in Einstein's Home Bloomberg.
  11. „Show Racism the Red Card“-Schirmherrschaft Archived 4 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  12. Alan Crawford and Andreas Cremer (7 February 2008), Erdogan's German Visit Overshadowed by Fire Deaths Bloomberg.
  13. Maximilian Popp, Özlem Gezer and Christoph Scheuermann (2 November 2011), At Home in a Foreign Country: German Turks Struggle to Find Their Identity Der Spiegel.
  14. Judy Dempsey (28 February 2011), German Politicians Assail Turkish Leader Over Cultural Remarks International Herald Tribune.
  15. Neo-Nazi Terrorist Trial: Berlin Criticizes Court's Press Policy Der Spiegel, 27 March 2013.
  16. Christian Hoffmann (26 June 2015), Maria Böhmer: 'We have a special obligation to protect our World Heritage' Deutsche Welle.
  17. Foreign Minister Steinmeier appoints Minister of State Böhmer as Special Representative for UNESCO World Heritage Federal Foreign Office, press release of April 7, 2016.
  18. Pia Lee-Brago (28 March 2014), Germany reiterates support for peaceful resolution of sea row The Philippine Star.
  19. Minister of State Böhmer represents the Federal Government at the inauguration of the President of Chile, Bachelet Federal Foreign Office, press release of 7 March 2013.
  20. Visite d’État au Luxembourg du président de la République fédérale d’Allemagne, Joachim Gauck, et de Madame Daniela Schadt (3.-5.11.2014) Government of Luxembourg, press release of 31 October 2014.
  21. German President Joachim Gauck in Tanzania Konrad Adenauer Foundation, 9 February 2015.
  22. Gauck nimmt Schneider-Wein zu Staatsbesuch in Irland mit Die Rheinpfalz, 16 July 2015.
  23. Maria Böhmer tritt bei der Bundestagswahl nicht mehr an Focus, 24 September 2016.
  24. Sebastian Esch (December 17, 2017), Staatsministerin des Auswärtigen Amtes: Maria Böhmer soll deutsche Unesco leiten Rheinische Post.
  25. Neuer Beirat der Stiftung Hambacher Schloss kommt erstmals zusammen Die Rheinpfalz, August 25, 2020.
  26. Wechsel im Kuratorium der Hertie-Stiftung Hertie-Stiftung, press release of 22 November 2016.
  27. Maria Böhmer neue Vorsitzende des Kuratoriums der START-Stiftung Hertie-Stiftung, press release of 8 November 2016.
  28. http://www.zdk.de/organisation/mitglieder/mitgliederliste/
  29. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 16 May 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  30. Advisory Board Archived 28 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine Turkey: Culture of Change Initiative (TCCI).
  31. Maria Böhmer, Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office Federal Foreign Office.
  32. WM-Kuratorium unter Vorsitz von Dr. Thomas Bach FIFA, press release of 30 September 2008.
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