Wolfgang Bosbach

Wolfgang Walter Wilhelm Bosbach (born 11 June 1952) is a German politician and member of Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which he joined in 1972. A lawyer by profession, Bosbach is a partner at Winter, Jansen & Lamsfuß in Bergisch Gladbach.

Wolfgang Bosbach
Wolfgang Bosbach (2012)
Member of the Bundestag
In office
1994 – 2017
Personal details
Born (1952-06-11) 11 June 1952
Bergisch Gladbach,
West Germany
NationalityGerman
Political partyChristian Democratic Union
Children3
Alma materUniversity of Cologne
ProfessionLawyer
Websitewobo.de

Political career

Bosbach was a directly elected member of the Bundestag from 1994 until 2017, representing Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis, and the deputy parliamentary group leader of his party from 2000 until 2009. From 1994 until 2002 and from 2009 until 2017, he served on the Committee on Internal Affairs.

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

In August 2016 Bosbach announced that he would not stand in the 2017 federal elections but instead resign from active politics by the end of the parliamentary term due to his deteriorating health.[1] That same month, he agreed to serve as columnist for German tabloid Bild from 2017 on.[2]

Career after politics

In 2017, Minister-President Armin Laschet of North Rhine-Westphalia appointed Bosbach as chair of a commission to advise the state government on criminal justice reforms.[3]

Ahead of the 2021 Rhineland-Palatinate state election, CDU candidate Christian Baldauf included Bosbach in his shadow cabinet for the party's campaign to unseat incumbent Malu Dreyer as Minister-President of Rhineland-Palatinate.[4]

Political positions

European integration

In August 2011, Bosbach became the first senior CDU MP to say he would not vote for legal changes to allow the European Financial Stability Facility to buy sovereign bonds on the market.[5] He later criticized the permanent rescue mechanism – called European Stability Mechanism – was a step toward a European transfer union.[6] In 2012, he told German business magazine Wirtschaftswoche that Greece should leave the euro region to overhaul its economy.[7]

On 27 February 2015 Bosbach voted against the Merkel government’s proposal for a four-month extension of Greece's bailout; in doing so, he joined a record number of 29 dissenters from the CDU/CSU parliamentary group who expressed skepticism about whether the Greek government under Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras could be trusted to deliver on its reform pledges.[8] On 17 July he voted against the government’s proposal to negotiate a third bailout for Greece;[9] in response to the resulting discussions with fellow conservative MPs, he resigned from his office as Chairman of the Committee on Internal Affairs.

Domestic politics

In 2013, Bosbach rejected calls to grant Muslims living in Germany two days of official holiday a year to mark important religious festivals, saying there was "no Islamic tradition in Germany" and that religious holidays here reflected the country's Christian heritage.[10]

Other activities

Corporate boards

Non-profit organizations

Recognition

References
  1. Wahlen 2017: Wolfgang Bosbach will nicht mehr Der Spiegel, August 23, 2016.
  2. Nach Politiker-Karriere Wolfgang Bosbach wird „Bild“-Kolumnist Kölnische Rundschau, August 25, 2016.
  3. Ministerpräsident Laschet beruft Regierungskommission „Mehr Sicherheit für Nordrhein-Westfalen“ State Government of North Rhine-Westphalia, press release of December 14, 2017.
  4. Arno Becker (January 13, 2021), Landtagswahl 2021: CDU-Promi Wolfgang Bosbach in Baldaufs Ratgeberteam Die Rheinpfalz.
  5. Gerrit Wiesmann (August 30, 2011), Merkel fights back over Greek bail-out Financial Times.
  6. Annette Weisbach (June 28, 2012), Germany’s Bosbach Says ESM Is Step to Transfer Union, RP Says Bloomberg News.
  7. Jana Randow (May 19, 2012), Germany’s Bosbach Says Greece Should Leave Euro Area, WiWo Says Bloomberg News.
  8. Stephen Brown (February 27, 2015), Germany backs Greek extension but bailout fatigue grows Reuters.
  9. Paul Carrel (July 17, 2015), German lawmakers back Greek bailout despite rebellion; Tsipras sacks dissenters Reuters.
  10. Gareth Jones (March 28, 2013), Germany urged to grant Muslims days off for religious festivals Reuters.
  11. Lars Werner (October 9, 2019), Hat der Vorstand jetzt zu viel Macht? Fragen und Antworten zur Reform der FC-Gremien Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger.
  12. "Auftritt mit Labbese "Bosbach singt besser als Nahles"". express.de (in German). November 27, 2013.
  13. Karius, Deniz (February 10, 2014). "Wolfgang Bosbach legt die närrische Reifeprüfung ab". rp-online.de (in German).
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