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| Hans-Gert Pöttering | |
|---|---|
| Name | Hans-Gert Pöttering |
| Birth date | 15 September 1945 |
| Birth place | Bersenbrück, Germany |
| Nationality | German |
| Occupation | Politician, historian, author |
| Party | Christian Democratic Union |
| Known for | President of the European Parliament (2007–2009) |
Hans-Gert Pöttering Hans-Gert Pöttering is a German politician and historian who served as President of the European Parliament from 2007 to 2009. A long-standing member of the Christian Democratic Union and the European People's Party (EPP), he was a Member of the European Parliament from 1979 to 2009. Pöttering has been active in transatlantic relations, European integration debates and parliamentary history initiatives.
Born in Bersenbrück shortly after World War II, Pöttering studied at the University of Bonn and the University of Hamburg, where he read history and law under scholars associated with German historiography and European intellectual history. His doctoral research focused on Weimar Republic legal-political issues and he engaged with archival material from the Federal Archives and the Bundestag collections. During his university years he became involved with the CDU student organizations and networks linked to the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and contacts with figures from the European Movement and the Council of Europe.
Pöttering entered the European Parliament at its first direct elections in 1979 as part of the German delegation aligned with the EPP Group. Over three decades he held committee positions including on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, and the Committee on Legal Affairs. He worked on dossiers related to the Treaty of Maastricht, the Treaty of Amsterdam, and the Treaty of Lisbon, cooperating with leaders from the European Commission, the European Council, and national executives such as Helmut Kohl, Günter Grass (as public intellectual interlocutor), and later Angela Merkel. Pöttering was rapporteur and negotiator in interparliamentary talks involving delegations from France, United Kingdom, Italy, and Spain and engaged with delegation counterparts from the United States, Canada, Russia, and Japan.
Elected President of the European Parliament in January 2007, Pöttering presided over plenary sessions involving legislative scrutiny of the European Commission led by José Manuel Barroso and worked with Presidents of the European Council including Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy on institutional matters. His presidency coincided with negotiations around the Treaty of Lisbon and he hosted delegations from the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, and parliamentary delegations from Norway, Switzerland, and accession candidates such as Croatia and Turkey. Pöttering emphasized parliamentary diplomacy with counterparts like Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden and strengthened ties with the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and the OSCE parliamentary structures.
Beyond the Presidency he chaired the Konrad Adenauer Foundation's European fora, founded the Europe-Atlantica networks, and led the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies thematic initiatives. He served on boards and delegations connecting the European Parliament with the United States Congress, the PACE, and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, engaging with figures from the Atlantic Council, the German Bundestag, and the European Commission. His activities included exchanges with leaders from the Baltic states, the Visegrád Group, and partners in the Eastern Partnership, fostering links with the United Nations General Assembly delegations and think tanks such as the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the German Marshall Fund.
A member of the CDU and the EPP, Pöttering advocated for deeper European integration through strengthened parliamentary mechanisms and supported transatlantic security cooperation with NATO allies. He emphasized the constitutionalisation of EU instruments via the Treaty of Lisbon process and backed enlargement to include Central and Eastern Europe states, while engaging in debates on relations with Russia and the United States. On social and cultural matters he promoted initiatives tied to Christian democratic traditions and cooperated with figures from the European Christian Political Movement and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation's policy networks. He also supported Holocaust remembrance and reconciliation efforts linked to institutions such as Yad Vashem, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, and German memorial initiatives involving the Stiftung Erinnerung, Verantwortung und Zukunft.
After leaving the European Parliament in 2009, Pöttering founded the Hans-Gert Pöttering Foundation for European history and civic education, collaborated with the European University Institute, and lectured at institutions including the College of Europe and the Hertie School. He received national and international honours such as orders and decorations from Germany, France, Poland, and Spain, and awards from parliamentary associations including the European People's Party and the Council of Europe. His publications include books and essays on European integration, parliamentary democracy and transatlantic relations published in venues alongside works by Jean Monnet, Altiero Spinelli, Robert Schuman, and contemporary commentators from the Centre for European Reform and the Bruegel research network.
Category:Members of the European Parliament from Germany Category:Presidents of the European Parliament