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Matthias Platzeck

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Matthias Platzeck
Platzeck in 2009
Leader of the Social Democratic Party
In office
16 November 2005 – 10 April 2006
General SecretaryHubertus Heil
Preceded byFranz Müntefering
Succeeded byKurt Beck
Minister-President of Brandenburg
In office
26 June 2002 – 28 August 2013
DeputyJörg Schönbohm
Ulrich Junghanns
Johanna Wanka
Helmuth Markov
Preceded byManfred Stolpe
Succeeded byDietmar Woidke
President of the Bundesrat
In office
1 November 2004 – 31 October 2005
First Vice PresidentDieter Althaus
Preceded byDieter Althaus
Succeeded byPeter Harry Carstensen
Mayor of Potsdam
In office
4 November 1998 – 26 June 2002
Preceded byHorst Gramlich
Succeeded byJann Jakobs
Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Regional Planning of Brandenburg
In office
22 November 1990 – 3 November 1998
Minister-PresidentManfred Stolpe
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byEberhard Henne
Member of theLandtag of Brandenburg
forUckermark I
(Potsdam II;2004–2009)
(Alliance 90/The Greens List;1990–1992)
In office
13 October 2004–8 October 2014
Preceded byLothar Bisky
Succeeded byUwe Schmidt
In office
26 October 1990– 30 September 1992
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded byCarmen Kirmes
Wendepolitically career
(1990)
Memberof theBundestag
forVolkskammer
In office
3 October 1990–20 December 1990
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Minister without Portfolio
In office
5 February 1990 – 12 April 1990
Chairman of the
Council of Ministers		Hans Modrow
Preceded byPosition abolished
Succeeded byPosition established
Member of theVolkskammer
forPotsdam
In office
5 April 1990– 2 October 1990
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Personal details
Born(1953-12-29)29 December 1953(age 70)
Potsdam,East Germany(now Germany)
Political partySocial Democratic Party(1995–)
Other political
affiliations		Independent(1993–1995)
Alliance 90(1990–1993)
East German Green Party(1990)
Liberal Democratic Party of Germany(1989)
Spouses
  • Ute Bankwitz
    ​
    ​
    (m.1978;div.1984)​
  • Jeanette Jesorka
    ​
    (m.2007)​
Children3
ResidencePotsdam
Alma materTechnische Universität Ilmenau
Occupation
  • Politician
  • Environmental Hygienist
WebsiteBrandenburgische Landeszentrale für politische Bildungwebsite
Military service
AllegianceEast Germany
Branch/serviceNational People's Army
Years of service1972-1974

Matthias Platzeck(born 29 December 1953) is a German politician. He wasMinister PresidentofBrandenburgfrom 2002 to 2013 and party chairman of theSPDfrom November 2005 to April 2006.

On 29 July 2013 Platzeck announced his resignation from his office in August for health reasons.

Early life and education

[edit]

Platzeck was born inPotsdam,the son of a physician and a medical-technical assistant. After attendingPolytechnic Secondary Schoolin Potsdam from 1960 to 1966, he went throughExtended Secondary SchoolinKleinmachnow.Following hisAbiturin 1972 andmilitary servicehe studied biomedical cybernetics at theTechnische Universität Ilmenaufrom 1974 onward. After his diploma in 1979, Platzeck worked at the institute for hygiene inKarl-Marx-Stadt(todayChemnitz) in 1979–1980 and the general hospital inBad Freienwaldefrom 1980 to 1982. From 1982 to 1990 he was head of the department for environmental hygiene at the agency for hygiene in Potsdam.

Political career

[edit]
Platzeck in 1991

Platzeck co-founded ARGUS, a Potsdam environmental organization, with and at the initiative ofCarola Stabein April 1988. In April 1989, he joined theLiberal Democratic Party of Germanybut left it shortly thereafter.[1]He represented ARGUS at the founding of theGrüne Ligaassociation of local environmental organizations inEast Germanyin November 1989. During the political "Wende" of 1989–1990 that led toGerman Reunificationhe was their speaker at theEast German Round Tabletalks.[2]From February to April 1990 he represented the oppositional radical Green Party as Minister without Portfolio in the last non-elected but legitimate government of the GDR. Platzeck was elected member of theVolkskammerin 1990 for the Green Party and was parliamentary secretary of the joined faction of Greens and Bündnis 90 (Alliance 90).

AfterGerman reunification,he was one of 144 members of theVolkskammerco-optedto theBundestag.He did not run for a full term in the1990 German federal election.

In October 1990 Platzeck became a member of theLandtag of Brandenburgfor Bündnis 90 (Alliance 90). He was Minister for the Environment in a coalition government with theSPDandFDPfrom 1990 to 1994, when the coalition broke up. Rejecting the merger of his party with the West GermanGreen Partyhe did not join the new partyBündnis 90/Die Grünenin 1993. Instead, he became a member of the SPD on 6 June 1995.

After the break of the Brandenburg coalition in 1994 Platzeck left his faction and remained Minister for the Environment underMinister-presidentManfred Stolpe.He became popular nationwide for organizing public support for the affected population during a flood of theOder riverin 1997. In 1998 he was elected mayor ofBrandenburg's capital Potsdam and rejected the offer of ChancellorGerhard Schröderto join the federal cabinet asMinister for Transport.

In 2000 Platzeck was elected chairman of the SPD in Brandenburg and in 2002 he succeeded Manfred Stolpe as Minister-president. He was re-elected to theLandtag(state parliament) in 2004. With the SPD as strongest political force he could continue his coalition with theCDU.He served asPresidentof theBundesratin 2004/05.

WhenFranz Münteferingresigned as party chairman of the SPD because of internal conflicts, Platzeck was elected party chairman on 15 November 2005 with an overwhelming majority of 99.8 percent.[3]In January, February and April 2006 Platzeck suffered three severehearing losses.Due to his ill health he resigned from his post as chairman on 10 April 2006, only five months after becoming chairman.

Life after politics

[edit]

Both in 2015 and 2016, Platzeck andBodo Ramelowwere appointed as unpaid arbitrators for negotiations betweenDeutsche Bahnand theGerman Train Drivers' Union(GDL).[4]In 2016, he also served as unpaid arbitrator for negotiations between German airlineLufthansaand its flight attendants' union.[5]

From 2018 until 2019, Platzeck co-chaired the German government's so-called coal commission, which is tasked to develop a masterplan before the end of the year on how tophase-out coaland create a new economic perspective for the country's coal-mining regions.[6]

In 2019, Platzeck was appointed by theFederal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Communityto chair the committee that oversaw the preparations for the 30th anniversary ofGerman reunification.[7]

In late 2020, Platzeck was appointed as arbitrator in a conflict betweenCharitéand theUnited Services Trade Union(ver.di);[8]negotiations were successfully concluded by February 2021.[9]Following her election asGoverning Mayor of Berlinin September 2021,Franziska Giffeymandated Platzeck with helping to end a six-weeks long strike ofVivantes Hospital Groupemployees.[10][11]

Platzeck was nominated by his party as delegate to theFederal Conventionsfor the purpose of electing thePresident of Germanyin2022.[12]

In addition, Platzeck holds a variety of paid and unpaid positions, including the following:

Political positions and controversy

[edit]
Platzeck in 2005

Platzeck caused controversy in August 2010 when he called thereunification of Germanyon 3 October 1990 anAnschluss,the word used byAdolf Hitlerto defend the NaziannexationofAustriain 1938. In response,ChancellorAngela Merkelrejected Platzeck's choice of words and argued that reunification was precisely what east Germans had wanted, not a process forced upon them.[20]

On 18 November 2014, Platzeck called for the international legitimization of theannexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation,drawing criticism.[21]He has revised his opinion. His comparison (2016) of the deployment of theBundeswehrtoLithuaniaas part of theNATO Enhanced Forward PresencewithOperation Barbarossawas also criticized.[22]

Hannes Adomeitcriticised in 2020 Platzeck's book about Russia.[23]

He was listed in a 2022 article byPoliticoamong 12 Germans who got played byVladimir Putin.[24]

Personal life

[edit]

From 1978 to 1984, Platzeck was married to Ute Bankwitz with whom he has three daughters. In 2007, he married Jeanette Jesorka. The ceremony took place one year later inTemmen-Ringenwalde,with guests includingFrank-Walter Steinmeier,Günther JauchandAndreas Dresen.

Book

[edit]
  • Matthias Platzeck:Zukunft braucht Herkunft. Deutsche Fragen, ostdeutsche Antworten.Hoffmann und Campe, Hamburg 2009,ISBN978-3-455-50114-8
  • Matthias Platzeck:Wir brauchen eine neue Ostpolitik −Russland als Partner.Propyläen Verlag, 2020

References

[edit]
  1. ^"Platzeck kurze Zeit in der LDPD".Archived fromthe originalon 17 January 2013.Retrieved6 February2020.
  2. ^Schönhausen Palace: At the Round Table to Democracy.In:Sites of Unity(Haus der Geschichte), 2022.
  3. ^Dempsey, Judy (16 November 2005)."In Germany, leaders arising from the East".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved15 August2019.
  4. ^Ramelow und Platzeck machen’s nochmalFrankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung,30 December 2016.
  5. ^Jens Flottau (30 June, 2016),Platzeck gelingt SchlichtungSüddeutsche Zeitung.
  6. ^Andreas Franke (6 June 2018),Germany launches commission tasked to develop coal exit masterplanS&P Global Platts.
  7. ^30 Jahre Friedliche Revolution und Deutsche EinheitFederal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community,press release of 3 April 2019.
  8. ^Hannes Heine (19 November 2020),Tarifstreit an der Berliner Universitätsklinik: Platzeck wird Schlichter an der CharitéDer Tagesspiegel.
  9. ^Hannes Heine (26 February 2021),Matthias Platzeck als Schlichter Lösung im Tarifstreit in Tochterfirma der Berliner CharitéDer Tagesspiegel.
  10. ^Hannes Heine (29 September 2021),Vivantes-Kliniken und Charité in Berlin: Matthias Platzeck wird „Moderator “im Tarifstreit der Vivantes-TochterfirmenDer Tagesspiegel.
  11. ^Manuela Heim (27 October 2021),Berliner Krankenhausbewegung: Erfolgreich zu Ende gestreiktDie Tageszeitung.
  12. ^Bundesversammlung: Grüne nominieren Haberlandt und SteffenSüddeutsche Zeitung,14 December 2021.
  13. ^Jens Blankenagel (7 May 2015),Neuer Aufsichtsratsvorsitzender bei Papierhersteller Leipa Platzeck geht in die WirtschaftBerliner Zeitung.
  14. ^BoardGerman-Russian Forum].
  15. ^Huber leitet das Kuratorium Garnisonkirchen – Stiftung kann mit Spendensammlung beginnenFoundation for the Reconstruction of the Garrison Church,press release of 22 June 2009.
  16. ^Board of Trustees
  17. ^Advisory BoardArchived2 April 2017 at theWayback MachineJewish Film Festival Berlin & Brandenburg (JFBB).
  18. ^Organizational StructureFriedrich Ebert Foundation(FES).
  19. ^Board of TrusteesSchloss Neuhardenberg Foundation.
  20. ^Quentin Peel (30 September 2010),Germany: An unequal unionFinancial Times.
  21. ^Andreas Heinemann-Grüder:Putins Krieg im Osten. Beschwichtigen oder abschrecken?in:Zeitschrift für Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik.8, Nr. 4, October 2015, p. 573–588.doi:10.1007/s12399-015-0535-z.
  22. ^Warum Platzeck irrt: über Russland und über Brandts Ostpolitik.Archived6 February 2020 at theWayback MachineVorwärts,24 February 2017; accessed 6 February 2020.
  23. ^Von Apologetik zum Appeasement: Wie Matthias Platzeck Russland missversteht
  24. ^Karnitschnig, Matthew (5 May 2022)."12 Germans who got played by Putin".POLITICO.ISSN2381-1595.Retrieved20 April2023.
[edit]
Party political offices
Preceded by Chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Germany
2005-2006 		Succeeded by
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