Philipp Rösler
Encyclopedia
Philipp Rösler is a German
politician, who, since 2011, has been 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).
A physician by profession, he served as Minister for Economics and Deputy Prime Minister of the state of Lower Saxony
February–October 2009. He was the Federal Minister of Health
in the second Merkel Cabinet from 2009 to 2011 and became Federal Minister of Economics and Technology in the cabinet in 2011. He is of Vietnamese
origin and was adopted by a German couple when he was still an infant.
, Ba Xuyen Province, in the former South Vietnam
(now Soc Trang Province
, Vietnam
). He was adopted from a Roman Catholic orphanage near Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City
) by a German couple that already had two biological children and then Rösler was brought to Germany at the age of nine months. He grew up in Hamburg
, Bückeburg
and Hanover
, where he graduated from high school in 1992. After training to become a combat medic
in the German Bundeswehr
(the Federal Defense Force), Rösler was exempted to study medicine at the Hannover Medical School
. Following this, he continued his education at the Bundeswehr hospital in Hamburg. He received his Dr. med degree in 2002 and left service as a Stabsarzt (a rank for German medical officers equivalent to an army captain) in 2003.
He is a Roman Catholic, 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.
from 2000 until 2004 and has been chairman of the FDP parliamentary group in the Lower Saxon state assembly since 2003. From 2001 until 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 February 18, 2008, Rösler was appointed minister for economy, labour and transport 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.
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.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
politician, who, since 2011, has been the Federal Minister of Economics and Technology
Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (Germany)
The Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology is a ministry of the German Federal Government since 1998...
and the Vice Chancellor of Germany. He is the Chairman of the liberal Free Democratic Party
Free Democratic Party (Germany)
The Free Democratic Party , abbreviated to FDP, is a centre-right classical liberal political party in Germany. It is led by Philipp Rösler and currently serves as the junior coalition partner to the Union in the German federal government...
(since 2011).
A physician by profession, he served as Minister for Economics and Deputy Prime Minister of the state of Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
February–October 2009. He was the Federal Minister of Health
Federal Ministry of Health (Germany)
The Federal Ministry of Health, is a ministry of the German federal government...
in the second Merkel Cabinet from 2009 to 2011 and became Federal Minister of Economics and Technology in the cabinet in 2011. He is of Vietnamese
Vietnamese people
The Vietnamese people are an ethnic group originating from present-day northern Vietnam and southern China. They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 86% of the population as of the 1999 census, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other ethnic groups in Vietnam...
origin and was adopted by a German couple when he was still an infant.
Life and career
Philipp Rösler was born in Khanh HungKhánh Hung
Khánh Hưng is a commune in the Tran Van Thoi district of Ca Mau Province, Vietnam. As of 2007 the commune had a population of 18,874 and covers an area of 63.37 square kilometers....
, Ba Xuyen Province, in the former South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
(now Soc Trang Province
Soc Trang Province
Sóc Trăng is a province in the Mekong Delta of southern Vietnam, with its capital in Sóc Trăng. The province occupies an area of 3,223 km², and has a population of approximately 1,213,400.-Etymology:...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
). He was adopted from a Roman Catholic orphanage near Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City , formerly named Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam...
) by a German couple that already had two biological children and then Rösler was brought to Germany at the age of nine months. He grew up in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Bückeburg
Bückeburg
Bückeburg is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, on the border with North Rhine Westphalia. It was once the capital of the tiny principality of Schaumburg-Lippe and is today located in the district of Schaumburg close to the northern slopes of the Weserbergland ridge...
and Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
, where he graduated from high school in 1992. After training to become a combat medic
Combat medic
Combat medics are trained military personnel who are responsible for providing first aid and frontline trauma care on the battlefield. They are also responsible for providing continuing medical care in the absence of a readily available physician, including care for disease and battle injury...
in the German Bundeswehr
Bundeswehr
The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...
(the Federal Defense Force), Rösler was exempted to study medicine at the Hannover Medical School
Hannover Medical School
The Hannover Medical School , founded in 1965, is a university medical centre in Germany, part of a regional medical network.-International:...
. Following this, he continued his education at the Bundeswehr hospital in Hamburg. He received his Dr. med degree in 2002 and left service as a Stabsarzt (a rank for German medical officers equivalent to an army captain) in 2003.
He is a Roman Catholic, and a member of the General Conference of the Central Committee of German Catholics
Central Committee of German Catholics
The Central Committee of German Catholics is lay body comprising representatives of various Catholic organisations in Germany. They organise the Catholic Days in Germany. The organisation is headquartered in Bonn....
. He has been married to Wiebke Rösler, also a physician, since 2003. The couple have twin girls, Grietje and Gesche, born in 2008.
Political career
Rösler has been a member of the FDP and its political youth organisation, the Young Liberals, since 1992. He was secretary of the FDP in the state of Lower SaxonyLower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
from 2000 until 2004 and has been chairman of the FDP parliamentary group in the Lower Saxon state assembly since 2003. From 2001 until 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
Lower Saxony state election, 2008
The 2008 Lower Saxony state election was held in Lower Saxony in north-western Germany on 27 January 2008. Despite losing votes and seats, the ruling Christian Democratic Union held on to its position as the leading party in the state...
in January, 2008. In that election, he received 10.9% of the votes in his local constituency, Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
-Döhren. On February 18, 2008, Rösler was appointed minister for economy, labour and transport as well as deputy prime minister of the state of Lower Saxony.
In October 2009, Rösler succeeded Ulla Schmidt
Ulla Schmidt
Ursula Schmidt is a German politician. She is a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany .-Party memberships:...
as Federal Minister of Health
Federal Ministry of Health (Germany)
The Federal Ministry of Health, is a ministry of the German federal government...
in Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel is the current Chancellor of Germany . Merkel, elected to the Bundestag from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000, and chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary coalition from 2002 to 2005.From 2005 to 2009 she led a...
's cabinet.
Rösler succeeded Rainer Brüderle
Rainer Brüderle
Rainer Brüderle is a German politician and member of the FDP. He served as Minister of Economics and Transport of Rhineland-Palatinate from 1987–1998. On 28 October 2009, he was appointed Federal Minister for Economics and Technology in the Cabinet Merkel II. On 12 May 2011, Brüderle left Federal...
as Federal Minister of Economics and Technology on 12 May 2011 and Guido Westerwelle
Guido Westerwelle
Guido Westerwelle [] is a German liberal politician, who, since 28 October 2009, has been serving as the Foreign Minister in the second cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel, and who was Vice Chancellor of Germany from 2009 to 2011. He is the first openly gay person to hold either of those positions...
as Chairman of the FDP on 13 May 2011 and was also instated as Vice-Chancellor of Germany
Vice-Chancellor of Germany
The Vice-Chancellor of Germany is, according to protocol, the second highest position in the Cabinet of GermanyIn case of the Chancellor's absence, the vice-chancellor acts in his or her place, for instance by heading cabinet meetings...
on 16 May 2011.