Günter Nooke (born January 21, 1959) is a German CDU

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

and a former

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...

activist.

Background

Nooke was born in

Forst (Lausitz) Forst (Lausitz) ( dsb, Baršć) is a town in Lower Lusatia, Brandenburg, Germany. It lies east of Cottbus, on the river Lausitzer Neiße which is also the German- Polish border, the Oder-Neisse line. It is the capital of the Spree-Neiße distri ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, a small town in

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 sq ...

. He grew up there only 150 km (90 mi) southeast of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, in the communist

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...

(GDR), near the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

border. He was educated in Forst,

Cottbus Cottbus (; Lower Sorbian: ''Chóśebuz'' ; Polish: Chociebuż) is a university city and the second-largest city in Brandenburg, Germany. Situated around southeast of Berlin, on the River Spree, Cottbus is also a major railway junction with exte ...

and at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

, where he studied

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

from 1980 to 1985. After graduating Nooke worked as a research assistant, latterly as a head of section from 1985 to 1990 at the industrial hygiene inspectorate in Cottbus. He is married to sociologist Maria Nooke. They have three children.

Political career

Since 1987, Nooke had been a member of a church opposition group and got involved in the growing

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which people, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choo ...

movement in 1989, which led to the

fall of the Berlin Wall The fall of the Berlin Wall (german: Mauerfall) on 9 November 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, was a pivotal event in world history which marked the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain and one of the series of eve ...

. Following the first (and only) democratic election in the GDR, he became Member of the People's Chamber for the opposition group named Alliance 90. From 1990, to 1994 Nooke was a member of the parliament of the state of Brandenburg and was the chairman of the parliamentary group of Alliance 90. In 1996, he joined the CDU with other former civil rights activists. From 1998 to 2005 Nooke was a member of the German

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Common ...

, deputy chairman (2000–2002) and spokesperson for cultural and media affairs (2002–2005) of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group.

Positions in the German government

On March 8, 2006, Nooke was appointed as the Federal Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid in the government of Chancellor

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Opp ...

. He was succeeded in this office by Markus Löning in 2010. Since April 2010, Nooke has been serving as Personal Representative of the German Chancellor for Africa in the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), under the leadership of ministers Dirk Niebel (2009-2013) and Gerd Müller (since 2013).

Controversy

In a 2018 interview with German tabloid BZ, Nooke made a number of allegations that were later criticised as racist and neo-colonial, such as the suggestion that colonialism was beneficial for Africa and that the hot and humid climate was responsible for a lower work productivity amongst Africans; he also suggested African states should lease their land to a foreign entity such as the World Bank to "allow free development for 50 years" implying that it was solely the incompetence and corruption of African heads of state that were responsible for the death of jobs and opportunities in many African states. His suggestion was widely criticised as reeking of neo-colonialism by academics and journalists. In the ensuing controversy, Nooke allegedly threatened to dismiss a non-tenured faculty member of the University of Hamburg, Raja Kramer, who had served as the voluntary head of a German association of Africa scientists (Fachverbands Afrikanistik).

Other activities

* Amref Health Africa, Member of the Board of TrusteesGünter Nooke
Amref Health Africa * German-Azerbaijani Forum, Member of the Board of Trustees * World Vision Deutschland, Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2009) * '' Deutsche Welle'', Deputy Chairman of the Broadcasting Council (2003-2014)

References

External links

The Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid at the Federal Foreign Office

* [http://www.netzeitung.de/deutschland/391888.html «Wir wollen andere Kulturen nicht platt machen» ''(We don't want to bulldoze any other culture)'', Interview in online 'Netzeitung' from April 12, 2006] *
"Schröder hat viel kaputtgemacht" ''(Schroeder destroyed a lot)'' - Interview in German newspaper 'Der Tagesspiegel' from March 26, 2006
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nooke, Gunter 1959 births Living people People from Forst (Lausitz) People from Bezirk Cottbus German Lutherans Members of the 10th Volkskammer Members of the Bundestag for Berlin Members of the Bundestag 2002–2005 Members of the Bundestag 1998–2002 Members of the Landtag of Brandenburg German activists East German dissidents Leipzig University alumni Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Members of the Bundestag for the Christian Democratic Union of Germany