Peter Aloysius Müller (born 25 September 1955 in Illingen,

Saar Protectorate The Saar Protectorate (german: Saarprotektorat ; french: Protectorat de la Sarre) officially Saarland (french: Sarre) was a French protectorate separated from Germany; which was later opposed by the Soviet Union, one side occupying Germany lik ...

) is a German politician belonging to the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). From 1999 to 2011, he has held the position of

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

(''Ministerpräsident'') of the state of

Saarland The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, a ...

, serving as

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

of the Bundesrat in 2008/09. In December 2011, Müller was elected as judge of German Bundesverfassungsgericht.

Education and early career

After sitting the

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen ye ...

(German final exams) in 1974 at the Realgymnasium in

Lebach Lebach is a town in the district of Saarlouis, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approximately northeast of Saarlouis, and north of Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; french: link=no, Sarrebruck ; Rhine Franconian: ''Saarbrigge'' ; lb, Saar ...

, Müller studied

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning ...

and

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

in the

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

and

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; french: link=no, Sarrebruck ; Rhine Franconian: ''Saarbrigge'' ; lb, Saarbrécken ; lat, Saravipons, lit=The Bridge(s) across the Saar river) is the capital and largest city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken is ...

. He sat for the two required State Examinations in Law, the first in 1983, and the second in 1986. From then until 1994, he served as a judge at the district court of Saarbrücken, as well as a

research fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a pr ...

for Saarland University.

Political career

Müller is a member of the CDU. In 1995, he was elected chairman of the CDU in

. He was also part of the CDU's informal internal grouping, the "Jungen Wilden" (''Young Turks''), as well as of the "Andenpakt" (''Andes Pact'').

Saarland Legislative Assembly, 1990–2011

From 1990, Müller was a Member of the Landtag of the Saarland. From 1994 through 1999, he was the chairman of the CDU parliamentary group in the assembly, making him the leader of the

opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Com ...

against the governments of Ministers-President

Oskar Lafontaine Oskar Lafontaine (; born 16 September 1943) is a German politician. He served as Minister-President of the state of Saarland from 1985 to 1998, and was federal leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) from 1995 to 1999. He was the lead candid ...

(1990-1998) and

Reinhard Klimmt Reinhard Klimmt (born 16 August 1942 in Berlin) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party (SPD). From 1998 to 1999, he was Minister-President, Minister President of Saarland, and 1999–2000, Feder ...

(1998-1999). In this capacity, he publicly spoke out against

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 ...

and instead endorsed

Edmund Stoiber Edmund Rüdiger Stoiber (born 28 September 1941) is a German politician who served as the 16th Minister President of the state of Bavaria between 1993 and 2007 and chairman of the Christian Social Union (CSU) between 1999 and 2007. In 2002, he ...

as the party's candidate to challenge incumbent

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Gerhard Schröder Gerhard Fritz Kurt "Gerd" Schröder (; born 7 April 1944) is a German lobbyist and former politician, who served as the chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. From 1999 to 2004, he was also the Leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germa ...

in the 2002 federal elections. On 17 August 2005 the then

-candidate

chose Müller to be a member of her shadow cabinet as a prospective minister of economics and trade. In the federal election of 2005, he obtained a federal party ticket in Saarland. He was part of the

CDU/CSU CDU/CSU, unofficially the Union parties (german: Unionsparteien, ) or the Union, is a centre-right Christian-democratic political alliance of two political parties in Germany: the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) and the Christian Soc ...

team in the negotiations with the SPD on a coalition agreement, which paved the way to the formation of

’s first government. However, on 26 November 2005 he decided not to take up his post as a Member of Parliament (

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 Comm ...

). He was succeeded by Hermann Scharf.

Minister-President of Saarland, 1998–2011

After the CDU received 45.5% of the votes, a narrow majority government, he became Minister-President of Saarland. On 3 September 2004 the CDU was able to expand upon its advantage in the parliament elections. In 2009, he formed a so-called Jamaica coalition with the liberal FDP and the Greens before leaving office in 2011 to accept an appointment to the

Federal Constitutional Court The Federal Constitutional Court (german: link=no, Bundesverfassungsgericht ; abbreviated: ) is the supreme constitutional court for the Federal Republic of Germany, established by the constitution or Basic Law () of Germany. Since its in ...

. Between 2003 and 2007, Müller also served as Commissioner of the Federal Republic of Germany for Cultural Affairs under the Treaty on Franco-German Cooperation. During his time in office, the first joint French-German history textbook, by French and German authors, was unveiled in May 2006.

Judge of the Federal Constitutional Court, 2011–present

Ahead of the 2014 European elections, Müller issued a dissenting opinion on the Second Senate's judgement that a three-percent

electoral threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...

in the law governing European elections is unconstitutional. He argued that “the impairment of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the Legislature, legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven Institutions of the European Union, institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and in ...

's ability to function is sufficiently important to justify an interference with the principles of electoral equality and equal opportunities of political parties.“ In 2018, the Second Senate of the Federal Constitutional Court decided that it must render its decision on a constitutional complaint directed against the prohibition of

assisted suicide Assisted suicide is suicide undertaken with the aid of another person. The term usually refers to physician-assisted suicide (PAS), which is suicide that is assisted by a physician or other healthcare provider. Once it is determined that the p ...

services (§ 217 StGB) without participation of Müller on the grounds of possible bias. During his time as Minister-President, his government (unsuccessfully) submitted a draft law prohibiting assisted suicide services in 2006.

Other activities

* European Foundation for the Speyer Cathedral, Member of the Board of Trustees * donum vitae, Member of the Board of Trustees * Gesellschaft für Rechtspolitik (GfR), Member of the Presidium * Gewerkschaft der Polizei, MemberKatie Reid (August 30, 2005)
Highlights of the FT’s interview with Peter Müller
''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

''. * ZDF, Member of the Board of Directors (2007-2011) * RAG-Stiftung, Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Trustees (2007-2011)

Awards and Distinctions

In 2003 Peter Müller was given the Premier of the Year (''Ministerpräsident des Jahres'') Award in Berlin for the years 2000 to 2002 for his article " Initiative Neue Soziale Marktwirtschaft" (''New Social Free Market Initiative''), which was published in the economic magazine ''

WirtschaftsWoche ''Wirtschaftswoche'' is a German weekly business news magazine published in Germany. “Wirtschaft” means economy (including business) and “Woche” is week. History and profile For many years, ''Wirtschaftswoche'' was published weekly on ...

''.

Personal life

Müller and his wife Astrid have three children.

References

*Based on the German article fro
March 1, 2006

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, Peter 1955 births Living people People from Neunkirchen (German district) Presidents of the German Bundesrat University of Bonn alumni Members of the Landtag of Saarland Christian Democratic Union of Germany politicians Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Ministers-President of Saarland 21st-century German politicians