Erwin Teufel (born 4 September 1939, in
Zimmern ob Rottweil) is a German politician of the
CDU.
Political career
Teufel was the leader of the CDU parliamentary group in the
Landtag of Baden-Württemberg from 1978 to 1991.
Teufel was
Minister President of Baden-Württemberg and chairman of the
CDU state party group from 1991 to 2005, serving as
President of the
Bundesrat in 1996/97.
During his time in office, Teufel agreed with
President Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician and statesman who served as President of Russia from 1991 to 1999. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1961 to ...
on a series of economic and technical cooperation agreements with
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, including a high-level joint commission to oversee several institutes in Russia where business administrators, agronomists and scientists will be trained, and also direct a variety of exchange programs. Among other projects, Teufel oversaw the merger of two regional utilities to form
EnBW in 1997 as well as the creation of regional
public broadcasting corporation
Südwestrundfunk (SWR) in 1998.
On the European level, Teufel represented Baden-Württemberg on the
European Committee of the Regions (CoR) from 1994. Between 2002 and 2003, he also represented Germany's federal states in the
Convention on the Future of Europe.
Teufel endorsed
Edmund Stoiber instead of
Angela Merkel as their parties' candidate to challenge incumbent
Chancellor Gerhard Schröder in the
2002 federal elections.
In October 2004, Teufel announced that he was to step down as minister-president and chairman of the Baden-Württemberg CDU, effective 19 April 2005.
Günther Oettinger was elected as his successor by CDU internal party pre-elections. His referendum win – with 60.6 percent of the vote versus 39.4 percent for State Education Minister
Annette Schavan – was widely seen at the time as a defeat for Teufel, who had promoted Schavan as his preferred successor.
He did resign on 19 April 2005, effecting the memorable line in German short news: "Joseph Ratzinger elected
Pope Benedict XVI. Teufel
erman: Devilresigned."
Life after politics
Corporate boards
*
Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW), member of the advisory board
*
KfW, Member of the Board of Supervisory Directors (2002–2007)
Non-profit organizations
*
Christliches Jugenddorfwerk Deutschlands (CJD), honorary member of the board of trustees
* Christival, member of the board of trustees
* donum vitae, member of the board of trustees (since 2001)
* International Hugo Wolf Academy, deputy chairman of the board of trustees
* Karl Schlecht Foundation, member of the board of trustees
*
Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS), member of the board of trustees
*
Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings, Member of the Honorary Senate
* Research Center for International and Interdisciplinary Theology (FIIT) at the
Heidelberg University, member of the advisory board
*
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg (colloquially ), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1 ...
, member of the advisory board
*
University of Tübingen, honorary senator
*
Franco-German Institute, president
*
Documentation and Cultural Centre of German Sinti and Roma, member of the board of trustees
*
German Ethics Council, member (2008–2012)
*
Jerusalem Foundation Germany, president (1993–2006)
*
Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), member (1983–2008)
Teufel is an honorary member of A.V. Cheruskia Tübingen, a Catholic student fraternity which is a member of the
Cartellverband.
Personal life
Teufel is married with Edeltraud and has four children.
Newspaper Handelsblatt: Erwin Teufel
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Publications
* ''Maß & Mitte – Mut zu einfachen Wahrheiten'', Johannis-Verlag Lahr 2006, .
* ''Ehe alles zu spät ist: Kirchliche Verzagtheit und christliche Sprengkraft'', Herder Verlag, Freiburg u.a. 2013, .
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Teufel, Erwin
1939 births
Living people
People from Rottweil (district)
Presidents of the German Bundesrat
Members of the Landtag of Baden-Württemberg
Christian Democratic Union of Germany politicians
German Roman Catholics
Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg
Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Free State of Saxony
Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 2nd Class
Minister-presidents of Baden-Württemberg