Ilse Aigner
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Ilse Aigner (born 7 December 1964) is a German politician and member of the
Christian Social Union of Bavaria The Christian Social Union in Bavaria (German language, German: , CSU) is a Christian democracy, Christian democratic and Conservatism in Germany, conservative List of political parties in Germany, political party in Germany. Having a regionali ...
(CSU). Aigner was born in Feldkirchen-Westerham,
Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
, and entered
Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...
's grand coalition cabinet as Federal Minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection on 31 October 2008. She succeeded
Horst Seehofer Horst Lorenz Seehofer (born 4 July 1949) is a German politician who served as Minister for the Interior, Building and Community under Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2018 to 2021. A member of the Christian Social Union (CSU), he served as the ...
, who had become Minister President of Bavaria. She left her position on 30 September 2013 after being elected as a member of the Bavarian parliament. From 2013, she served as Deputy Minister-President of Bavaria. In addition, she served as State Minister of Economic Affairs; and Media, Energy and Technology (2013–2018) and State Minister of Construction and Transport (2018). After
Horst Seehofer Horst Lorenz Seehofer (born 4 July 1949) is a German politician who served as Minister for the Interior, Building and Community under Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2018 to 2021. A member of the Christian Social Union (CSU), he served as the ...
resigned as Minister President in order to become Federal Minister of the Interior on 14 March 2018, Aigner became acting Minister President until the election of
Markus Söder Markus Thomas Theodor Söder (born 5 January 1967) is a German politician from Bavaria, Germany serving as List of Ministers-President of Bavaria, Minister-President of Bavaria since 2018 and Leader of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria, lead ...
as Minister President. After the 2018 Bavarian State elections, she was elected as President of the Bavarian Landtag, succeeding longterm president Barbara Stamm who had lost her seat in the election.


Education and professional background

Aigner completed a professional training as a telecommunications technician in 1985 and joined her parents’ electrical installation business. In 1990 she graduated from the technical academy with the degree of a State Certified Engineer and worked for several years for
Eurocopter Airbus Helicopters SAS (formerly Eurocopter S.A., trade name, trading as Eurocopter Group) is the helicopter manufacturer, helicopter manufacturing division of Airbus. It is the largest in the industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopte ...
in the development of helicopter electric systems. Aigner was elected first in 1994 to the Bavarian State Parliament.


Member of the German Bundestag, 1998–2013

From 1998 Aigner was a member of the German Bundestag, always winning an absolute majority of the votes in her electoral district. From 2002 to 2005, she was a member of the Budget Committee, where she served as her parliamentary group's rapporteur on the budgets of the Federal Ministry for Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture (BMELV) and the aerospace technology portfolio of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). From 2005 to 2008, she served as her parliamentary group's spokesperson for education and research policy.


Federal Minister for Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture, 2008–2013

Aigner was a little-known member of parliament with no previous ministerial experience when she took over as Federal Minister for Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture in the cabinet of
Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...
in 2008,Michael Hogan (30 September 2013)
German farm minister steps down to re-enter local politics
''
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''.
replacing
Horst Seehofer Horst Lorenz Seehofer (born 4 July 1949) is a German politician who served as Minister for the Interior, Building and Community under Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2018 to 2021. A member of the Christian Social Union (CSU), he served as the ...
. During her time in office, Aigner steered through a 2011 dioxins scare that saw contaminated eggs and meat from Germany going to six neighbouring countries. In response, she imposed tough new safety standards for animal feed manufacturers, a move widely supported in the market to retain public confidence. She took a tough line against cultivation of
genetically modified organism A genetically modified organism (GMO) is any organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. The exact definition of a genetically modified organism and what constitutes genetic engineering varies, with ...
s (GMOs) in Germany but received praise from commodity traders when she supported imports of GMOs approved in the United States and South America to secure German supplies of soybeans for animal feed. Meanwhile, she repeatedly expressed concern that outside financial investment in agricultural commodity markets distorts prices, instead calling for more transparency in commodity markets and clear visibility of the difference between futures investment by industrial food buyers and financial investors. In 2009, Aigner caused a controversy when she called for requirements to publish the names and location of recipients of
Common Agricultural Policy The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the agricultural policy of the European Commission. It implements a system of agricultural subsidies and other programmes. It was introduced in 1962 and has since then undergone several changes to reduce ...
(CAP) subsidies to be “suspended” until the implications for data protection have been assessed. In response, the
European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development The Commissioner for Agriculture is a member of the European Commission. The post is currently held by Commissioner Christophe Hansen. The post is in charge of rural issues, including most notably the controversial Common Agricultural Policy (CA ...
Mariann Fischer Boel Mariann Fischer Boel (; born 15 April 1943) is a Danish politician, serving as European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development from 2004 to 2009. A member of the party Venstre, she had previously been minister of agriculture and ...
threatened Germany with legal action. Aigner has been outspoken in her criticism of Facebook, which she has said needs to do to protect its users′ privacy. In September 2011, she asked all federal ministers in Germany not to use Facebook for public relations and communication. In 2010, she criticized
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over plans to give property owners a four-week deadline to stop their buildings from showing up on the company's then newly launched Street View mapping service, demanding that all requests be considered instead. Amid the German debate on the country's
energy transition An energy transition (or energy system transformation) is a major structural change to energy supply and consumption in an energy system. Currently, a transition to sustainable energy is underway to limit climate change. Most of the sustainab ...
to an energy portfolio dominated by
renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...
, Aigner called in later 2012 for the partial nationalization of the country's
electrical grid An electrical grid (or electricity network) is an interconnected network for electricity delivery from producers to consumers. Electrical grids consist of power stations, electrical substations to step voltage up or down, electric power tran ...
in order to ensure that high-voltage power lines required to transport green energy from offshore windfarms and other sources to the industry-heavy regions of southern Germany are built. In 2012, Aigner announced she would leave her post to return to local politics in her home state of Bavaria following the 2013 national elections, prompting speculation that she was eyeing the post of Bavarian Minister-President
Horst Seehofer Horst Lorenz Seehofer (born 4 July 1949) is a German politician who served as Minister for the Interior, Building and Community under Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2018 to 2021. A member of the Christian Social Union (CSU), he served as the ...
. This seemed even more likely as she had been elected chairwoman of her party's
Upper Bavaria Upper Bavaria (, ; ) is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany. Geography Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat of the district gove ...
district association in 2011, the largest and most powerful CSU subdivision.


Deputy Minister-President of Bavaria, 2013–2018

Following her return to Bavaria after the state's 2013 elections, Aigner was named Minister-President
Horst Seehofer Horst Lorenz Seehofer (born 4 July 1949) is a German politician who served as Minister for the Interior, Building and Community under Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2018 to 2021. A member of the Christian Social Union (CSU), he served as the ...
′s deputy as well as Bavarian Minister for Economic Affairs, Media, Energy and Technology. As one of Bavaria's representatives at the Bundesrat, she served on the Committee on Cultural Affairs; the Committee on Economic Affairs; and the Committee on the Environment, Nature Protection and Reactor Safety. In the negotiations to form a
grand coalition A grand coalition is an arrangement in a multi-party parliamentary system in which the two largest political party, political parties of opposing political spectrum, political ideologies unite in a coalition government. Causes of a grand coali ...
following the 2013 national elections, Aigner led the CDU/CSU delegation in the working group on economic affairs; her co-chair from the SPD was Hubertus Heil. On 17 December 2013, she became the first woman to ever chair a meeting of the Bavarian State Government. In the cabinet of Minister-President
Markus Söder Markus Thomas Theodor Söder (born 5 January 1967) is a German politician from Bavaria, Germany serving as List of Ministers-President of Bavaria, Minister-President of Bavaria since 2018 and Leader of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria, lead ...
, Aigner briefly served as State Minister of Construction and Transport in 2018. On the Bundesrat, she became a member of the Committee on Transport and of the Committee on Urban Development, Housing and Regional Planning.


President of the Bavarian Landtag, 2018–present

On 5 November 2018, Aigner was elected with 198 of 205 votes as new President of the Bavarian Landtag. After the 2023 Bavarian state election she was re-elected with 164 of 200 votes.


Other activities


Regulatory bodies

* Bavarian Regulatory Authority for Commercial Broadcasting (BLM), Ex-Officio Chairwoman of the supervisory board (2013–2018) * Federal Network Agency for Electricity, Gas, Telecommunications, Posts and Railway, Ex-Officio Member of the advisory board (2013–2018)


Corporate boards

* FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, Ex-Officio Chairwoman of the supervisory board (2013–2018) * LfA Förderbank Bayern, Ex-Officio Member of the supervisory board (2013–2018) *
Messe München Messe München GmbH is the operator of the Neue Messe München exhibition center, the ICM Internationales Congress Center München and the MOC Veranstaltungscenter München. The exhibition space of the 16 halls together is 180,000 m2 and ...
, Ex-Officio Chairwoman of the supervisory board (2013–2018) * Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank, Ex-Officio Member of the supervisory board (2005–2013) * KfW, Ex-Officio Member of the supervisory board (2008–2013)


Non-profit organizations

* Hanns Seidel Foundation, Member of the Board *
Bayerischer Rundfunk (; "Bavarian Broadcasting"), shortened to BR (), is a public broadcasting, public-service radio and television broadcaster, based in Munich, capital city of the Bavaria, Free State of Bavaria in Germany. BR is a member organization of the ARD (b ...
(BR), Member of the supervisory board (since 2018) *
Deutsches Museum The Deutsches Museum (''German Museum'', officially (English: ''German Museum of Masterpieces of Science and Technology'')) in Munich, Germany, is the world's largest museum of science museum, science and technology museum, technology, with a ...
, Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2004) * Ifo Institute for Economic Research, Member of the Board of Trustees *
Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres The Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres () is the largest scientific organisation in Germany. It is a union of 18 scientific-technical and biological-medical research centers. The official mission of the Association is "solving the g ...
, Ex-Officio Member of the Senate *
Technical University of Munich The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; ) is a public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences. Established in 1868 by King Ludwig II ...
(TUM), Member of the Board of Trustees * Bavarian Research Foundation, Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Trustees (2013–2018) * Max Planck Society, Ex-Officio Member of the Senate (2013–2018) * Munich International Film Festival, Ex-Officio Member of the supervisory board (2013–2018 * Association of the German Army (FKH), Member of the Presidium (2002–2008) * German Energy Agency (DENA), Ex-Officio Member of the supervisory board (2005–2011) *
Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics The Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics (MPA) is a research institute located in Garching, just north of Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It is one of many scientific research institutes belonging to the Max Planck Society. The MPA is widely consid ...
, Member of the Board of Trustees (2005–2008) * Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Member of the Board of Trustees (2005–2008) *
Wasserwacht The Wasserwacht (; ''water watch'' or ''water guard'') is a German Lifeguard, lifeguard service. It is one of the five voluntary societies of the German Red Cross. The Wasserwacht is a non-profit organization made up of on volunteers. Tasks T ...
of the Bavarian Red Cross, Chairwoman (2001–2009)


Personal life

Aigner is a Roman Catholic. She is single and has no children.


References


Further reading

* Ilse Aigner
Offener Brief an Zuckerberg, "Privates muss privat bleiben"
Spiegel Online 2010, 5 April 2010.


External links


Official Website
*
sustainable development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...
, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Aigner, Ilse 1964 births Living people Agriculture ministers of Germany Women ministers of state governments in Germany Women federal government ministers of Germany Ministers of the Bavaria State Government Presidents of the Landtag of Bavaria Members of the Landtag of Bavaria Members of the Bundestag 2009–2013 Members of the Bundestag 2005–2009 Members of the Bundestag 2002–2005 Members of the Bundestag 1998–2002 Members of the Bundestag for the Christian Social Union in Bavaria Female members of the Bundestag Members of the Bundestag for Bavaria 21st-century German women politicians People from Rosenheim (district) German Roman Catholics 20th-century German women politicians