Michael Fuchs (6 February 1949 – 25 December 2022) was a German politician who served in the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

from 2002 to 2017. He was elected European deputy chairman of the

Trilateral Commission The Trilateral Commission is a nongovernmental international organization aimed at fostering closer cooperation between Japan, Western Europe and North America. It was founded in July 1973, principally by American banker and philanthropist David ...

in 2010.

Early life

After graduating high school in 1967, Fuchs studied in

Erlangen Erlangen (; , ) is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative district Erlangen), and with 119,810 inhabitants (as of 30 September 2024), it is the smalle ...

and later went to Pharmacy school at the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

, where he received his degree in 1973. He later obtained his PhD from the University of Bonn. In 1978, Fuchs began his

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

, serving as a pharmacist in the reserves. Fuchs and his wife opened a pharmacy in Koblenz in 1977. Fuchs would later open an electronics business that would expand to Asia before merging with the Dutch company Mid-Ocean in 1999. Prior to his election to the Bundestag, Fuchs served on the city council for Koblenz from 1990 to 2006.

Political career

Fuchs was elected to the Bundestag in the 2002 election in the constituency of Koblenz as a member of the Christian Democratic Union. In parliament, he served on the Sub-Committee on Foreign Trade (2002-2009) and on the Committee on Economic Affairs (2005-2009). From 2009 to 2017, he was one of the vice chairs of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group under the leadership of chairman

Volker Kauder Volker Kauder (born 3 September 1949) is a German lawyer and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He served as parliamentary group leader of the ruling CDU/CSU faction in the German ''Bundestag'' from 2005 to 2018, during which h ...

, focusing on Economy and Energy, SMEs and Tourism. In addition to his committee assignments, Fuchs chaired his party's

Mittelstand (; composed of the words "''Mittel"'' for ''middle'' and "''Stand''" for ''class'') commonly refers to a group of stable business enterprises in Germany, Austria and Switzerland that have proved successful in enduring economic change and turbule ...

parliamentary group A parliamentary group, parliamentary caucus or political group is a group consisting of members of different political party, political parties or independent politicians with similar ideologies. Some parliamentary systems allow smaller politic ...

from 2006 until 2011, which covers issues related to

small and medium-sized enterprises Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are businesses whose personnel and revenue numbers fall below certain limits. The abbreviation "SME" is used by many national agencies and international organiza ...

. 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 ...

'' of the

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 ...

's Christian Democrats ( CDU together with the Bavarian

CSU CSU may refer to: Universities and university systems United States * Columbia Southern University, in Orange Beach, Alabama * California State University system * Colorado State University, in Fort Collins, Colorado * Connecticut State Univers ...

) and the SPD following the 2013 federal elections, Fuchs was part of the CDU delegation in the working group on economic policy, led by

Ilse Aigner Ilse Aigner (born 7 December 1964) is a German politician and member of the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU). Aigner was born in Feldkirchen-Westerham, Bavaria, and entered Angela Merkel's grand coalition cabinet as Federal Minister o ...

and

Hubertus Heil Wolfgang-Hubertus Ernst Ulrich Heil (born 3 November 1972) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who served as Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs in the fourth cabinet of Angela Merkel and the cabinet of Ola ...

. From 2015 until 2016, Fuchs served on a government-appointed commission tasked with recommending how to safeguard the funding of fulfilling Germany's exit from nuclear energy, under the leadership of co-chairs

Ole von Beust Ole von Beust (born 13 April 1955) is a former German politician who was First Mayor of Hamburg from 31 October 2001 to 25 August 2010, serving as President of the Bundesrat from 1 November 2007 on for one year. He was succeeded as mayor by ...

Matthias Platzeck Matthias Platzeck (born 29 December 1953) is a German politician. He was Minister-President, Minister President of Brandenburg from 2002 to 2013 and party chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, SPD from November 2005 to April 2006. ...

and

Jürgen Trittin Jürgen Trittin (born 25 July 1954) is a German Green politician who served as Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety in the government of Chancellor Gerhard Schröder from 1998 to 2005. Early life and education ...

Other activities

Corporate boards

* WMP Eurocom, Member of the Supervisory Board (2017-2020) * Kienbaum Consultants, Member of the Advisory Board (2002-2017) * Triton Partners, Member of the Advisory Board (2011-2016) * IVG Immobilien, Member of the Advisory Board (2008-2014)

Non-profit organizations

, Member of the European Group

Political positions

Fuchs was a proponent of

Nuclear power in Germany Nuclear power was used in Germany from the 1960s until it was fully phased out in April 2023. German nuclear power began with research reactors in the 1950s and 1960s, with the first commercial plant coming online in 1969. By 1990, nuclear powe ...

, a position which has earned him the nickname the "Atom Fox". During the debate on an overhaul of the German nuclear power system, Fuchs reluctantly noted that "the acceptance of nuclear power is no longer present in large parts of the population", but stressed that the transition to other forms of energy should not harm the national economy or citizen's electricity bills.

Personal life and death

Fuchs was Catholic. He and his wife had two daughters. Fuchs died on 25 December 2022, at the age of 73.

References

External links

Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuchs, Michael 1949 births 2022 deaths Members of the Bundestag for Rhineland-Palatinate Members of the Bundestag 2013–2017 Members of the Bundestag 2009–2013 Members of the Bundestag 2005–2009 Members of the Bundestag 2002–2005 Members of the Bundestag for the Christian Democratic Union of Germany German Catholics Politicians from Koblenz