Rolf Heinrich Mützenich (born 25 June 1959) is a German politician of the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together w ...

(SPD) who served as leader of the SPD group 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 June 2019 until February 2025

Early life and education

Mützenich was born on 25 June 1959 in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

and studied

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

at the

University of Bremen The University of Bremen () is a public university in Bremen, Germany, with approximately 18,400 students from 117 countries. Its 12 faculties offer more than 100 degree programs. The University of Bremen has been among the top 50 European rese ...

and earned his

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in 1991.

Early career

After completing his doctorate, Mützenich joined the State Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of North Rhine-Westphalia. From 1993 he worked as a research assistant for the SPD parliamentary group in the State Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia until he returned to the State Ministry of Social Affairs in 1998, under the leadership of minister Ilse Brusis. From 2001 to 2002 he served as chief of staff to the President of the North Rhine-Westphalian State Parliament, Ulrich Schmidt.

Political career

Mützenich entered in the SPD in 1975. He has been a member of the German Bundestag since the 2002 national elections, representing

. From 2002 until 2013, he served on the Committee on Foreign Affairs. He was also a member of the Subcommittee on Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-Proliferation from 2006 until 2009. In addition to his committee assignments, Mützenich has in the past chaired the German Iranian Parliamentary Friendship Group (2006–2009) and the German-Japanese Parliamentary Friendship Group (2010–2013). Within the SPD parliamentary group, Mützenich belongs to the Parliamentary Left, a left-wing movement. He has been part of internal working groups on the Middle East (2005–2009) and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

(2009–2013). From 2009 until 2013, he served as the group's spokesperson on foreign policy. He later became deputy chairman of the parliamentary group under the leadership of successive chairpersons

Thomas Oppermann Thomas Ludwig Albert Oppermann (27 April 195425 October 2020) was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). From October 2017 until his death he served as Vice President of the Bundestag. In his earlier career, he serv ...

(2013–2017) and

Andrea Nahles Andrea Maria Nahles (born 20 June 1970) is a former German politician who has been the director of the Federal Employment Agency (BA) since 2022. Nahles is best known for having served as leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) from April ...

(2017–2019). In the negotiations to form a

coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...

under the leadership 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 ...

following the 2017 federal elections, Mützenich was part of the working group on foreign policy, led by

Ursula von der Leyen Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen (; ; born 8 October 1958) is a German politician, serving as president of the European Commission since 2019. She served in the Cabinet of Germany, German federal government between 2005 and 2019, holding position ...

Gerd Müller Gerhard "Gerd" Müller (; 3 November 1945 – 15 August 2021) was a German professional association football, footballer. A prolific Forward (association football)#Striker, striker, especially in and around the six-yard box, he is widely regarde ...

and

Sigmar Gabriel Sigmar Hartmut Gabriel (born 12 September 1959) is a German politician who was the Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2017 to 2018 and the vice-chancellor of Germany from 2013 to 2018. He was Leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germa ...

. In June 2019, Mützenich became acting chairman of the SPD parliamentary group after the startling demission of

. Editorial writers saw Mützenich as chairman responsible for scaring away several qualified candidates for the position of secretary of defense in the

Scholz cabinet The Scholz cabinet (, ) was the 24th Government of Germany, Government of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany during the 20th legislative session of the Bundestag. It was sworn in on 8 December 2021 following the 2021 German federal electio ...

, like

Fritz Felgentreu Fritz Felgentreu (born 1 September 1968) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who served as a member of the Bundestag from the state of Berlin from 2013 to 2021. He has been the chairman of Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold sin ...

and Hans-Peter Bartels, which led to Christine Lambrecht ending up in the position after the 2021 elections.

Other activities

* Business Forum of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Member of the Political Advisory Board (since 2020) *

Friedrich Ebert Foundation The Friedrich Ebert Foundation (''German: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung e.V.; Abbreviation: FES'') is a German political party foundation associated with, but independent from, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Established in 1925 as t ...

, Member of the Board * Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies (MPIfG), Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2009) * ''Zeitschrift für Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik'', Member of the Advisory Board (since 2009) * German United Services Trade Union (ver.di), Member * Development and Peace Foundation (SEF), Member of the Board of Trustees (2013–2019) *

German Institute for International and Security Affairs The German Institute for International and Security Affairs (; SWP) is a German think tank in international relations and security studies. A semi-official organization with close links to the federal government, it advises the Bundestag (the ...

(SWP), Member of the Council (2009–2014) * German-Iranian Society, Member of the Advisory Board (2009–2011)

Political positions

Over the years, Mützenich has been a vocal critic of the deployment of German forces in Afghanistan. In 2015, Mützenich criticized SPD "rapprochement romantics" in Germany's relationship 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 ...

and warned against the "misconception that old-style

Ostpolitik ''Neue Ostpolitik'' (German for "new eastern policy"), or ''Ostpolitik'' () for short, was the normalization of relations between the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, or West Germany) and Eastern Europe, particularly the German Democratic Re ...

was possible following the annexation of Crimea." In 2018, he was one of the most important critics of the decision made by Foreign Minister

Heiko Maas Heiko Josef Maas (; born 19 September 1966) is a German lawyerMarcus Jung (15 December 2022)�''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung''. and former politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party (SPD) who served as the Mini ...

to expel four Russian diplomats over the nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, describing that the expulsion as “too hasty“ and saying there was still no conclusive proof that the Russian government was behind the poisoning. When Germany entered the process of phasing out its aging fleet of

Tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

fighter jets to fulfill its

nuclear sharing Nuclear sharing is a concept in NATO and Russia's policies of nuclear deterrence, which allows member countries without nuclear weapons of their own to participate in the planning, training, and, in extremis, the use of nuclear weapons. In parti ...

obligations with the U.S., Mützenich called for an American nuclear withdrawal in a 2020 interview with newspaper ''

Der Tagesspiegel (meaning ''The Daily Mirror'') is a German daily newspaper. It has regional correspondent offices in Washington, D.C., and Potsdam. It is the only major newspaper in the capital to have increased its circulation, now 148,000, since reunificati ...

''. According to Mützenich, "nuclear weapons on German territory do not heighten our security, just the opposite", especially during the

presidency of Donald Trump Presidency of Donald Trump may refer to: * First presidency of Donald Trump, the United States presidential administration from 2017 to 2021 * Second presidency of Donald Trump, the United States presidential administration since 2025 See also * ...

. Due to his Russia policy and his attitude towards NATO Rolf Mützenich was repeatedly referred to as a " Russlandversteher" or " Putinversteher", which he always denies.Interview
SPD-Fraktionschef Mützenich: "Ich bin ganz sicher kein Putin-Versteher"
Augsburger Allgemeine vom 4. Oktober 2023.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mützenich, Rolf Living people 1959 births Politicians from Cologne Members of the Bundestag for North Rhine-Westphalia University of Bremen alumni Members of the Bundestag 2021–2025 Members of the Bundestag 2017–2021 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 Social Democratic Party of Germany Members of the Bundestag 2025–2029