Stephan Weil (born 15 December 1958) is a German politician and the leader of the
Social Democratic Party in
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...
. On 20 January 2013, the SPD and the
Green party won the
2013 Lower Saxony state election by one seat.
On 19 February 2013, he was elected
Minister President of Lower Saxony with the votes of SPD and
Alliance '90/The Greens.
From 1 November 2013 until 31 October 2014 he was
President of the Bundesrat and ''ex officio'' deputy to the
President of Germany
The president of Germany, officially titled the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international correspondence; the official English title is President of the F ...
. In November 2017, he was again elected
Minister President with the votes of SPD and
CDU.
Early life and education
Weil has lived in
Hanover
Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
since 1965, where he completed 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 year ...
at the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gymnasium. After his
mandatory community service in 1978 he began a
law degree
A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law.
Some law degrees are professional degrees that are prerequisites or serve as preparation for legal careers. These generally include the Bachelor of Civil Law, Bachelor of Laws, an ...
in
Göttingen
Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...
, which he finished with his first
state examination in 1983. He then worked as a
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters.
The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...
in Hanover, and later became a
public prosecutor
A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in civil law. The prosecution is the legal party responsible ...
and
judge
A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...
. In 1994, Weil became a member of the
ministerial council of Lower Saxony.
Political career
In his early years, Weil served as
chairman
The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...
of the SPD
Jusos in Hanover. From 1997 until late October 2006 he held the office of the
city treasurer.
Mayor of Hannover, 2006–2013
In May 2006 he was chosen as the SPD candidate for the Hanover mayoral election on 10 September 2006 against the
CDU politician Dirk Topeffer and Ingrid Wagemann of
Alliance '90/The Greens. He won an absolute majority in the first round. He succeeded Herbert Schmalstieg, the mayor of Hanover for 34 years on 1 November 2006. Weil held the office for 7 years, up to 2013 state election. Due to legal restrictions, Weil was automatically removed from the office of mayor when he became Minister President of Lower Saxony on 19 February 2013.
From 29 January 2008 to 2011, Weil monthly answered questions from citizens in the TV program ''Warum Herr Weil'' (Why Mr. Weil) which airs every third Tuesday every month on
HR Fernsehen.
On 18 September 2011 Weil announced that he would apply for the top candidate of the SPD for the
2013 state election in Lower Saxony. He was elected as the top candidate with 53.3% of votes on 27 September 2011. On 20 January 2012 he was voted as the chairman of SPD Lower Saxony. In March, Weil was unanimously chosen as the SPD direct candidate for the
Hanover
Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
-
Buchholz constituency. On the state convention in
Hameln
Hameln ( ; ) is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hameln-Pyrmont and has a population of roughly 57,000. Hamelin is best known for the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.
History
Hameln st ...
, Weil placed first with 98.95%.
Minister-President of Lower Saxony, 2013–present
Just weeks before the
state election, opinion polls indicated that Weil, with the help of the Greens, would easily defeat incumbent
Minister-President David McAllister. After McAllister's Christian-liberal coalition had been considered to be the winner until late in the night, Weil's red-green coalition eventually won the election by a wafer-thin majority, resulting in a narrow majority of just one vote in the state parliament. At the time, his victory constituted the twelfth consecutive setback in a state vote for
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’s
CDU party and therefore was widely interpreted as indicative for the
national elections later that year. Early on in his tenure, Weil emphasized consolidating Lower Saxony's finances.
As Lower Saxony has a 20 percent stake in
Volkswagen
Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...
(VW), Weil has been an ex-officio member of the company's supervisory board since February 2013. Within the supervisory board, he serves on the mediation and the nomination committees. Only a few months after Weil took office, Germany won a decisive victory over the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
in its bid to preserve state influence at VW, when the
European Court of Justice
The European Court of Justice (ECJ), officially the Court of Justice (), is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Union, it is tasked with interpreting ...
rejected an attempt by the commission to abolish a state veto over key decisions such as factory closures, mergers and acquisitions.
In August 2017, Weil called for parliament to be dissolved a few months early and new elections to be held (elections had been planned for 2018), after one deputy,
Elke Twesten, who had not been nominated for reelection by the Green Party, had quit her party and joined the CDU in the opposition, costing his coalition government its one-seat parliamentary majority. This had endangered Weil's position because it hypothetically would have enabled the CDU to elect their leader
Bernd Althusmann as Minister President by a motion of no confidence.
Prior to the election, the SPD and its coalition had been in very low approval and poll ratings, but following this event the party won the election by a wide margin over the CDU, strongly improving their own result and winning many usual Greens voters for their best result since
Gerhard Schröder
Gerhard Fritz Kurt Schröder (; born 7 April 1944) is a German former politician and Lobbying, lobbyist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. From 1999 to 2004, he was also the Leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (S ...
in 1998. Nonetheless, the red-green coalition lost its majority by two seats due to the weakened Greens, even though the two parties came much nearer to a majority than deemed possible in the latest polls. Despite the rough election campaign between SPD and CDU and heavy accusations over the party affiliation change as a manipulative move to bypass voters and shift the parliamentary majority, Weil succeeded in negotiating and forming a grand coalition with the CDU and Althusmann after the election. In November 2017, he was again elected
Minister President with the votes of SPD and CDU.
In 2024, in response to the threat of mass layoffs at
Volkswagen
Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...
, Weil wanted to restore
government subsidies for the purchase of
electric cars.
Role in national politics
In his capacity as Minister-President, Weil was elected
vice president
A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
of the
Bundesrat from 1 March 2013, and served as
President of the Bundesrat from November 2013 to October 2014. On the Bundesrat, he is a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and deputy chairman of the Committee on European Affairs.
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
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's Christian Democrats (CDU together with the Bavarian
CSU) and the SPD following the
2013 federal elections, Weil was part of the SPD delegation in the working group on energy policy, led by
Peter Altmaier and
Hannelore Kraft.
In the negotiations to form a so-called
traffic light coalition of the SPD, the
Green Party and the
Free Democratic Party (FDP) following the
2021 federal elections, Weil was part of his party's delegation in the working group on climate change and energy policy, co-chaired by
Matthias Miersch,
Oliver Krischer and
Lukas Köhler.
Weil was nominated by his party as delegate to the
Federal Convention for the purpose of electing the
President of Germany
The president of Germany, officially titled the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international correspondence; the official English title is President of the F ...
in
2022
The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
.
Other activities
Corporate boards
*
Deutsche Messe AG, chairman of the supervisory board (2009–2012)
* Sparkasse Hannover, chairman of the supervisory board (2006–2013)
Non-profit organizations
* Business Forum of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, member of the political advisory board (since 2018)
Bernd Westphal wird neuer Beirats-Vorsitzender beim Wirtschaftsforum der SPD
Business Forum of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, press release of 7 June 2018.
* Robert Enke Foundation, chairman of the board of trustees
* Kestner Gesellschaft, member of the board of trustees
* ''Freundeskreis Hannover'', member of the board of trustees
* 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
* Hannover Medical School, member of the board of trustees
* German Association of Local Utilities (VKU), president (2007–2012)
* Rotary International
Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and p ...
, member
Honours
*
2023 Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...
Personal life
In 1987, Weil married public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...
expert Rosemarie Kerkow-Weil (born 1954), the former president of Leibniz University Hannover who teaches at the HAWK Hochschule Hildesheim/Holzminden/Göttingen. They have one son.
References
External links
Official website
Biography
on spd-kibewue.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weil, Stephan
1958 births
Living people
Mayors of Hanover
Presidents of the German Bundesrat
Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians
University of Göttingen alumni
Minister-presidents of Lower Saxony
Politicians from Hamburg