Martin Schulz

Martin Schulz
President of the European Parliament
Incumbent
Assumed office 17 January 2012
Vice President	14 Alexander Alvaro (ALDE) Roberta Angelilli (EPP) Isabelle Durant (G/EFA) Othmar Karas (EPP) Miguel Angel Martínez Martínez (S&D) Edward McMillan-Scott (ALDE) Georgios Papastamkos (EPP) Gianni Pittella (S&D) Anni Podimata (S&D) Jacek Protasiewicz (EPP) László Surján (EPP) Alejo Vidal-Quadras (EPP) Oldřich Vlasák (ECR) Rainer Wieland (EPP)
Preceded by	Jerzy Buzek
Leader of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
In office 5 July 2004 – 17 January 2012
Preceded by	Enrique Barón Crespo
Succeeded by	Hannes Swoboda
Member of the European Parliament for Germany
Incumbent
Assumed office 19 July 1994
Personal details
Born	20 December 1955 (1955-12-20) Hehlrath, West Germany (now Germany)
Political party	Social Democratic Party
Website	Official website

Martin Schulz (born on 20 December 1955 in Hehlrath) is a German politician and Member of the European Parliament for the Social Democratic Party of Germany, since 2004 leader of the Socialists in the European Parliament (formerly called the Party of European Socialists group and since 2009 called the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats). Martin Schulz has a secondary level of education, he attended high school Heilig Geist Gymnasium in Würselen. He is the current President of the European Parliament.

Career

• 1975-1977: Apprentice bookseller
• 1977-1982: Worked in various bookshops and publishing houses
• 1982-1994: Bookshop proprietor
• 1991-1999: Member of the SPD Party Council
• since 1995: Member of the Mittelrhein SPD Executive
• since 1996: Chairman of the Aachen District SPD
• since 1999: Member of the SPD Federal Executive
• 1984-1999: Municipal Councillor, Würselen
• 1987-1998: Mayor of Würselen
• since 1994: Member of the European Parliament
• 1994-1996: PES Group coordinator, Subcommittee on Human Rights
• 1996-2000: PES Group coordinator, Committee on Civil Liberties and Home Affairs
• 2000-2004: Chairman of the German Socialist (SPD) delegation, European Parliament
• 2002-2004: First Vice-Chairman of the PES Group
• since 2009: Chairman of the PES and then S&D Group
• since 2012: President of the European Parliament

Education and professional career

After four years at primary school, from 1962 to 1966, Schulz attended the Heilig-Geist (Holy Spirit) grammar school in Broich (now Würselen), a district of the town of Broichweiden, for nine years, leaving without his Abitur (A-levels). From 1975 to 1976 he then trained to be a bookseller .

Over the next five years he worked for a number of publishing houses and bookshops, and in 1982 he opened his own bookshop in Würselen, which he ran until 1994.

Political career

In 1974, at the age of 19, Schulz joined the SPD, became involved with the Young Socialists and in 1984 was elected to the Würselen Municipal Council, remaining a member for just over two electoral terms, to 1998, from 1987 onwards as mayor. At 31, he was then the youngest mayor in North Rhine-Westphalia. He held that office until 1998.

During his period of office as mayor of Würselen Martin Schulz was responsible in particular for the building of the Aquana aquatic leisure centre. In view of the town’s budget problems, this decision has long been seen as controversial.

In the 1994 European elections Schulz was elected to the European Parliament and between 2000 and 2004 was chair of the SPD delegation. Following the 2004 European elections he took over the leadership of the PSE Group, succeeding the Spaniard Enrique Barón Crespo. Since 13 November 2009 he has been the SPD’s European Coordinator, responsible for improving cooperation within the party between the EU and national levels. He is also a member of the cross-party organisation Europa-Union Deutschland. On 17 January 2012 Schulz was elected President of the European Parliament.

Berlusconi incident

On July 2, 2003, one day after taking over the rotating presidency of the EU Council of Ministers, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy was heavily criticised by MEP Martin Schulz because of Berlusconi's domestic policy. Berlusconi replied:

"Signor Schulz, so che in Italia c'è un produttore che sta montando un film sui campi di concentramento nazisti: la suggerirò per il ruolo di kapò. Lei è perfetto!“

In English: "Mister Schulz, I know of a movie-producer in Italy who is making a film about Nazi concentration-camps. I will recommend you for the part of a Kapo (concentration-camp inmate appointed as supervisor). You are perfect!"

Berlusconi later claimed he was referring to the comedy-series Hogan's Heroes, where a slow-witted character named Sgt. Hans Georg Schultz, played by John Banner, starred.

Even though Berlusconi insisted that he was just ironic, his comparisons with the Nazis caused a brief diplomatic rift between Italy and Germany.

See also: European Parliament election, 2004 (Germany)

Incident with Godfrey Bloom

On 24 November 2010 the British MEP Godfrey Bloom caused a row in the European Parliament when he interrupted a speech by Martin Schulz, heckling him with the Nazi propaganda slogan ‘Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer’ (‘one people, one empire, one leader’) and accusing him of being an ‘undemocratic fascist’. In the debate on the future of the Euro Stability Pact Schulz had criticised the role played by the United Kingdom, which was involved in the discussions despite not being a member of the eurozone, and said that some eurosceptics would take pleasure in the collapse of the European Union. Following the incident, the President of Parliament, Jerzy Buzek, excluded Bloom from the Chamber. The Dutch MEP Barry Madlener, from the right-wing populist Partij voor de Vrijheid (PVV - Freedom Party), then protested against that decision, on the grounds that Schulz himself had recently described the PVV MEP Daniël van der Stoep as a fascist, but had not been excluded from the Chamber.

President of the European Parliament

Following the 2009 European elections Schulz came to public attention when he insisted that his group should not immediately approve a second term of office for European Commission President Barroso and instead, together with the Chair of the Green Group in the European Parliament, Daniel Cohn-Bendit, proposed the Belgian Liberal Guy Verhofstadt as a candidate for that office. Following reassurances by Barroso, Schulz dropped his categorical opposition to him, insisting only that he should make certain political concessions to the Social Democrats. As a result, the majority of the group abstained on the confidence vote to Barroso.

An informal agreement was reached between the Conservative PPE Group and the PSE Group that in 2012 Schulz should succeed the Polish PPE Member Jerzy Buzek as President of the European Parliament. In early June 2011 Schulz then formally announced his candidacy for that office.

On 17 January 2012, Martin Schulz was elected President of the European Parliament, with 387 votes in favour out of 670 cast. On 15 September 2011 Members of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament had unanimously nominated Schulz as their candidate for President of the European Parliament. Other candidates were Nirj Deva (142 votes) and Diana Wallis (141 votes).

Honours and decorations

• 2010: Officer of the French Légion d’honneur

• On 18 May 2009 Martin Schulz was awarded an honorary doctorate by the State Technical University of Kaliningrad. The university thus honoured his longstanding commitment to improving relations between Europe and Russia and his support for the development of what is still the only interdisciplinary and intercultural university course in European studies in Russia.

• 2006: Federal Cross of Merit (First Class)

Private life

Martin Schulz is married with two children. In addition to reading, his main hobby is supporting the football club FC Köln.

External links

• Official homepage
• Website of Martin Schulz's political group in European Parliament
• European Parliament biography of Martin Schulz (incl. Speeches, Questions and Motions)
• Declaration (PDF) of financial interests (German)

Party political offices
Preceded by Enrique Barón Crespo	Leader of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats 2004–2012	Succeeded by Hannes Swoboda
Political offices
Preceded by Jerzy Buzek	President of the European Parliament 2012–present	Incumbent