Christian Democratic Union (CDU, Germany)
Hans-Gert Poettering was born on 15 September of 1945 in Bersenbrueck (Lower Saxony, Germany). He never knew his father who was killed in the final days of World War II. This personal tragedy was instrumental in shaping his political involvement and his career in European politics.Hans-Gert Poettering has two sons, Johannes and Benedict, two grandsons, Jakob and David, as well as a granddaughter, Sanna.
Hans-Gert Poettering was born on 15 September of 1945 in Bersenbrueck (Lower Saxony, Germany). He never knew his father who was killed in the final days of World War II. This personal tragedy was instrumental in shaping his political involvement and his career in European politics.Hans-Gert Poettering has two sons, Johannes and Benedict, two grandsons, Jakob and David, as well as a granddaughter, Sanna.
| Studies | |
| 1966 | After Abitur (University Entrance Certification), two years military service, reserve officer |
| 1968 - 1973 | Studies of Law, Political Science and History at the Universities of Bonn and Geneva as well as at the Institut des Hautes Études Internationales in Geneva |
| 1971 | Study visit at Columbia University, NY |
| 1973 | First state law exam |
| 1974 | Conferral of Doctorate, Dr. phil. |
| 1976 | Second state law exam |
| 1976 - 1979 | Research Assistant |
| 1989 | Appointed Lecturer at the University of Osnabrueck |
| 1995 | Appointed Honorary Professor at the University of Osnabrueck |
| Political Activities | |
| 1974 - 1976 | Chairman of the Young Christian Democrats regional committee, Osnabrueck county |
| 1974 - 1980 | Chairman of the Christian Democrats local committee, city of Bersenbrueck |
| 1976 - 1980 | Speaker on European affairs of the Young Christian Democrats of Lower Saxony |
| 1979 - 2014 | Member of the European Parliament (Only deputy who has been Member of the European Parliament continuously since the first direct election in 1979 till 2014) |
| 1981 - 1991 | Chairman of "Europa-Union" Lower Saxony |
| 1984 - 1994 | Chairman of the subcommittee on "Security and Disarmament" |
| 1990 - 2010 | Chairman of the CDU in the district of Osnabrueck |
| 1994 - 1996 | Supervisor of EPP/EPP group's working group on "Intergovernmental Conference 1996", drafting of the EPP position on the Amsterdam Treaty |
| 1994 - 1999 | Vice-Chairman of the EPP group in the European Parliament |
| 1996 - 1999 | Supervisor of EPP/EPP group's working group "Enlargement of the European Union" |
| 1997 - 1999 | President of "Europa-Union" Germany |
| 1999 - 2007 | Chairman of the EPP-ED (christian democrats) group in the European Parliament |
| 1999 - 2009 | Member of the Federal Board of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU, Germany), Member of the Federal Executive Commitee |
| 1999 - 2009 | Member of the Executive Commitee of the European People´s Party EPP |
| January 2007 - July 2009 | 12th President of the European Parliament since the first direct election |
| awarded for the first time in 2008 | With André Leysen Co-founder of the "European Charlemagne Youth Prize" |
| 2008 - 2009 | President of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly EMPA |
| 2008 - 2014 | Chairman of the Working Group on the Middle East in the European Parliament |
| since 2008 | Chairman of the Board of Trustees for establishing a "House of European History" |
| since 2010 | Member of the Board of Directors of the Association for the "International Charlemagne Prize" of Aachen |
| 2010 - 2017 | Chairman of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung |
| Honours and Awards (selection) | ||
| 1966 | Konsul-Penseler-Award of the Artland Secondary School of Quakenbrueck | |
| 1995 | Robert-Schuman-Medal of the EPP group | |
| 2002 | Grand Golden Medal of Merit, Republic of Austria | |
| 'Mérite Européen en or', Luxemburg | ||
| 2006 | Doctor Honoris Causa of Babeş-Bolyai-University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania | |
| 2007 | Grand Cross of the Papal Order of St. Gregory | |
| Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Opole, Poland | ||
| Great Cross of Merit of Queen Jelena with Star and Shoulder Ribbon, Croatia | ||
| Walter-Hallstein-Prize, Frankfurt am Main | ||
| 2008 | Doctor Honoris Causa of the Warmia and Mazury University in Olsztyn, Poland | |
| Grand Cross of Merit of the Republic of Italy, "Cavaliere di Gran Croce Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana" | ||
| 2009 | Honorary citizen of the city of Bersenbrueck, his birthplace | |
| Medal of the grand duke Jaroslaw the Wise, „Řád prince Jaroslava Moudrého“ (Nejvyšší ukrajinské vyznamenání), Ukraine | ||
| “Three-Star-Medal” of the Republic of Latvia | ||
| 2010 | "Ben-Gurion-Medaille" of the Ben-Gurion-University Jerusalem | |
| Grand Cross of Merit with Star and Shoulder Ribbon of the Federal Republic of Germany | ||
| Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Korea, Seoul | ||
| René-Cassin-Medaille for Human Rights, Consultative Council Jewish Organisations | ||
| 2011 | Commander of the National Order of the Legion of Honour of France | |
| Grand Cross of Civil Merit of the Kingdom of Spain | ||
| Polish-German Prize | ||
| Doctor Honoris Causa of the University Miguel de Cervantes, Santiago de Chile | ||
| 2012 | Doctor Honoris Causa of the University Bahçeşehir in Istanbul, Turkey | |
| Cardinal-Opilio-Rossi-Medal from the Consortium of Catholic Organisations in Vienna | ||
| 2013 | Knight Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland | |
| Order of Merit to Lithuania with Cross of Commander | ||
| Order of Merit with Grand Cross of the Hungarian Republic | ||
| The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana 1st class | ||
| 2014 | Grand Cross of the Star of Romania | |
| Doctor Honoris Causa of the University Wrocław, Poland | ||
| Doctor Honoris Causa of the University Ateneo de Manila, Philippines | ||
| since 2014 | Honorary Citizen of the city of Opole / Silesia (Poland) | |
| since 2015 | Honorary Professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina Santa María de los Buenos Aires | |
| 2016 | Grand Officer of the Republic of Tunisia | |
| 2017 | Honorary Senior Fellowship of the Regent‘s University London | |
| 2017 | Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Kōbe, Japan | |
| 2017 | Doctor Honoris Causa of the École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris | |
| 2017 | Doctor Honoris Causa of the European Humanities University Vilnius | |
| Publications (selection) | |
| 1975 | Adenauers Sicherheitspolitik 1955-1963. Ein Beitrag zum deutsch-amerikanischen Verhältnis. Hans-Gert Pöttering; Promotionsschrift, Düsseldorf |
| 1991 | Europas vereinigte Staaten - Annäherungen an Werte und Ziele. Ludger Kühnhardt und Hans-Gert Pöttering; Zürich |
| 1994 | Weltpartner Europäische Union. Ludger Kühnhardt und Hans-Gert Pöttering; Zürich |
| 1998 | Kontinent Europa: Kern, Übergänge, Grenzen. Ludger Kühnhardt und Hans-Gert Pöttering; Zürich |
| 2001 | Weltpartner Europäische Union. Ludger Kühnhardt und Hans-Gert Pöttering; Zürich |
| 2004 | Von der Vision zur Wirklichkeit. Auf dem Weg zur Einigung Europas. Hans-Gert Pöttering; Bonn |
| 2006 | Die Zukunft Europas. Unsere Werte und Herausforderungen. Redenauswahl, Hans-Gert Pöttering; Brüssel |
| 2009 | Im Dienste Europas. Reden aus den Jahren 2007 - 2009. Hans-Gert Pöttering; Bonn |
| 2014 | Wir sind zu unserem Glück vereint. Mein europäischer Weg. Hans-Gert Pöttering; Weimar |
| 2015 | Mein Europa. Werte - Überzeugungen - Ziele. Hans-Gert Pöttering; Freiburg |
