Horst Seehofer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Horst Seehofer
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Seehofer in 2019
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| Minister for the Interior, Building and Community | |
| In office 14 March 2018 – 8 December 2021 |
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| Chancellor | Angela Merkel |
| Preceded by | Thomas de Maizière (Interior) |
| Succeeded by | Nancy Faeser (Interior and Community) Klara Geywitz (Housing, Urban Development and Building) |
| Leader of the Christian Social Union | |
| In office 25 October 2008 – 19 January 2019 |
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| General Secretary | Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg Alexander Dobrindt Andreas Scheuer Markus Blume |
| Preceded by | Erwin Huber |
| Succeeded by | Markus Söder |
| Minister-president of Bavaria | |
| In office 27 October 2008 – 13 March 2018 |
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| Deputy | Martin Zeil< Ilse Aigner |
| Preceded by | Günther Beckstein |
| Succeeded by | Markus Söder |
| President of the Bundesrat | |
| In office 1 November 2011 – 31 October 2012 |
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| First Vice President | Hannelore Kraft |
| Preceded by | Hannelore Kraft |
| Succeeded by | Winfried Kretschmann |
| Acting President of Germany | |
| In office 17 February 2012 – 18 March 2012 |
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| Chancellor | Angela Merkel |
| Preceded by | Christian Wulff |
| Succeeded by | Joachim Gauck |
| Minister for Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection | |
| In office 22 November 2005 – 27 October 2008 |
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| Chancellor | Angela Merkel |
| Preceded by | Renate Künast |
| Succeeded by | Ilse Aigner |
| Minister for Health | |
| In office 6 May 1992 – 26 October 1998 |
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| Chancellor | Helmut Kohl |
| Preceded by | Gerda Hasselfeldt |
| Succeeded by | Andrea Fischer |
| Member of the Bundestag for Ingolstadt |
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| In office 4 November 1980 – 27 October 2008 |
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| Preceded by | Karl Heinz Gierenstein |
| Succeeded by | Reinhard Brandl |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Horst Lorenz Seehofer
4 July 1949 Ingolstadt, Bavaria, West Germany (current-day Germany) |
| Political party | Christian Social Union |
| Spouse | Karin Starck |
| Children | 4 |
| Signature |  |
Horst Lorenz Seehofer (born 4 July 1949) is a German politician. He was the Minister for the Interior, Building and Community under Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2018 to 2021. He is a member of the Christian Social Union (CSU) party.
Before becoming a federal minister, he served as the 18th Minister-President of Bavaria from 2008 to 2018. He was also the leader of the Christian Social Union party from 2008 to 2019. Seehofer was first elected to the German parliament, the Bundestag, in 1980. He held various important government roles throughout his career. From 2011 to 2012, he was the President of the Bundesrat, which is like the upper house of Germany's parliament. During this time, he even served as the acting head of state of Germany for a short period in 2012.
Seehofer often disagreed with Chancellor Angela Merkel, especially about how Germany should handle people seeking refuge. This disagreement sometimes caused tension within the government. After his party had a difficult election in 2017, he became the Interior Minister. He aimed to change Germany's policy on migration.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Horst Seehofer was born on July 4, 1949, in Ingolstadt, a city in Bavaria, West Germany (now part of Germany). After finishing secondary school, he started working for the local government in Ingolstadt.
Political Career
Early Years in the Bundestag (1980–2008)
Horst Seehofer was a member of the German federal parliament, known as the Bundestag. He represented his home area, Ingolstadt, from 1980 until 2008. In the 2005 federal election, he won a large number of votes in his district.
Federal Minister Roles
Seehofer served as the Federal Minister for Health from 1992 to 1998. He was part of the government led by Chancellor Helmut Kohl. In 1993, he decided to close Germany's old Federal Health Agency. This happened after a review of how the government handled cases of people with hemophilia who got infected with HIV from contaminated blood in the 1980s. The Health Ministry then took over the agency's duties.
After his party lost the 1998 election, Seehofer became a deputy leader of the CDU/CSU group in the Bundestag. He later disagreed with Angela Merkel about health insurance payments. Because of this, he stepped down from his leadership role in the parliamentary group in 2004. However, he remained a deputy leader of his party and kept his seat in the Bundestag.
From 2005 to 2008, Seehofer was the Federal Minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection. He held this position in the government led by Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Leading Bavaria (2008–2018)
In 2008, his party, the CSU, did not do well in the Bavarian state elections. The current Minister-President and party chairman resigned. Seehofer was then chosen to take over both roles. On October 25, 2008, he became the new Chairman of the CSU party. Two days later, he was elected Minister-President of Bavaria. He formed a coalition government with the Free Democratic Party. This was the first time Bavaria had a coalition government in over 50 years.
From 2011 to 2012, Seehofer was the President of the Bundesrat. This meant he was the acting head of state of Germany for a month in 2012. This happened after President Christian Wulff resigned.
Under Seehofer's leadership, Bavaria took a case to Germany's highest court in 2012. They questioned the fairness of how money was shared among Germany's 16 states. Bavaria had become a state that paid more into the system than it received.
In the 2013 Bavarian state election, the CSU party won a clear majority of votes. This was a big success for Seehofer. He then helped negotiate to form a national government with Angela Merkel. In 2013, he was re-elected as party chairman with a very high percentage of votes.
In 2015, Seehofer announced he would step down at the next state elections in 2018. However, he later changed his mind and said he would stay on as CSU leader beyond 2018. After the 2017 federal election, where the CSU's votes dropped, Seehofer faced pressure to resign. In December 2017, he announced he would step down as Minister-President. He handed over the office to Markus Söder in early 2018.
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Return to Federal Government (2018–2021)
In March 2018, Seehofer became Germany's Interior Minister. He said he had a "master plan" to make asylum procedures faster. He also wanted to make deportations more consistent. He aimed for a "zero tolerance" policy towards criminals. On March 15, 2018, Seehofer stated that he did not agree that Islam was part of Germany. This was a topic that had been discussed a lot in Germany.
Seehofer's plan was to send back migrants who had already been deported or registered in other EU countries. Chancellor Merkel worried that sending migrants back without a European agreement could harm the stability of the European Union. In June 2018, Seehofer and Merkel had a big disagreement about immigration policy. This almost caused the government to fall apart. There was even talk that the CDU and CSU parties might split. However, they eventually found a compromise.
On July 1, 2018, Seehofer said he would resign because he felt Merkel's agreement with EU countries was not enough. But his party refused to accept his resignation. Later that night, Seehofer and Merkel announced they had settled their differences. They agreed on tighter border controls. As a result, Seehofer stayed in his role. He was criticized for nearly bringing down the government over a small number of migrants.
In 2021, severe floods hit Germany. Seehofer faced calls to resign from opposition politicians. This was due to the high number of deaths and missing people.
Political Views
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Immigration Policy
In 2010, Seehofer made comments that Turkish and Arab migrants were no longer needed in Germany. These remarks were strongly criticized by the Turkish community and by Chancellor Angela Merkel's government. In 2011, he added that those who wanted to stay in Germany should accept German values. He suggested changing the Bavarian Constitution. This would make authorities help with integration. But it would also require minorities to actively support the integration process.
In late 2015, Seehofer and the CSU strongly criticized Merkel's refugee policy. Bavaria, his home state, was the main entry point for many people seeking refuge. Under pressure from Seehofer, Merkel later limited cash benefits for refugees. She also added Kosovo, Albania, and Montenegro to the list of "safe" countries. This meant migrants from these countries could be returned. He repeatedly asked the government to set a limit on how many refugees Germany would take in. He believed the country could only manage "200,000 applicants [per year] for asylum … at the most." Seehofer even considered taking legal action against the government's refugee policy.
In September 2019, Seehofer said he was willing to accept 25 percent of migrants who reached Italy by sea. This was only if certain conditions were met.
European Integration
In 2012, Seehofer asked for a change to the German constitution. This change would allow people to vote in a referendum on decisions about deeper European integration. It would also allow votes on transferring powers to European institutions. That same year, he criticized a proposal to share debt among Eurozone countries. He argued that sharing debt would remove pressure on governments to make economic changes.
In 2013, Seehofer made Peter Gauweiler a deputy leader of the CSU. This was to attract party members who were critical of the Euro. However, Gauweiler quit two years later. He left in protest against extending financial aid to Greece.
Other Activities
Company Boards
- KfW, Member of the supervisory board (2005–2008)
- Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank, Deputy Chairman of the supervisory board (until 2008)
Non-profit Organizations
- German Forum for Crime Prevention (DFK), Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2018)
- Deutsches Museum, Member of the Board of Trustees
- Hanns Seidel Foundation, Member of the Board
- ZDF, Member of the board of directors (2010–2014)
Awards and Recognition
Orders and Medals
Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (2023)
Bavarian Order of Merit (2008)
Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of Portugal (2009)
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Italy (2014)
Honorary Degrees
- Honorary doctorate from the National Agricultural University of Ukraine (2008)
- Honorary doctorate from the Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu (2010)
- Honorary doctorate from Qingdao University (2010)
Personal Life
Horst Seehofer is married to Karin Starck. They live in Gerolfing, which is a part of Ingolstadt. He has four children.
In 2002, Seehofer had a serious heart problem. His health became a public topic again in early 2015 when he fell ill during a speech at a party event.
Images for kids
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Horst Seehofer's signature
See also
In Spanish: Horst Seehofer para niños
