Otto Schily facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Otto Schily
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Schily in 2015
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| Minister of the Interior | |
| In office 27 October 1998 – 22 November 2005 |
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| Chancellor | Gerhard Schröder |
| Preceded by | Manfred Kanther |
| Succeeded by | Wolfgang Schäuble |
| Leader of The Greens in the Bundestag | |
| In office 29 March 1983 – 3 April 1984 Serving with Marieluise Beck and Petra Kelly
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| Chief Whip | Joschka Fischer |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Antje Vollmer |
| Member of the Bundestag for Bavaria |
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| In office 2 December 1990 – 27 September 2009 |
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| Constituency | Social Democratic Party List |
| Member of the Bundestag for North Rhine-Westphalia |
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| In office 25 January 1987 – 7 November 1989 |
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| Preceded by | The Greens List |
| In office 6 March 1983 – 13 March 1986 |
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| Constituency | The Greens List |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Otto Georg Schily
20 July 1932 Bochum, Weimar Republic (now Germany) |
| Political party | Social Democratic Party (1989–present) The Greens (1980–1989) |
| Alma mater | Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich University of Hamburg Free University of Berlin |
Otto Georg Schily (born 20 July 1932) is a German politician. He served as the Minister of the Interior for Germany from 1998 to 2005. During this time, he was part of the government led by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. Schily is a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).
Contents
Early Life and Education
Otto Schily was born on July 20, 1932, in Bochum, Germany. His father was a director at an iron works. Otto grew up in a family that followed anthroposophy, a special way of understanding the world. His younger brother, Konrad Schily, also became a politician and academic. The family spent their teenage years in Bavaria during World War II and were against Adolf Hitler.
In 1962, Otto Schily finished his law studies. He had studied law and politics in the cities of Munich, Hamburg, and Berlin. After passing his exams, he became a lawyer and opened his own law office a year later.
In 1967, Schily attended a protest in Berlin. A student was shot by the police during this event. Schily then decided to represent the student's family in court. In the 1970s, he became well-known as a lawyer. He defended people involved in important legal cases. He was respected for sticking to his beliefs.
Political Career
Joining the Green Party
In 1980, Otto Schily helped start the Green Party. This party focuses on environmental protection and social justice. In 1982, he met with other Green Party members and leaders from other countries to discuss international issues.
In the 1983 elections, Schily was elected to the Bundestag, which is the German parliament. He was one of the first Green Party members to be in parliament. Along with Petra Kelly and Marieluise Beck, he was a spokesperson for the Green Party group. In parliament, he became a key member of the party's "realist" group. This group believed in working with the Social Democrats to form a government. Due to the Green Party's rule of rotating its members, he left parliament in 1986 but was re-elected in 1987.
Moving to the Social Democrats
Over time, Schily started to disagree with some of the Green Party's ideas. He especially disagreed on how much they should work with bigger political parties. In 1989, he left the Green Party and resigned from parliament. He then joined the Social Democrats (SPD). He represented the SPD in the new Bundestag in 1990.
In the years that followed, he worked on issues related to former East Germany. He also helped coordinate different legal policies for the SPD. From 1994 to 1998, Schily was part of a committee that helped choose judges for Germany's highest courts.
Federal Minister of the Interior (1998–2005)
When Gerhard Schröder became chancellor in 1998, he chose Otto Schily to be the Federal Minister of the Interior. This is a very important job, dealing with national security, police, and public administration. Schily was the oldest member of the cabinet at that time.
During his time as minister, Schily made several important decisions. After the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks, he helped create new anti-terrorism laws in Germany. His ministry also took action against certain radical groups.
From 2001 to 2004, Schily led talks with other political parties. They worked on a law to make it easier for skilled workers to come to Germany. This law also aimed to increase controls on foreign militants. In 2004, he suggested creating special camps to process potential immigrants.
In 2005, Schily faced questions for allowing a search of a news magazine's office. This happened after the magazine published information from a secret police report. In 2007, Schily took responsibility for how the government handled the case of Murat Kurnaz. Kurnaz was a German resident held at Guantanamo Bay detention camp as a terror suspect.
After the 2005 elections, Angela Merkel became chancellor. Schily was replaced as Minister of the Interior by Wolfgang Schäuble. Schily remained a member of parliament until 2009. He served on the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Life After Politics
After his time as a minister, Otto Schily joined the supervisory boards of two companies. These companies work with biometric technologies, like fingerprint or face recognition. This led to some discussions about whether he was using his past experience as a minister for business.
From 2006 to 2007, Schily was part of a group of European politicians. They worked on rewriting a treaty for Europe, which later became known as the Treaty of Lisbon.
Schily has also held many other positions. These include being an advisor for companies like Deloitte Germany and Investcorp. He also served on the board of trustees for the Hertha BSC Foundation, which is linked to a famous German football club. He was also on the supervisory board for the 2006 FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee.
Recognition
In 2005, Otto Schily received the Leo Baeck Medal. This award is given to people who do important humanitarian work. It recognized his efforts in promoting tolerance and social justice.
See also
In Spanish: Otto Schily para niños
- Politics of Germany
- Order of the Oak Crown
