Philipp Jenninger facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Philipp Jenninger
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Philipp Jenninger in 1987
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| President of the Bundestag West Germany |
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| In office 5 November 1984 – 11 November 1988 |
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| Preceded by | Rainer Barzel |
| Succeeded by | Rita Süssmuth |
| German Ambassador to Austria | |
| In office 1991–1995 |
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| German Ambassador to the Holy See | |
| In office 1995–1997 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | 10 June 1932 Rindelbach, Baden-Württemberg, Germany |
| Died | 4 January 2018 (aged 85) Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany |
| Political party | CDU |
Philipp Jenninger (born June 10, 1932 – died January 4, 2018) was an important German politician and diplomat. He was a member of the Christian Democratic Union party. From 1984 to 1988, he served as the President of the Bundestag, which is like the speaker of the German parliament. He also worked as a German ambassador in other countries.
Contents
Early Life and Career
Philipp Jenninger was born in 1932 in a place called Rindelbach, which is now part of Ellwangen, Germany. He studied law at the University of Tübingen. After finishing his studies, he started working for the German government.
He worked in different government offices, including the Federal Ministry of Defense. Later, he became an assistant to important ministers. From 1982 to 1984, he was a Minister of State at the German Chancellery. This meant he worked closely with the German Chancellor, Helmut Kohl.
Time in Parliament
Jenninger was a member of the Bundestag, the German parliament, for a long time. He was elected in 1969 and served until 1990. He always represented a specific area of Germany.
President of the Bundestag
In 1984, Philipp Jenninger was chosen to be the President of the Bundestag. This is a very important role, as the President leads the meetings of the parliament.
The Controversial Speech
On November 10, 1988, Jenninger gave a speech that caused a lot of discussion. He was speaking at an event to remember the 50th anniversary of Kristallnacht. Kristallnacht was a terrible event in 1938 when Nazis attacked Jewish people and their businesses.
In his speech, Jenninger tried to explain why some Germans supported National Socialism in the 1930s. However, the way he spoke made it sound like he was not clearly against the Nazi ideas he was describing. It was hard for some people to tell if he was just reporting history or if he agreed with those ideas.
More than 50 members of parliament left the room while he was speaking to show their disagreement. This caused a big political problem. The very next day, on November 11, Jenninger resigned from his position as President of the Bundestag. He did not run for parliament again in the 1990 elections.
Later, a leader of the Jewish community, Ignatz Bubis, used parts of Jenninger's speech to show that the words themselves were not the problem, but how Jenninger delivered them.
Ambassador Roles
After leaving the Bundestag, Philipp Jenninger became a German ambassador.
- From 1991 to 1995, he was the German ambassador to Vienna, Austria.
- From 1995 to 1997, he served as the ambassador to the Holy See, which is the government of the Vatican City.
Later Life and Death
Philipp Jenninger was also the President of the European Movement in Germany from 1985 to 1990. He later became their honorary President.
He passed away on January 4, 2018, in Stuttgart, at the age of 85.
Honours
- Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (1986)
