State political posts

Member of the Landtag of Saxony for Bautzen 1
In office 19 October 2004 – 21 November 2005
Preceded by	Andreas Hahn
Succeeded by	Karl Mannsfeld
State Minister for the Interior of Saxony
In office 11 November 2004 – 22 November 2005
Minister-President	Georg Milbradt
Preceded by	Horst Rasch
Succeeded by	Albrecht Buttolo
State Minister of Justice of Saxony
In office 2 May 2002 – 11 November 2004
Minister-President	Georg Milbradt
Preceded by	Manfred Kolbe
Succeeded by	Geert Mackenroth
State Minister of Finances of Saxony
In office 31 January 2001 – 2 May 2002
Minister-President	Kurt Biedenkopf
Preceded by	Georg Milbradt
Succeeded by	Horst Metz
State Minister and Chief of the State Chancellery of Saxony
In office 27 October 1999 – 31 January 2001
Minister-President	Kurt Biedenkopf
Preceded by	Günter Meyer
Succeeded by	Georg Brüggen
State Secretary and Chief of the State Chancellery of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
In office 8 December 1994 – 2 November 1998
Minister-President	Berndt Seite
Preceded by	Gabriele Wurzel
Succeeded by	Otto Ebnet

Personal details

Born

Karl Ernst Thomas de Maizière

21 January 1954 (age 71)
Bonn, West Germany

Political party

Christian Democratic Union

Spouse

Martina de Maizière

Children

Parent

Ulrich de Maizière (father)

Relatives

Lothar de Maizière (cousin)

Signature

Military service

Allegiance

West Germany

Branch/service

Bundeswehr

Years of service

1972–1974

Rank

Oberleutnant

Unit

Army (Heer) / Panzerbrigade 34

Thomas de Maizière is a German politician. He was born on January 21, 1954. He is a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party.

He held important jobs in the German government. He was the Federal Minister of the Interior twice, from 2009 to 2011 and again from 2013 to 2018. He also served as the Federal Minister of Defence from 2011 to 2013.

Before these roles, he was the Head of the Chancellery and a special minister from 2005 to 2009. From 2009 until 2021, he was a member of the Bundestag, which is Germany's parliament.

Thomas de Maizière was one of the few ministers who worked with Chancellor Angela Merkel for her entire time in office, from 2005 to 2018. Many people thought he might become Chancellor himself one day.

Early Life and Education
Political Journey
Life After Government
Other Activities
Awards and Recognition
Personal Life
See also

Early Life and Education

Thomas de Maizière, around the 1970s

Thomas de Maizière was born in Bonn, which was in West Germany at the time. His father, Ulrich de Maizière, was a high-ranking officer in the German army.

Thomas went to school in Bonn. He then studied law and history at universities in Münster and Freiburg. He finished his law studies in 1982 and earned his doctorate degree in law in 1986.

His family comes from France. They were Huguenots, a group of Protestants who had to leave France in the late 1600s. They found safety in Prussia, which is now part of Germany. His family continued to speak French and attend French churches in Berlin until the early 1900s.

His cousin, Lothar de Maizière, was also a politician. He was the last leader of East Germany before it reunited with West Germany.

Political Journey

Starting in State Politics

Thomas de Maizière began his career working for the mayor of West Berlin. He was part of the West German team that worked on the German reunification. After Germany became one country again in 1990, he helped set up democratic systems in the areas that used to be East Germany.

He worked in the state government of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern from 1990 to 1998. Then, from 1999 to 2005, he held several important minister roles in the state government of Saxony. These roles included:

Chief of the Saxon Chancellery (like a chief of staff)
Minister of Finance
Minister of Justice
Minister of the Interior

Leading the Chancellor's Office (2005–2009)

In 2005, Thomas de Maizière became the Chief of the Chancellor's Office for Angela Merkel. This is a very important job, as he helped manage the Chancellor's daily work and advised her on many issues. He also became a Federal Minister for Special Affairs. He held these roles until 2009.

Federal Minister of the Interior (2009–2011)

After the 2009 elections, Thomas de Maizière became the Federal Minister of the Interior. This job involves keeping the country safe and managing things like police and immigration.

As Interior Minister, he focused on security. For example, in 2010, he warned about possible terror attacks in Europe and the United States. He also banned a charity because it was linked to a militant group. He worked with other ministers to ban air cargo from Yemen after explosives were found in a package.

Minister of Defence (2011–2013)

De Maizière as Minister of Defence at a news conference in 2012

In 2011, Thomas de Maizière became the Federal Minister of Defence. In this role, he was in charge of Germany's armed forces, the Bundeswehr.

He made big changes to the military. He planned to reduce the number of soldiers and make the army a fully professional force. This was one of the biggest changes to the German military in decades.

He also traveled to other countries to discuss defense matters. He met with leaders in India and the United States. He also spoke about international security issues, like the use of drones.

Second Time as Interior Minister (2013–2018)

Thomas de Maizière with his Italian counterpart Marco Minniti, 2017

In 2013, Thomas de Maizière was appointed Federal Minister of the Interior for a second time. He continued to work on national security and internal affairs.

During this time, he proposed a law to prevent potential foreign fighters from leaving Germany by taking away their identity cards. He also banned a Turkish extremist newspaper and ordered raids related to it.

During the European migrant crisis in 2015, he suggested that Europe should limit the number of refugees it takes in. He also helped introduce a special identity card for refugees to help track who was entering the country. In 2016, he banned a neo-Nazi group called "White Wolves Terror Crew."

Life After Government

After leaving government in 2018, Thomas de Maizière continued to be a member of the Bundestag until 2021. He also taught constitutional law at the University of Leipzig.

He has taken on new roles outside of direct politics:

Since 2019, he has been the chairman of the Deutsche Telekom Foundation.
He helped prepare for the 30th anniversary of German reunification.
In 2020, he was asked by the NATO Secretary General to help strengthen NATO's political side.

In May 2020, he announced that he would not run in the 2021 elections. This meant he would leave active politics when his term ended.

Other Activities

Thomas de Maizière is involved in several other organizations:

German Evangelical Church Assembly, Member of the Presidium
Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Member of the Board of Trustees
Moritzburg Festival, Member of the Board of Trustees
National Paralympic Committee Germany, Member of the Board of Trustees
Safety in Ski Sport Foundation (SIS), Member of the Board of Trustees
ZEIT-Stiftung, Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2018)

Awards and Recognition

Thomas de Maizière has received several awards for his work:

2006 – Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
2007 – Royal Norwegian Order of Merit
2009 – Grand Cross of the Ordem do Mérito
2009 – Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

Personal Life

Thomas de Maizière is married to Martina de Maizière. They have three children. He is a Protestant.

In April 2023, he was one of the guests when Angela Merkel received a special award from the German President.

Thomas de Maizière facts for kids

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