Martin Schulz: Difference between revisions

{{about|for-multi|the paratriathlete|Martin Schulz (paratriathlete)|similarly namedother people|Martin Schultz (disambiguation)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=MarchApril 20212022}}

| caption = Schulz in 2017

| office = [[LeaderChair of the Social Democratic Party of Germany|Leader of the Social[[Friedrich DemocraticEbert PartyFoundation]]

| term_startdeputy = 19[[Daniela Kolbe]]<br March/>[[Michael 2017Sommer]]

| term_end term_start = 1314 FebruaryDecember 20182020

| 1blanknameterm_end = {{nowrap|General Secretary}}=

| 1namedata predecessor = [[Hubertus Heil]] <br />[[LarsKurt KlingbeilBeck]]<small>(Acting)</small>

| successor1 term_start1 = [[Andrea19 March Nahles]]2017

| office2 term_end1 = [[President of the13 EuropeanFebruary Parliament]]2018

| term_start21blankname1 = 17{{nowrap|General January 2012Secretary}}

| term_end2 1namedata1 = 17[[Hubertus Heil]]<br January/>[[Lars 2017Klingbeil]]

| vicepresident2successor2 = [[Gianni Pittella]]<br /> = [[AntonioAndrea TajaniNahles]]

| office3 = Leader of the [[Progressive AlliancePresident of Socialiststhe andEuropean DemocratsParliament]]

| term_start3 = 1817 JuneJanuary 20142012

| term_end3 = 117 JulyJanuary 2014<br />{{small|Acting}}2017

| predecessor3 = [[HannesJerzy SwobodaBuzek]]

| successor3 = [[GianniAntonio PittellaTajani]]

| predecessor4term_label4 = [[Enrique Barón Crespo]]Acting

| successor4 term_start4 = [[Hannes18 June Swoboda]]2014

| term_start5 predecessor4 = 24 September[[Hannes 2017Swoboda]]

| term_end5 successor4 = 26 September[[Gianni 2021Pittella]]

| predecessor5term_start5 = [[Peer15 July Steinbrück]]2004

| successor5term_end5 = 17 January 2012

| office6 predecessor5 = [[Member of theEnrique EuropeanBarón ParliamentCrespo]]

| term_start6successor5 = 19= July[[Hannes 1994Swoboda]]

| term_end6office6 = 19[[Mayor]] Februaryof 2017[[Würselen]]

| 1blankname6term_start6 = Affiliation1987

| constituency6predecessor6 = [[Germany]]Bernd Thielen

| office7 successor6 = [[Mayor]] ofWolfgang [[Würselen]]Peltzer

| birth_place = Kinzweiler-Hehlrath, [[North Rhine-Westphalia]], [[West Germany]] {{small|(now [[Eschweiler#History|Eschweiler-Hehlrath]], [[West Germany]])}}

| party = [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democratic Party]] (1975–present)

| spouse = {{marriage|Inge Schulz|19921985}}

| website = {{urlURL|martin-schulz.info|Official websiteWebsite}}

'''Martin Schulz''' (born 20 December 1955)<ref name=Munzinger/> is a German politician who servedwas asa [[Social Democratic PartyMember of Germany|Leaderthe ofEuropean theParliament]] Social(MEP) Democraticfrom Party[[Germany]] 2017from 1994 to 2018,2017 and was a Member of the [[Bundestag]] (MdB) from 2017 to 2021. PreviouslyDuring his tenure he was [[President of the European Parliament]] from 2012 to 2017, Leader of the [[Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats]] from 2004 to 2012 and a, [[MemberPresident of the European Parliament]] (MEP) from 2012 to 2017 and [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Leader of the Social Democratic Party]] from 19942017 to 20172018.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://online.wsj.com/articles/german-socialist-martin-schulz-elected-president-of-european-parliament-1404216532|access-date=1 July 2014|title=German Socialist Martin Schulz Re-Elected as European Parliament President|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|date=July 2014|last1=Dalton|first1=Matthew}}</ref>

After four years at primary school, from 1962 to 1966, Schulz attended the [[Gymnasium (Germany)|Heilig-Geist (Holy Spirit) gymnasium]], a private Roman Catholic school run by the [[Holy Ghost Fathers]] (or Spiritans),<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://hgg-broich.de/informationen |title=ArchivedHGG copyHomepage &#124; Informationen |access-date=27 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130422224342/http://hgg-broich.de/informationen/ |archive-date=22 April 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> in Broich (now [[Würselen]]), a district of the town of Broichweiden, for nine years.<ref name="latimesaplainspokengermanpopulist">{{cite news|last1=Kirschbaum|first1=Erik|title=A plain-spoken German populist may have a shot at ousting Angela Merkel|url=http://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-germany-shulz-2017-story.html|access-date=10 February 2017|work=The [[Los Angeles Times]]|date=8 February 2017}}</ref> As a teenager, he went to France on a school exchange programme.<ref name=Munzinger/> He left school without passing his ''[[Abitur]]'' after failing the 11th grade twice.<ref name=Spiegel>{{cite web|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/martin-schulz-could-present-serious-challenge-to-angela-merkel-in-german-election-a-1132362.html |title=Martin Schulz could present serious challenge to Angela Merkel in German election|date=1 February 2017|publisher=[[Der Spiegel]]}}</ref>

From 1975 to 1977 Schulz then trained to be a bookseller.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/de/1911/Martin_SCHULZ.html|access-date=30 January 2012|title=Martin Schulz MEP}}</ref> The next two years he worked for a number of publishing houses and bookshops. In 1980 Schulz suffered from [[alcoholism]] and tried to commit suicide on 26 June 1980. After a successful [[Drug rehabilitation|rehab]] Schulz opened his own bookshop in Würselen in 1982.<ref name=Spiegel/>

In 1974, at the age of 19, Schulz joined the [[SPD]], became involved with the [[Young Socialists in the SPD|Young Socialists]] and in 1984 was elected to the Würselen Municipal Council, remaining a member for just over two electoral terms, to 1998, from 1987 onwards as mayor.<ref name="fttheveteranmep">{{cite news|last1=Wagstyl|first1=Stefan|title=Martin Schulz, the veteran MEP challenging for Merkel's crown|url=https://www.ft.com/content/78e5471a-eeb9-11e6-930f-061b01e23655|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221211171254/https://www.ft.com/content/78e5471a-eeb9-11e6-930f-061b01e23655|archive-date=11 December 2022|url-access=subscription|url-status=live|access-date=10 February 2017|work=Financial Times|date=10 February 2017}}</ref> At 31,<ref name="latimesaplainspokengermanpopulist"/> he was then the youngest mayor in [[North Rhine-Westphalia]]. He held that office until 1998. As a municipal counselor he initiated the twinning of Würselen with the city of [[Morlaix]] in French [[Brittany]], where he became friends with [[Marylise Lebranchu]], who was the mayor and later became French Minister of Justice (2000–2002) and Minister for Public Services (2012–2016).{{Citation needed|date=October 2016}}

[[File:14-02-04-strasbourgh-napolitano-RalfR-26.jpg|thumb|Martin Schulz with Italian President [[Giorgio Napolitano]] in 2014.]]

By 2008, SPD chairman [[Kurt Beck]] has said he wanted Schulz to succeed [[Günter Verheugen]] as Germany's EU commissioner following the [[2009 European Parliament election in Germany|2009 European elections]]; the post eventually went to [[Günther Oettinger]].<ref>Florian Gathmann (1 May 2008), [http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/spiegel-online-interview-with-mep-martin-schulz-it-s-an-honor-to-be-considered-for-eu-commissioner-a-550941.html SPIEGELSpiegel ONLINEOnline Interview with MEP Martin Schulz 'It's an Honor to Be Considered for EU Commissioner'] ''[[Spiegel Online]]''.</ref>

During his 2014 campaign for the Presidency of the European Commission, Schulz established himself as a regular presence in German media on issues unconnected to the European Parliament elections that year.<ref>Toby Vogel (14 April 2014), [http://www.politico.eu/article/if-germany-changes-europe-changes/ If Germany changes, Europe changes] ''[[European Voice]]''.</ref> By 2015, German newspapers speculated that Schulz was interested in running for the chancellorship of Germany in the [[2017 German federal election|2017 federal elections]].<ref>Tara Palmeri (5 May 2015), [http://www.politico.eu/article/martin-schulz-president-for-life-2/ Martin Schulz: President-for-life?] ''[[Politico Europe]]''.</ref> In May 2016, he told weekly newspaper ''[[Welt am Sonntag]]'' that he would not enter the race to succeed Angela Merkel.<ref>Andrea Bonanni, Jurek Kuczkiewicz, Christoph B. Schiltz and Andre Tauber (29 May 2016), [https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article155772413/Die-Europaeische-Union-ist-tief-gespalten.html "Die Europäische Union ist tief gespalten"] ''[[Welt am Sonntag]]''.</ref> In November 2016, Schulz announced that he would not seek a third term as president of the European Parliament, but would instead run for a seat on the German parliament in the 2017 elections, which reignited the chancellorship speculations. On 24 January 2017, Schulz was confirmed as the Social Democrats' candidate for chancellor.<ref name="sueddeutsche1">{{cite web|url=http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/eil-martin-schulz-wird-kanzlerkandidat-der-spd-1.3346814|title=Bundestagswahl: Martin Schulz wird Kanzlerkandidat der SPD|date=24 January 2017 |via=Sueddeutsche.de}}</ref>

{{morefurther|German federal election, 2017}}

In December 2020, Schulz announced that he would not stand in the [[2021 German federal election|2021 federal elections]] but instead resign from active politics by the end of the parliamentary term.<ref>[https://www.aachener-nachrichten.de/politik/deutschland/ich-brenne-weiter-fuer-die-sache_aid-55222725 "Interview mit Martin Schulz: „Ich'Ich brenne weiter für die Sache“Sache'"] ''[[Aachener Nachrichten]]'', 15 December 2020.</ref> At the same time, he was elected to chair the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation - a position he occupies to this day.

[[File:FM Javad Zarif meeting with European Parliament president Martin Schulz 03.jpg|thumb|Schulz meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister [[Mohammad Javad Zarif]] in [[Tehran]]]]

In December 2017, Schulz called for a new constitutional treaty for a "[[European Federation|United States of Europe]]".<ref name=Schulz>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/07/martin-schulz-united-states-of-europe-germany-sdp Martin Schulz wants 'United States of Europe' within eight years] - [[The Guardian]], 7 December 2017</ref> He proposed that this constitution should be written by "a convention that includes civil society and the people" and that any state that declined to accept this proposed constitution should have to leave the bloc.<ref name=Schulz /> His proposal is "likely to be met with some resistance from [[Angela Merkel|Merkel]] and other EU leaders".<ref name=Schulz />

In 2015, amid the [[Russo-Ukrainian crisisWar]], Schulz suspended a committee made up of Russian and EU lawmakers that meets several times a year to improve ties.<ref>[http://www.euractiv.com/sections/europes-east/european-parliament-retaliates-over-russia-entry-ban-315080 European Parliament retaliates over Russia entry ban] ''[[EurActiv]]'', 3 June 2015.</ref> When Russia barred entry to two politicians from the EU who had planned to attend the funeral in 2015 of murdered opposition figure [[Boris Nemtsov]], Schulz criticised the barring as "a high affront to EU–Russia relations and the work of democratic institutions".<ref>Christian Lowe and Alastair Macdonald (3 March 2015), [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-nemtsov-foreigners-idUSKBN0LZ1GL20150303 Russia bars two EU politicians from Nemtsov funeral] ''[[Reuters]]''.</ref>

In 2016, Schulz stated that [[Donald Trump]] is a problem "for the whole world," and linked the Trump phenomenon to [[far-right]] populism in Europe. He called Trump an "irresponsible man" who "boasts about not having a clue".<ref>{{cite webnews|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/09/16/trump-is-a-problem-for-the-whole-world-says-top-e-u-politician/|title='Trump is a problem for the whole world,' says top EU politician|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] }}</ref>

* Business Forum of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Member of the Political Advisory Board (since 2020)<ref>[https://www.spd-wirtschaftsforum.de/news/neukonstituierung_politischer_beirat-20200701/ Bernd Westphal und Anke Rehlinger koordinieren neu konstituierten Politischen Beirat des SPD-Wirtschaftsforums] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220420002356/https://www.spd-wirtschaftsforum.de/news/neukonstituierung_politischer_beirat-20200701/ |date=20 April 2022 }} Business Forum of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, press release of 1 July 2020.</ref>

* [[Friedrich Ebert Foundation]] (FES), MemberChairman (since December 2020) <ref>[https://www.fes.de/stiftungbeitraege/organigrammmartin-gremien/mitgliederversammlung/schulz-ist-unser-neuer-vorsitzender Martin Schulz elected as new MembersChairman] [[Friedrich Ebert Foundation]] (FES).</ref>

{{quoteblockquote|''Signor Schulz, so che in Italia c'è un produttore che sta montando un film sui campi di concentramento nazisti: la suggerirò per il ruolo di kapò. Lei è perfetto!''

On 24 November 2010 the British MEP [[Godfrey Bloom]] caused a row in the European Parliament when he interrupted a speech by Martin Schulz, heckling him with the Nazi propaganda slogan [[Führer#Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer|Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer]] ('one people, one empire, one leader') and accusing him of being an 'undemocratic fascist'. Bloom later stated that he was referring to the fact that the indoctrination of the German people under the Nazi regime has long-lasting effects; "some Germans still find it difficult to accept diversity in Europe and differences of opinion". In the debate on the future of the [[Stability and Growth Pact|Euro Stability Pact]] Schulz had criticised the role played by the United Kingdom, which was involved in the discussions despite not being a member of the eurozone, and said that some eurosceptics would take pleasure in the collapse of the European Union. Following the incident, the President of Parliament, [[Jerzy Buzek]], excluded Bloom from the Chamber.<ref>{{cite webnews|url=http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,730906,00.html|access-date=30 January 2012|title=Uproar in the European Parliament Briton attacked SPD members with Nazi slogan |newspaper=Der Spiegel |date=24 November 2010 }}</ref> The Dutch MEP [[Barry Madlener]], from the right-wing populist [[Partij voor de Vrijheid]] (PVV – Freedom Party), then protested against that decision, on the grounds that Schulz himself had recently described the PVV MEP [[Daniël van der Stoep]] as a fascist, but had not been excluded from the Chamber.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.elsevier.nl/web/Nieuws/Europese-Unie/282157/Europarlementarier-uit-debat-gezet-na-naziuitspraak.htm|access-date=30 January 2012|title=MEP put off debate after Nazi rule }}</ref>

Schulz received criticism after having transformed the Twitter account that his staff had built up for his European Parliament presidency into his own personal account in order to use it as part of his candidature to the EU Commission.<ref name="euobserver.com">{{cite web|url=http://euobserver.com/institutional/123732|title=EU parliament chief censors report criticising his actions|date=2 April 2014 }}</ref>

During his time as President of the European Parliament, Schulz removed a paragraph critical of his stewardship in a key committee report set for debate on 2 April 2014, thereby attracting a lot of negative attention.<ref name="euobserver.com"/> As a consequence, a large majority of the European Parliament voted on 4 April 2014 to invite Schulz to resign so that he would be able to campaign for the European elections.<ref>[http://www.euractiv.com/sections/eu-elections-2014/meps-cry-foul-schulz-stunt-avoid-resignation-301371 MEPs cry foul at Schulz’Schulz' stunt to avoid resignation] ''[[EurActiv]]'', April 2014.</ref><ref>[http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P7-TA-2014-0428 "The President's political activities"], in European Parliament resolution of 16 April 2014 with observations forming an integral part of its Decision (1) on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2012, Section I – European Parliament (COM(2013)0570 – C7-0274/2013 – 2013/2196(DEC)), 16 April 2014.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/ficheprocedure.do?lang=en&reference=2013/2196(DEC)|title=Procedure File: 2013/2196(DEC) – 2012 discharge: EU general budget | work = Legislative Observatory |publisher= European Parliament}}</ref>

Lastly, Schulz was criticized about the tax-free daily allowance of €304 the President of the Parliament received, until 18 April 2014, which he received while he was campaigning to become President of the commission. This was paid for 365 days a year, in addition to his salary of 200 thousand [[euro]]s per year. A member of parliament receives this daily allowance only for attending.<ref>[https://www.welt.de/debatte/henryk-m-broder/article127902587/Ueppiges-Tagegeld-stellt-Schulz-Versprechen-infrage.html Üppiges Tagegeld stellt Schulz' Versprechen infrage], Die Welt, 12 May 2014.</ref><ref>[http://www.swr.de/report/presse/eu-tagegeld/-/id=1197424/did=13302262/nid=1197424/gc8skf/index.html Parlamentspräsident Martin Schulz erhielt an 365 Tagen pro Jahr Tagegelder des EU-Parlaments] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905225921/https://www.swr.de/report/presse/eu-tagegeld/-/id=1197424/did=13302262/nid=1197424/gc8skf/index.html |date=5 September 2017 }}, SWR, 29 April 2014.</ref><ref>[http://www.swr.de/report/ueppige-pauschalen-die-fragwuerdigen-tagegelder-von-eu-parlamentariern/-/id=233454/did=13081536/nid=233454/3ogy9l/index.html Die fragwürdigen Tagegelder von EU-Parlamentariern] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830185119/https://www.swr.de/report/ueppige-pauschalen-die-fragwuerdigen-tagegelder-von-eu-parlamentariern/-/id=233454/did=13081536/nid=233454/3ogy9l/index.html |date=30 August 2017 }}, Report Mainz, 5 May 2014.</ref>

In April 2017, the European Parliament, as part of its decision to discharge the financial year 2015, criticized two personnel matters where Schulz had been responsible for as President of Parliament. An employee of the parliament received an [[expatriate|expatriation allowance]] of around 20,000 euros, even though his center of life had previously been in Berlin. The employee was a confidant of Schulz and later worked for the SPD as its campaign manager. Schulz was also accused of signing irregular promotions of close associates in a presidential decree that would have secured them financially advantageous posts beyond his departure. Schulz described the complaint as an election maneuver by "anti-Europeans, conservatives and Greens" and referred a decision of the [[European Anti-Fraud Office]] not to initiate an official investigation.<ref>European Parliament: [http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&reference=P8-TA-2017-0146&language=DE&ring=A8-2017-0153 Discharge 2015: EU general budget - European Parliament, Section I (2016/2152 DEC)], Decision of 27 April 2017</ref><ref>[http://www.sueddeutsche.de/1.3481630 "Europäisches Parlament rügt Schulz wegen Personalentscheidungen"], ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'', 27. April 2017.</ref><ref>[[Peter Müller (Journalistjournalist)|Peter Müller]]: [http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/martin-schulz-spd-kanzlerkandidat-wird-vom-eu-parlament-geruegt-a-1145125.html "EU-Parlament rügt Schulz"], ''Der Spiegel'', 27. April 2017.</ref>

He suffered a period of alcoholism as a young man, after a knee injury put an end to his hopes of playing [[association football|football]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bild.de/politik/ausland/martin-schulz/martin-schulz-sein-bruder-rettete-ihn-aus-der-alkohol-hoelle-27612952.bild.html |access-date=14 December 2012|title=Sein Bruder rettete ihn vor dem Alkohol|date=11 December 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.derwesten.de/panorama/leute/so-ueberwand-eu-parlamentspraesident-schulz-seine-alkoholsucht-id7385515.html|access-date=14 December 2012|title=So überwand EU-Parlamentspräsident Schulz seine Alkoholsucht}}{{dead link|date=April 2019|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

Besides German, Schulz speaks English, French, Spanish, Italian and Dutch with varying degrees of fluency.<ref>{{cite webnews|url=http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-91464848.html|title=EUROPA: Unter Eierköppen – DERDer SPIEGELSpiegel 11/2013|first=SPIEGELSpiegel ONLINEOnline, Hamburg|last=Germany|newspaper=Der Spiegel |date=10 March 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite webnews|url=http://www.zeit.de/2014/09/martin-schulz-eu-kommission|title=Martin Schulz: Mister Europa?|first=Matthias|last=Krupa|date=27 February 2014|vianewspaper=Die Zeit}}</ref>

* {{C-SPAN|martinschultz68019}}

[[Category:OfficiersOfficers of the LégionLegion d'honneurof Honour]]