Thomas de Maizière

Infobox Minister

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caption = Giving a speech at the Dresden University of Technology in December 2007
name = Thomas de Maizière
office = Federal Minister of Special Affairs and Chief of the Federal Chancellery
GER
term_start = November 22 2005
term_end =
predecessor = Frank-Walter Steinmeier
successor =
office2 = State Minister of the Interior of Saxony
term_start2 = November 11 2004
term_end2 = November 22 2005
predecessor2 = Horst Rasch
successor2 = Albrecht Buttolo
office3 = State Minister of Justice of Saxony
term_start3 = May 2 2002
term_end3 = November 11 2004
predecessor3 = Manfred Kolbe
successor3 = Geert Mackenroth
office4 = State Minister of Finance of Saxony
term_start4 = January 30 2001
term_end4 = May 2 2002
predecessor4 = Georg Milbradt
successor4 = Horst Metz
office5 = State Minister and Chief of the State Chancellery of Saxony
term_start5 = October 26 1999
term_end5 = January 30 2001
predecessor5 = Günter Meyer
successor5 = Georg Brüggen
birth_date = Birth date and age|1954|1|21|mf=y
birth_place = Bonn, Germany
nationality = GER
death_date =
death_place =
party = Christian Democratic Union (CDU)
relations =
residence =
alma_mater = University of Münster
University of Freiburg
profession = Jurist
religion =


website =
footnotes =

Thomas de Maizière [IPA|də mɛˈzjɛʀ] (born January 21, 1954 in Bonn) is a German politician (CDU).

Thomas de Maiziere made his A-Levels at the Aloisiuskolleg in Bonn. After studies of law and history at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität in Münster and the University of Freiburg, he passed his first state examination in law in 1979 and his second 1982, earning his doctorate of law (Dr. jur.) in 1986. He worked for the Governing Mayor of Berlin (Freiherr Richard von Weizsäcker and Eberhard Diepgen), before he was part of the West German delegation to the negotiation of German reunification. After 1990 he worked with reestablishing democratic structures in states that were part of the former German Democratic Republic. From 2001 to 2002 he served as Minister of Finance of Saxony, from 2002 to 2004 Minister of Justice, and from 2004 to 2005 Minister of the Interior. On October 17, 2005, he was nominated for membership of the Federal Government, as Chief of the Chancellor's Office and Federal Minister of Special Affairs in the cabinet of Angela Merkel. He took office on November 22, 2005 after Merkel's election by the Bundestag.

He belongs to a noble family who, as Huguenots, had fled France for asylum in Prussia in the late 17th century. The Maizière family still attended French-language schools and Huguenot churches in Berlin until the beginning of the 20th century. He is a son of Ulrich de Maizière, Inspector General of the German Armed Forces. His cousin Lothar de Maizière is also a CDU politician and was the last, and only democratically elected, Premier of the German Democratic Republic, and who later served as Federal Minister of Special Affairs in the Kohl government. Thomas de Maizière is married to Martina de Maizière and has three children.

Thomas de Maizière is an old political friend of Merkel, the current Chancellor of Germany and his superior.

External links

* [http://www.sachsen.de/de/bf/staatsregierung/index.html Biographie bei der Sächsischen Staatsregierung]