Peter Müller (German politician)

Peter Aloysius Müller (born September 25, 1955 in Illingen, Germany) is a German politician belonging to the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Since 1999, he has held the position of Minister-President of the state of Saarland.

Education and career

After sitting for the Abitur (German final exams) in 1974 at the Realgymnasium in Lebach, Müller attended a course of studies in Jurisprudence and Politics in the cities of Bonn and Saarbrücken. He sat for the two required state examinations for law, the first in 1983, and the second in 1986. From then until 1994, he was a judge for the district court of Saarbrücken, as well as an active assistant professor for Saarland University.

Family

Peter Müller and his wife Astrid have three children.

Political party

Müller is a member of the CDU. Since 1995, he has been the chairman of the CDU in Saarland. He is also a part of the CDU's informal internal party, the "Jungen Wilden" ("Young Savages"), as well as being a member of the Andenpakt ("Andes Pact"). On August 17, 2005, the then Chancellor-candidate Angela Merkel chose Müller to be a member of her "Team of Experts" as a part of the economy department.

Parliament

Since 1990, Müller has been a member of the state parliament of Saarland. From 1994 through 1999, he was the Chairman of the CDU-Parliament political fraction, as well as the leader of the Opposition.

With the Federal Election of 2005, he achieved a mandate for party ticket in Saarland. However, on November 26, 2005, he renounced his position in the Bundestag. His successor is Hermann Scharf.

Public duties

After the CDU received 45.5% of the votes, a narrow majority, he became Minister-President of Saarland. On September 3, 2004, the CDU was able to expand upon its advantage in the parliament elections.

Accolades

In 2003 Peter Müller was given the "Ministerpräsident des Jahres" ("Prime Minister of the Year") Award in Berlin for the years of 2000 through 2002 for his study "Initiative Neue Soziale Marktwirtschaft" ("New Social Free Market Initiative"), which was published in the economic magazine "WirtschaftsWoche".

References

*Based on the German article from [http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peter_M%C3%BCller_%28CDU%29&direction=prev&oldid=14186402 March 1, 2006]

External links

* [http://www.cdu-saar.de/content/persons/7748.htm Peter Müller, CDU Saar] de icon