- Peter Gloystein
Peter Gloystein (b.
November 25 ,1945 in Bremen) was the Minister for Economy of Bremen,Germany , and Deputy Leader of the State, until the so-called "champagne incident" of May 2005. He belongs to the centre-right Christian Democratic Union.Background, education and career
Gloystein graduated from the
University of Hamburg , studyingBusiness Management . He wrote a book in 1978 on the finance of industry change in theEuropean Community .He was a scientific advisor to the
HWWA Institute of Economic Research inHamburg , before going intoinvestment banking andfinancial planning . In 2000 he became the speaker of the board of directors of BHF Bank. In 2002 he succeeded Hartmut Perschau as Deputy Leader of the State, Minister for Economy, and Minister of Culture in Bremen.Gloystein is married with two children.
Controversy
In Bremen Wine Week, on the
12 May 2005 , he poured a magnum ofsparkling wine over Udo Oelschlaeger, a homeless man who was standing near the podium from which Mr Gloystein was speaking. Gloystein was described as laughing in the face of the crowd's boos and hisses. Mr Oelschlaeger himself did not respond with violence and simply burst into tears, asking "Who are you? Why are you doing this?" Mr Gloystein was taken away by bodyguards, after attempting to offer Mr Oelschlager first hisbusiness card , followed successively by money from his pocket, his £150 Montblanc pen, a night in a luxury hotel and lastly a two-week holiday, as well as costs for washing his clothes. Mr Oelschlaeger declined these offers, responding "I don't need your money. I'm not going to be bribed. You offended me and wanted to make me look like an idiot." Mr Gloystein said that the incident had been intended as a "joke", and that he had, in fact, intended to pour the wine into Oelschlaeger's mouth, but that he had turned away. Onlookers described this as not corresponding with what they saw.Mr Gloystein apparently later met Mr Oaelschlaeger again and they parted "on friendly terms". Police confirmed that Oelschlaeger was pressing charges against Gloystein for the incident. Mr Gloystein later resigned over the incident, following pressure from the media and opposition parties.
References
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4547227.stm 'Politician quits over wine stunt' - BBC News]
* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/05/14/wgerm14.xml&sSheet=/portal/2005/05/14/ixportal.html 'Politician joke on vagrant falls flat' - The Telegraph]
* [http://backword.me.uk/2005/May/anotherhonest.html Another Honest Politician]
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