Alexander Dobrindt

Alexander Dobrindt

Alexander Dobrindt (2013)
Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure
Assumed office
17 December 2013
Chancellor Angela Merkel
Preceded by Peter Ramsauer
Personal details
Nationality German
Political party Christian Social Union of Bavaria
Alma mater Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
Religion Roman Catholic
Website alexander-dobrindt.de

Alexander Dobrindt (born 7 June 1970) is a German politician who has been the Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel since 2013. Previously, he was the Secretary General of the Christian Social Union of Bavaria under the leadership of party chairman Horst Seehofer from 2009.

Early life

Dobrindt was born in Peißenberg, Bavaria. He graduated from the Weilheim Highschool in 1989 and continued his studies in the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich finishing with a Master of Arts in Sociology in 1995.

After obtaining his degree, Dobrindt worked at an engineering company as a Financial Director from 1996 to 2001 and as a Managing Director from 2001 to 2005.

Political career

Dobrindt joined the Junge Union (Junior party of the C.S.U.) in 1986 and 4 years later the Christian Social Union of Bavaria. He has been a member of the German National Parliament (Bundestag) since the 2002 federal elections when he won the direct mandate in the Parliamentary Constituency of Weilheim with 59.4 percent of the votes.[1] Since 2009, he serves as the District-Chairman of the C.S.U. Weilheim-Schongau.

In parliament, Dobrindt served as a member of the Committee on Economic Affairs and Technology between 2005 and 2009. In the negotiations to form a coalition government following the 2013 elections, he was part of the 15-member leadership circle chaired by Merkel, Seehofer and Sigmar Gabriel.

In his capacity as minister, Dobrindt introduced a controversial road toll which forces foreign car drivers to pay up to 130 euros a year for using Germany's Autobahn motorways;[2] the toll was a pet project of his CSU party. He was also in charge of drafting the government's plan to spend almost 270 billion euros (£226.48 billion) to repair and build new roads, railway lines and waterways between 2017 and 2030.[3]

Other activities

Political positions

In 2013, Dobrindt called LGBT people a "shrill minority" which adopted an odd lifestyle.[5]

Personal life

Alexander Dobrindt is a Roman Catholic, has been married since 2006, and has one son.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Bundestag
  2. ↑ Markus Wacket and Michael Nienaber (October 30, 2014), Germany's new road toll to cost foreign drivers up to 130 euros Reuters.
  3. ↑ Markus Wacket (August 3, 2016), Germany to spend 270 billion euros to fix roads, railways, waterways Reuters.
  4. ↑ Board of Trustees and Advisory Board Akademie für Politische Bildung Tutzing.
  5. ↑ Dobrindt nennt Homosexuelle eine schrille Minderheit

External links

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