Roland Koch
| Roland Koch link Lobbypedia Website (Politician) | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 24 March 1958 Frankfurt am Main, West Germany |
| Nationality | German |
| Alma mater | Goethe University Frankfurt |
| Religion | Catholic |
| Parents | Karl-Heinz Koch |
| Party | CDU |
Roland Koch is a German politician who was Minister President of Hesse until 2010. During his time in office, Koch was widely regarded as one of Chancellor Angela Merkel's main rivals within the CDU.[1] He attended the 2009 Bilderberg meeting, and again after retirement in 2012 and 2013.
Background
Koch's father Karl-Heinz Koch (1924-2007) was a CDU politician and from 1970 to 1987 a member of the state parliament of Hesse; from 1987 to 1991 he was Hessian Minister of Justice.
Education
After graduating from high school in 1977, Koch did his basic military service, and then studied law at the University of Frankfurt. He passed the first state examination in law in 1982 and the second in 1985. He was admitted to the bar in 1985.
Career
Specializing in business law and competition law, he practiced this profession in Eschborn until 1999.
From 1983 until 1987, Koch was vice-chair of the federal youth organization of the CDU.
In the 1987 state elections, Koch was elected to the State Parliament of Hesse. From 1998 onward, Koch was chair of the CDU in Hesse.
After the 1999 national elections, he became prime minister of Hesse. He was re-elected after the 2003 elections. In 1999, he was also president of the Bundesrat for several months[2].
In the 2008 elections, his party lost its absolute majority in the local Landtag, and did not have a majority in the coalition with the FDP. However, Koch remained as prime minister and secured another election after early elections in 2009. Political opponents and some commentators accused him of populism, in view of his 1999 campaign against the admissibility of dual citizenship.[3] In 2006, he introduced in Hesse an examination form for applicants for citizenship, which was considered controversial by Der Spiegel due to the degree of difficulty. In the 2007 election campaign, he called for the expulsion of foreign criminals from Germany.[4][5]
Life after politics
He was mentioned as a possible European Commissioner, but it never eventuated.[6]
On 29 October 2010, Koch was announced as designated chief executive officer of Bilfinger Berger, Germany's second-largest builder.[7] In the following years, he orchestrated a reshuffle at the company away from civil engineering and construction in favor of higher-margin industrial services.[8]
During his tenure, Bilfinger Berger also agreed with the United States Department of Justice in 2013 to pay $32 million to the United States to resolve U.S. criminal charges that it bribed Nigerian officials to obtain contracts on a gas project in the African nation.[9] In August 2014, he stepped down from the position on mutually agreed terms after he took responsibility for two profit warnings.[10]
References
- ↑ http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/roland-koch-calls-it-quits-merkel-loses-an-adversary-and-an-ally-a-696626.html
- ↑ https://www.bundesrat.de/DE/bundesrat/praesidium/bisher/bisher-node.html
- ↑ https://www.irishtimes.com/news/schroder-government-faces-its-first-electoral-test-in-hesse-poll-1.149259
- ↑ http://www.spiegel.de/international/the-world-from-berlin-integrating-immigrants-tolerating-foreigners-a-410274.html
- ↑ https://www.welt.de/politik/article1498849/Koch-will-kriminelle-Auslaender-loswerden.html
- ↑ https://www.zeit.de/online/2009/08/koch-eu-kommissar
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20101101194048/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-10-29/bilfinger-names-koch-ceo-after-the-merkel-ally-quits-politics.html
- ↑ Georgina Prodhan (3 September 2014), Bilfinger warns on profit again after CEO exit Reuters.
- ↑ Bilfinger to pay $32 mln over U.S. corruption charges Reuters, 9 December 2013.
- ↑ Ludwig Burger (4 August 2014), Bilfinger CEO quits after second profit warning since June Reuters.