Theo Waigel
Theodor Waigel (born 22 April 1939) is a German politician of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU). He represented Neu-Ulm in the Bundestag from 1976 to 2002.
Theo Waigel | |
|---|---|
Waigel in 2019 | |
| Leader of the Christian Social Union | |
| In office 16 November 1988 – 16 January 1999 | |
| Preceded by | Franz Josef Strauß |
| Succeeded by | Edmund Stoiber |
| Federal Minister of Finance | |
| In office 21 April 1989 – 27 October 1998 | |
| Chancellor | Helmut Kohl |
| Preceded by | Gerhard Stoltenberg |
| Succeeded by | Oskar Lafontaine |
| Bundestag First Deputy Leader of the CDU/CSU Group | |
| In office 4 November 1982 – 16 November 1988 | |
| Leader | Alfred Dregger Wolfgang Schäuble |
| Preceded by | Friedrich Zimmermann |
| Succeeded by | Wolfgang Bötsch |
| Member of the Bundestag for Neu-Ulm | |
| In office 3 October 1976 – 17 October 2002 | |
| Preceded by | Leo Wagner |
| Succeeded by | Georg Nüßlein |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Theodor Waigel 22 April 1939 Ursberg, Bavaria, Deutsches Reich |
| Political party | Christian Social Union (CSU) |
| Alma mater | University of Würzburg |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Waigel is a lawyer, and earned a doctorate in 1967. He was a member of the Bundestag from 1972 to 2002. He served as Federal Minister of Finance of Germany in the Cabinet of Chancellor Helmut Kohl from 1989 to 1998, and as Chairman of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria from 1988 to 1999. He is known as the father of the Euro, the European currency. He played a vital role in its introduction as German Minister of Finance. He also managed to impose an austerity program on West Germans and overcome the massive deficits of German unification to meet the strict fiscal benchmarks mandated by Europe's single currency. In 2009, he was appointed Honorary Chairman of the CSU.