Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel
{{Short description|German politician (born 1969)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image = MJK00857 Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel.jpg
| imagesize =
| name = Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1969|10|01|df=y}}
| birth_place = Oberstdorf, West Germany
| death_date =
| death_place =
| spouse =
| party = SPD
| occupation =
| office = Leader of the Social Democratic Party
Acting
| predecessor = Andrea Nahles
| alongside = Malu Dreyer and Manuela Schwesig
| 1blankname = {{nowrap|General Secretary}}
| 1namedata = Lars Klingbeil
| successor = Saskia Esken and Norbert Walter-Borjans
| term_start = 3 June 2019
| term_end = 1 October 2019
| office1 = Leader of the Social Democratic Party in Hesse
| term_start1 = 28 February 2009
| term_end1 = 1 October 2019
| predecessor1 = Andrea Ypsilanti
| successor1 = Nancy Faeser
| office2 = Deputy Leader of the Social Democratic Party
| leader2 = Sigmar Gabriel
Martin Schulz
Andrea Nahles
| alongside2 = Ralf Stegner, Manuela Schwesig, Malu Dreyer, Natascha Kohnen and Olaf Scholz
| term_start2 = 14 November 2009
| term_end2 = 1 October 2019
| predecessor2 = Andrea Nahles
| successor2 = Kevin Kühnert
| office3 = Member of the Hessian Landtag
| term_start3 = 5 April 2003
| term_end3 = 1 October 2019
| caption = Schäfer-Gümbel in 2020
}}
Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel ({{né}} Schäfer; born 1 October 1969) is a former German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who has been serving as member of the management board of GIZ since 2019.
Schäfer-Gümbel notably was the leader of the opposition SPD party bloc in the Hessian state parliament. He lost his bid for the office of Minister-President of Hesse in the January 2009 Hessian state election, where he had challenged incumbent Roland Koch (CDU).{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=aM8jBvP9vGBY&refer=germany|title=Germany's Ypsilanti Drops Race, Schaefer-Guembel to Lead Bid|publisher=Reuters|date=8 November 2008|accessdate=5 December 2008}}
Schäfer-Gümbel served as deputy leader of the SPD from December 2013. He was one of three ad interim successors of former SPD leader Andrea Nahles in the transition phase.{{Cite news|url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/spd-schaefer-guembel-schwesig-dreyer-sollen-partei-kommissarisch-fuehren-a-1270518.html|title=SPD: Schäfer-Gümbel, Schwesig, Dreyer sollen Partei kommissarisch führen - DER SPIEGEL - Politik|first=|last=|date=3 June 2019 |newspaper=Der Spiegel}}
Early life and education
{{BLP unreferenced section|date=December 2021}}
Schäfer-Gümbel was born to a West German soldier stationed in southern Bavaria, in Oberstdorf. However, he grew up in Gießen (Hesse). He briefly studied Agrarian Science at Justus-Liebig-University Gießen, after which he changed to Political Science. Supported by a scholarship of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, he graduated with a Master's degree in 1997, he took various minor political positions.
Career
Schäfer-Gümbel was involved with the Social and Youth department of Gießen from the late 1990s. He became a local adviser to the SPD, a party which he had joined at the age of 17, and was also a local delegate of the SPD in the local government (Kreistag) in Gießen. He quickly moved up the ranks in the Hessian SPD party machine, and was a candidate on the SPD party list during the 2003 Landtag election. He gained a seat in 2003, and has been a member of the Hessian Landtag ever since. He was re-elected in the 2008 Landtag election and in the 2009 special election; however he was elected as part of the party list and not on a direct mandate, as he lost his local race to the CDU candidate.
In late 2008, following a political crisis and Andrea Ypsilanti's resignation, Schäfer-Gümbel became the SPD's party leader in Hesse and the SPD candidate for minister-president of Hesse. However, the SPD fared poorly in the subsequent 2009 special election, which allowed the CDU's Roland Koch to remain in office. Schäfer-Gümbel was the party leader of the opposition SPD from 29 January 2009.
Schäfer-Gümbel was a delegate to the Federal Convention for the purpose of electing the President of Germany in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2017. He co-chaired the SPD’s national conventions in Berlin (2011)[https://www.spd.de/fileadmin/Dokumente/Beschluesse/Bundesparteitag/2011_bpt_berlin_protokoll.pdf Protokoll des ordentlichen Bundesparteitages 2011, Berlin] Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Hanover (2012)[https://www.spd.de/fileadmin/Dokumente/Beschluesse/Bundesparteitag/2012_bpt_hannover_protokoll.pdf Protokoll des außerordentlichen Bundesparteitages der SPD, 9. Dezember 2012] Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). and Augsburg (2013).[https://www.spd.de/fileadmin/Dokumente/Beschluesse/Bundesparteitag/2013_bpt_augsburg_protokoll.pdf Protokoll des außerordentlichen Bundesparteitages 2013, Augsburg] Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).
In the negotiations to form a Grand Coalition of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU together with the Bavarian CSU) and the SPD following the 2013 federal elections, Schäfer-Gümbel was part of the SPD delegation in the working group on energy policy, led by Peter Altmaier and Hannelore Kraft.[https://www3.spd.de/110884/20131023_arbeitsgruppen_ausfuehrlich.html Die SPD in den Arbeitsgruppen] Social Democratic Party of Germany, press release of 23 October 2013.
In March 2019, Schäfer-Gümbel announced that he would resign from active politics by the end of the year and instead join the management board of German development agency GIZ.Susanne Höll (19 March 2019), [https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/schaefer-guembel-spd-1.4373812 SPD-Vize Schäfer-Gümbel verlässt die Politik] Süddeutsche Zeitung. He had been appointed for the job by Andrea Nahles[https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2019-03/thorsten-schaefer-guembel-spd-abschied-politik/seite-2 ""Wenn ich eines nicht ausstehen kann, dann ist es Hochmut""] Zeit.de, 28 März 2019 and kept it until his promotion to GIZ Speaker of the Board in 2022.[https://www.zeit.de/news/2022-09/14/schaefer-guembel-wird-neuer-giz-chef "Schäfer-Gümbel wird neuer GIZ-Chef"] Zeit.de, 14 September 2022
Personal life
Schäfer-Gümbel is married and has three children.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}
Other activities
=Corporate boards=
- Helaba, Member of the Supervisory Board (since 2009)
- SV SparkassenVersicherung, Member of the Advisory Board (since 2015)
=Non-profit organizations=
- Business Forum of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Member of the Political Advisory Board (since 2018)[https://www.spd-wirtschaftsforum.de/presse/bernd-westphal-wird-neuer-beirats-vorsitzender-beim-wirtschaftsforum-der-spd/ Bernd Westphal wird neuer Beirats-Vorsitzender beim Wirtschaftsforum der SPD] Business Forum of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, press release of 7 June 2018.
- Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES), Member[https://www.fes.de/stiftung/organigramm-gremien/mitgliederversammlung/ Members] Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES).
- Friends of the University of Giessen, Member of the Governing Board[http://www.giessener-hochschulgesellschaft.de/Organe.html Organization] Friends of the University of Giessen.
- Skyliners Frankfurt, Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2015)
- Rheingau Musik Festival, Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2012)
- Neue Gesellschaft/Frankfurter Hefte, Member of the Advisory Board (since 2011)
- Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau, Member of the Synod (since 2010)
- Hessischer Rundfunk, Member of the Broadcasting Council
- German United Services Trade Union (ver.di), Member
- Avicenna Award, Member of the Advisory Board (2006-2009)
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel}}
- {{in lang|de}} [http://www.schaefer-guembel.de Candidacy website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070427173843/http://www.schaefer-guembel.de/ |date=27 April 2007 }}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schafer-Gumbel, Thorsten}}
Category:People from Oberstdorf
Category:Converts to Lutheranism from Roman Catholicism