Norbert Roettgen

Norbert Röttgen is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union. He is considered as one of the most eloquent and highly appreciated personalities in German politics. Röttgen was Federal Minister for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety from 2009 until 2012.

Norbert Röttgen studied law at the University of Bonn and practiced as a lawyer in Cologne. In 2001, he obtained a doctorate in law from the University of Bonn.

Röttgen’s political career began in high school. In 1982, only as a student, he joined the CDU. From 1992 until 1996, he served as the chair of the “Junge Union”, the youth organization of the German Christian party (CDU) in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. He was elected to the Bundestag in 1994. From 2001 until 2009 he served as the legal policy spokesman and later as Chief Parliamentary Secretary of the Parliamentary group of CDU/CSU.

In 2009, his sharp mind and analytical thinking award him with his highest position in politics thus far, Angela Merkel appoints him Federal Minister for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety in the Second Cabinet. Since November 2010, he has been the deputy chair of the CDU in Germany, as well as the chair of the CDU in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

On May 16, 2012, Röttgen resigned his position as head of the CDU in North Rhine-Westphalia and was replaced by Peter Altmaier as the Federal Minister for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.

Without doubt, Norbert Röttgen lives up to his reputation as an excellent and articulate keynote speaker. His speech in front of the Bundestag, in October 2008, on the financial crisis was honored as the “best political speech of the year”.