Hans Eichel
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Hans Eichel (born December 24, 1941) is a German politician (SPD), currently serving as federal Minister of Finance.
Background
He was brought up in Kassel where he did his Abitur in 1961. He then completed a degree in German, philosophy, political science, history and education at the universities of Marburg and Berlin, graduating in 1970. After that, he worked as a teacher in a Kassel Gymnasium.
Political career
From 1975 till 1991, he was the mayor of Kassel, initially gaining the office at the age of only 33. From 1991 to 1999, he was Prime Minister (Ministerpräsident) of Hesse. In 1999, he replaced Oskar Lafontaine as German finance minister after Lafontaine's resignation. He is a member of the Bundestag since 2002, gaining a seat via the SPD party list, and continues as finance minister.
At the beginning of his term of office, he tried to decrease the German federal deficit, but due to constraints by the cabinet and by the bad economic situation, he had to abandon these plans. Efforts at reform continue (Hartz plans, after the professor commissioned to design them) but remain controversial.
External link
- German Federal Ministry of Finance (English site) (http://eng.bundesfinanzministerium.de/)de:Hans Eichel