A lawyer by profession, Wolfgang Bosbach is one of the best known and most recognized Christian Democratic Union (CDU) politicians. Characteristic for him are his strong opinions, his backbone and ability to withstand opposition even from his own party.
After graduating high school, Wolfgang Bosbach (born 1952) trained as a commercial specialist and went on to work, among other jobs, as a supermarket manager. He studied business administration at the Rheinische Akademie in Cologne and, following this, graduated with the Abitur, the German baccalaureate equivalent. In 1991, he completed his law studies at the University of Cologne with the second state exam and subsequently joined a legal firm in Bergisch-Gladbach.
Wolfgang Bosbach Lecture topics
- Germany’s future in Europe
- Politics & Economy: Quo Vadis Germany
- The politics of the future
- The USA & China: Europe in a quandary
- Domestic and security policy: What are Germany’s challenges?
- Encounters. Experiences. Experiences. How politics should be and actually is.
Wolfgang Bosbach has been a member of the CDU since 1972 and sat on the Rheinisch-Bergisch District Council from 1975 to 1979.
He then spent 20 years on the Bergisch-Gladbach municipal council. Bosbach was directly elected a member of the German Bundestag for the first time in 1994, and has been re-elected five times since then. He can rely on a basis of political support from which he has never become alienated.
Between 2003 and 2005, he was the deputy chairman of the CDU state party in North Rhine-Westphalia, and from 2000 onwards the deputy leader of the CDU/CSU Bundestag parliamentary group for justice and internal affairs. From 2009 to 2015, Bosbach chaired the Bundestag Committee on Internal Affairs. His objective was always to reconcile the need for internal security in the community with individual civil rights.
Wolfgang Bosbach is a substitute member of the Legal Committee and the Committee for the Election of Judges. He is a member of various supervisory and advisory boards, including the ZDF Television Board and the transparency body “Menschen für Menschen”, the Karlheinz Böhm aid charity for Ethiopia and FC Cologne. Between 2000 and 2006, he was also a member of the board of trustees of the Foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility and Future”.
The CDU politician has been the recipient of numerous awards and honours, including the order of merit “Bul le Mérite” by the German Federal Police as well as the award for civil courage by the “Friends of Heinrich Heine” in Düsseldorf.
A brilliant speaker and analyst, Wolfgang Bosbach is a sought-after and welcome guest at political discussions. Outside the political arena, Wolfgang Bosbach captivates and inspires his audience with his ready wit and humour.