Guido Westerwelle

Guido Westerwelle
Westerwelle in 2013
Vice Chancellor of Germany
In office
28 October 2009 – 16 May 2011
ChancellorAngela Merkel
Preceded byFrank-Walter Steinmeier
Succeeded byPhilipp Rösler
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
28 October 2009 – 17 December 2013
ChancellorAngela Merkel
Preceded byFrank-Walter Steinmeier
Succeeded byFrank-Walter Steinmeier
Leader of the Free Democratic Party
In office
4 May 2001 – 13 May 2011
General
Secretary
Cornelia Pieper
Dirk Niebel
Christian Lindner
Preceded byWolfgang Gerhardt
Succeeded byPhilipp Rösler
Leader of the Opposition
In office
1 May 2006 – 22 October 2009
ChancellorAngela Merkel
Preceded byWolfgang Gerhardt
Succeeded byFrank-Walter Steinmeier
Leader of the Free Democratic Party in the Bundestag
In office
1 May 2006 – 22 October 2009
Preceded byWolfgang Gerhardt
Succeeded byBirgit Homburger
Member of the Bundestag
for North Rhine-Westphalia
In office
8 February 1996 – 22 October 2013
Preceded byHeinz Lanfermann
Succeeded bymulti-member district
ConstituencyFree Democratic Party List
Personal details
Born(1961-12-27)27 December 1961
Bad Honnef, West Germany (now Germany)
Died18 March 2016(2016-03-18) (aged 54)
Cologne, Germany
Cause of deathLeukemia
Political partyFree Democratic Party
Domestic partnerMichael Mronz (2003–2016)
Alma materUniversity of Bonn
University of Hagen

Guido Westerwelle (German: [ˈɡiːdo ˈvɛstɐˌvɛlə]; 27 December 1961 – 18 March 2016) was a German politician who served as foreign minister in the second cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel and Vice-Chancellor of Germany from 2009 to 2011, being the first openly gay person to hold any of these positions. He also led the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) from 2001 until he stepped down in 2011.[1] A lawyer by profession, he was a member of the Bundestag from 1996 to 2013.

  1. ^ "Westerwelle gibt den FDP-Vorsitz ab" Die Zeit (3 April 2011) (in German).