Lorenz Caffier

Lorenz Caffier (24 December 1954 in Weixdorf, Saxony) is a former chairman of the Christian Democratic Union in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

Lorenz Caffier
Caffier on 30 November 2018
Deputy Minister President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
In office
15 October 2011 – 17 November 2020
Minister PresidentErwin Sellering
Manuela Schwesig
Preceded byJürgen Seidel
Minister of the Interior and Europe of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
In office
1 November 2016 – 17 November 2020
Minister PresidentErwin Sellering
Manuela Schwesig
Preceded byHimself (Interior and Sport)
Leader of the Christian Democratic Union in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
In office
12 November 2009 – 8 April 2017
General SecretaryVincent Kokert
Preceded byJürgen Seidel
Succeeded byVincent Kokert
Minister of the Interior and Sport of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
In office
15 October 2011 – 1 November 2016
Minister PresidentErwin Sellering
Preceded byHimself (Interior)
Succeeded byHimself (Interior and Europe)
Minister of the Interior of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
In office
7 November 2006 – 25 October 2011
Minister PresidentHarald Ringstorff
Erwin Sellering
Preceded byGottfried Timm
Succeeded byHimself (Interior and Sport)elf
Member of the Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Assumed office
26 October 1990
ConstituencyState-Wide Party List
Member of the People's Chamber of East Germany
In office
1990–1990
Succeeded byNone
Personal details
Born (1954-12-24) 24 December 1954
Weixdorf, Bezirk Dresden, East Germany
NationalityGerman
Political partyChristian Democratic Union

Political career

Caffier has been serving since 2006 as State Minister of the Interior and since 2011 as Deputy Minister-President of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the governments of Minister-Presidents Harald Ringstorff (2006-2008) and Erwin Sellering (since 2008).[1] As one of the state’s representatives at the Bundesrat, he has been the chairman of the Defence Committee since 2006. In addition, he has been leading the Bundesrat delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly since 2010. He is also a member of the German-Russian Friendship Group set up by the Bundesrat and the Russian Federation Council.

In the negotiations to form a Grand Coalition of the Christian Democrats (CDU together with the Bavarian CSU) and the Social Democrats (SPD) following the 2013 federal elections, Caffier was part of the CDU/CSU delegation in the working group on internal and legal affairs, led by Hans-Peter Friedrich and Thomas Oppermann. In similar negotiations to form a coalition government following the 2017 federal elections, he was again part of the working group on internal and legal affairs, this time led by Thomas de Maizière, Stephan Mayer and Heiko Maas.

Caffier was a CDU delegate to the Federal Convention for the purpose of electing the President of Germany in 2017.

In September 2020, Caffier announced that he would not stand in the 2021 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election but instead resign from active politics by the end of the legislative term.[2]

On 17 November 2020 he resigned from his office as Minister of the Interior.

Other activities
  • 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, Member of the Board of Trustees[3]
  • German Forum for Crime Prevention (DFK), Member of the Board of Trustees[4]
  • Achterkerke Stiftung für Kinder, Member of the Board of Trustees

Political positions

In 2012, Caffier caused controversy when he proposed that football fans might have to pass through "face scanners" at stadiums, comparing visitors' biometric data to a database of known football rioters.[5]

In 2014, Caffier joined other German interior ministers in launching a suit to ban the National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD).[6]

In an effort to respond to growing security fears among the public during the European migrant crisis in 2016, Caffier called for a partial ban on the burqa and niqab garments, arguing that the full body veil is a barrier to integration, encourages parallel societies and suggests women are inferior.[7]

Personal life

Caffier was born on 24 December 1954 in Weixdorf (now a part of Dresden), Saxony and is the third son of a pastor and his wife.[8] Caffier lives in Neustrelitz with his wife.[8]

Sources
  1. http://www.regierung-mv.de/cms2/Regierungsportal_prod/Regierungsportal/de/im/Der_Minister/index.jsp
  2. MV: Innenminister Caffier kandidiert 2021 nicht für Landtag RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland, September 23, 2020.
  3. WM-Kuratorium unter Vorsitz von Dr. Thomas Bach FIFA, press release of 30 September 2008.
  4. Board of Trustees German Forum for Crime Prevention (DFK).
  5. Alice Baghdjian (February 3, 2012), German soccer fans angered by face-scan plan Reuters.
  6. Renuka Rayasam (February 18, 2016), Could Germany’s attempt to ban neo-Nazis backfire? Reuters.
  7. Caroline Copley and Michelle Martin (August 19, 2016), German conservatives call for partial ban on face veil Reuters.
  8. "über mich:". lorenz-caffier.de. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
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