Torsten Albig

Torsten Albig (born 25 May 1963) is a German politician from the Social Democratic Party of Germany. From 2012 until 2017 he served as the 13th Minister President of Schleswig-Holstein.

Torsten Albig
Minister President of Schleswig-Holstein
In office
12 June 2012 – 28 June 2017
Preceded byPeter Harry Carstensen
Succeeded byDaniel Günther
Lord Mayor of Kiel
In office
11 June 2009 – 6 May 2012
Preceded byAngelika Volquartz
Succeeded byPeter Todeskino (acting)
Personal details
Born (1963-05-25) 25 May 1963
Bremen, West Germany
Nationality Germany
Political partySocial Democratic Party (SPD) (1982-)
ProfessionCivil servant

Early life and education

Albig grew up in Ostholstein and Bielefeld. After graduating from high school in 1982, he first studied history and social sciences at the University of Bielefeld but later changed to law.

Political career

Lord Mayor of Kiel, 2009-2012

From 2009 to 2012 Albig was the Lord Mayor of Kiel, the state capital of Schleswig-Holstein.

Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein, 2012-2017

Torsten Albig was appointed candidate for Minister-President, representing his party, the SPD, in 2011 after a member's decision. At the election in 2012, SPD achieved 30.4% of the votes, not enough to beat the ruling CDU that got 30.8% of the popular vote. SPD and CDU achieved 22 seats each, and the election result made it possible for Albig to form a coalition government with the participation of the Green Party and the SSW, which is a regional party representing the Danish and Frisian minorities. The three parties have a narrow majority in the Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein with 35 of 69 seats. At the appointment in parliament though, he got 37 of 69 possible votes. The new-formed government of Schleswig-Holstein consisting of SPD, The Green Party and the SSW has never been seen before in German history.[1]

Albig succeeded Peter Harry Carstensen in the position as Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein. He served as an SPD delegate to the Federal Convention for the purpose of electing the President of Germany in 2012[2] and 2017.

In the negotiations to form a Grand Coalition of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU together with the Bavarian CSU) and the SPD following the 2013 federal elections, Albig was part of the SPD delegation in the working group on transport, building and infrastructure, led by Peter Ramsauer and Florian Pronold.

In 2015, Albig – alongside First Mayor of Hamburg Olaf Scholz – negotiated a restructuring deal with the European Commission that allowed the German regional lender HSH Nordbank to offload 6.2 billion euros in troubled assets – mainly non-performing ship loans – onto its government majority owners and avoid being shut down, saving around 2,500 jobs.[3]

Life after politics

Since 2018, Albig has been serving as Vice President Corporate Representation of Deutsche Post in Brussels.[4]

Other activities

Personal life

Albig is married and has two children.[6]

References
  1. "Dänen-Ampel steht – Albig regiert in Kiel". Die Welt (in German). 12 June 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  2. Ordentliche Mitglieder der 15. Bundesversammlung Bundestag.
  3. Arno Schuetze and Foo Yun Chee (May 27, 2015), HSH Nordbank strikes rescue deal with EU Reuters.
  4. Ulrich Exner (December 6, 2007), Warum für Albig sein eigenes Gesetz nicht gilt Die Welt.
  5. Board of Trustees Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival.
  6. "Kabinett - SPD Schleswig-Holstein". SPD-Landesverband Schleswig-Holstein (in German). 6 June 2012. Archived from the original on 17 June 2012. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
Preceded by
Peter Harry Carstensen		 Minister President of Schleswig-Holstein
12 June 2012 – 28 June 2017		 Succeeded by
Daniel Günther
Preceded by
Angelika Volquartz		 Mayor of Kiel
11 June 2009 – 6 May 2012		 Succeeded by
Peter Todeskino
Acting
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