View source for Georg Milbradt

{{short description|German politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox Minister
| image       = Milbrad Dresden Hbf.jpg
| caption     = Milbradt in 2006
| name        = Georg Milbradt
| honorific-suffix       = 
| office      = [[List of ministers-president of Saxony|Minister-President of Saxony]]
| president   = [[Johannes Rau]]<br/>[[Horst Köhler]]
| chancellor  = [[Gerhard Schröder]]<br/>[[Angela Merkel]]
| term_start  = 18 April 2002
| term_end    = 27 May 2008
| predecessor = [[Kurt Biedenkopf]]
| successor   = [[Stanislaw Tillich]]
| birth_date  = {{Birth date and age|1945|2|23|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Eslohe]], [[North Rhine-Westphalia]], Germany
| death_date  =
| death_place =
| alma_mater  = [[University of Münster]]
| profession  = 
| party       = [[Christian Democratic Union of Germany|Christian Democratic Union]]
| website     = 
}}
'''Georg Milbradt''' (born 23 February 1945) is a German politician of the [[Christian Democratic Union of Germany|Christian Democratic Union]] (CDU) who served as [[List of ministers-president of Saxony|Minister-President of Saxony]] from 2002 to 2008.

==Early life==
Milbradt was born in [[Eslohe]]. His family originally was from [[Wągrowiec]] (''Wongrowitz'') near [[Poznań]] (''Posen'') but ended up in [[Dortmund]] after [[World War II]], and he passed his [[Abitur]] there in 1964. 

From 1964 to 1968, Milbradt studied economics, law, and mathematics at the [[University of Münster]]. He graduated with a degree in economics in 1968. From 1970 to 1980, he was a scientific assistant at the Institute for finance at the University of Münster, where he obtained his doctoral degree (Dr. rer. pol., summa cum laude) in 1973 and his [[habilitation]] in 1980. From 1980 to 1983, Milbradt worked as a substitute professor of finance and political economics at the [[University of Mainz]]; since 1985, he has held the title of an (unsalaried) professor at the economics faculty in Münster.

==Political career==
===Career in state politics===
Milbradt has been a member of the CDU since 1973. He was head of the finance department of the city of [[Münster]] from 1983 to 1990. 

Milbradt served as Minister of Finance of Saxony from 1990 to January 2001 but was dismissed from office by Minister-President [[Kurt Biedenkopf]] because Milbradt had started a debate about Biedenkopf's succession. Milbradt served as a member of the state board of the CDU from 1991 and became deputy chairman of the state CDU in 1999 and chairman in 2001. From 1994 until [[2009 Saxony state election|2009]], he was a member of the [[Landtag of the Free State of Saxony|State Parliament of Saxony]].

===Minister-President of Saxony, 2002–2009===
On 18 April 2002, Milbradt was elected as [[List of ministers-president of Saxony|Minister-President of Saxony]], despite Biedenkopf's explicit opposition. Milbradt first governed with an absolute CDU majority, but in a coalition with the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|SPD]] after the [[2004 Saxony state election|2004 elections]], in which the [[CDU/CSU|CDU]] lost a large number of votes.<ref>Judy Dempsey (20 September 2004)[https://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/20/news/but-schrders-party-stems-its-losses-extremists-gain-in-eastern-germany.html But Schröder's party stems its losses: Extremists gain in Eastern Germany] ''[[New York Times]]''.</ref>

During Milbradt's second term, the state government secured a sizable investment by American chipmaker [[AMD]] into expanding production of 300-millimeter [[Wafer (electronics)|wafers]] in Dresden; AMD received an undisclosed volume of subsidies from the government.<ref>Kevin J. O’Brien (30 May 2006), [https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/30/technology/30chip.html Chip Producer to Expand Dresden Plant] ''[[New York Times]]''.</ref>

In August 2007, just before the [[2008 financial crisis]], Milbradt announced that the state government would sell its 51% share in SachsenLB – which found itself overwhelmed by [[Subprime lending]]-linked losses incurred by off-balance-sheet subsidiaries – to the larger [[Landesbank Baden-Württemberg]] (LBBW).<ref>Nicola Clark (26 August 2007), [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/business/worldbusiness/26iht-Bank.5.7262067.html] ''[[International Herald Tribune]]''.</ref>

In April 2008 Milbradt announced that he would resign from the office by the end of May and that [[Stanislaw Tillich]] would succeed him. He had been under pressure for months because of his involvement in the liquidity crisis of Sachsen LB. Milbradt had also been criticized for private loans from the bank during his time as Minister of Finance in Saxony; in April 2008, the state government confirmed that Milbradt and his wife had borrowed a total of around €172,000 ($272,000) between 1996 and 1999 to help purchase around €360,000 in investment fund products from a subsidiary of the bank.<ref>[http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/political-fallout-banking-crisis-topples-governor-of-saxony-a-547267.html Political Fallout: Banking Crisis Topples Governor of Saxony] ''[[Spiegel Online]]'', 14 April 2008.</ref>

==Life after politics==
In 2010, Milbradt and former Mayor of [[Hannover]] Herbert Schmalstieg served as arbitrators to mediate in a [[Collective bargaining|wage dispute]] between the [[ver.di|German United Services Trade Union]] (ver.di) and the country's public sector employers.<ref>Alfons Frese (26 February 2010), [https://www.tagesspiegel.de/wirtschaft/schlichtung-tarifkonflikt-westfaelischer-frieden/1690926.html Tarifkonflikt: Westfälischer Frieden] ''[[Tagesspiegel]]''.</ref> He later successfully mediated in a similar conflict between train operator [[Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn|ODEG]] and the [[Gewerkschaft Deutscher Lokomotivführer|German Train Drivers' Union]] (GDL) in 2011.<ref>[https://www.morgenpost.de/berlin-aktuell/article105288981/Schlichtung-im-Tarifkonflikt-bei-Odeg-erfolgreich.html Schlichtung im Tarifkonflikt bei Odeg erfolgreich] ''[[Berliner Morgenpost]]'', 20 November 2011.</ref> In 2015, the Association of Local Government Employers (VKA) appointed Milbradt as its negotiator in a dispute with employees of day nurseries in Germany; again, Schmalstieg served as his counterpart in the talks.<ref>Udo Harms (23 June 2015), [https://www.haz.de/Nachrichten/Meinung/Uebersicht/Kein-Grund-zum-Jubeln-fuer-Verdi Kein Grund zum Jubeln für Verdi] ''[[Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung]]''.</ref> In 2023, he was again appointed as one of two mediators in a protracted wage dispute between Germany's public sector employers and a group of trade unions.<ref>Dietrich Kreutzburg (2 April 2023), [https://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/sparsamer-schlichter-18795703.html Georg Milbradt: Sparsamer Schlichter] ''[[Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung]]''.</ref>

As a delegate of the [[Catholic Church in Germany]], Milbradt was one of the members of the country's temporary National Commission on the Disposal of Radioactive Waste from 2014 and 2016.<ref>[https://www.bundestag.de/blob/434430/bb37b21b8e1e7e049ace5db6b2f949b2/drs_268-data.pdf Abschlussbericht der Kommission Lagerung hoch radioaktiver Abfallstoffe]</ref> From 2015 until 2016, he served on a government-appointed commission tasked with recommending how to safeguard the funding of fulfilling Germany's [[Energy transition|exit from nuclear energy]], under the leadership of co-chairs [[Ole von Beust]], [[Matthias Platzeck]] and [[Jürgen Trittin]].<ref>Birgit Marschall (15 October 2015), [https://rp-online.de/wirtschaft/trittin-platzeck-und-beust-leiten-atom-kommission_aid-19852641 Trittin, Platzeck und Beust leiten Atom-Kommission] ''[[Rheinische Post]]''.</ref><ref>John O'Donnell and Christoph Steitz (29 November 2015), [https://www.reuters.com/article/germany-nuclear-decomissioning-idUSL8N13O0H620151129#ZjssTxwTcEe4wTMM.97 Minister signals German trust could handle nuclear waste storage] ''[[Reuters]]''.</ref> He was a CDU delegate to the [[Federal Convention (Germany)|Federal Convention]] for the purpose of electing the [[President of Germany]] in [[2017 German presidential election|2017]]<ref>[http://www.landtag.sachsen.de/de/service/presse/16234.cshtml Sächsischer Landtag hat 34 Mitglieder der 16. Bundesversammlung gewählt] [[Landtag of the Free State of Saxony]], press release of 13 December 2016.</ref> and [[2022 German presidential election|2022]].<ref>[https://www.bundestag.de/resource/blob/878348/b21e5621b2f3de04e328535bd589e151/mitglieder_bv_2022-data.pdf 17th Federal Convention, 13 February 2022, List of Members] [[Bundestag]].</ref>

Since 2017, Milbradt has been serving as the German government's special envoy for the Ukrainian reform agenda;<ref>Christian F. Trippe (19 August 2017), [http://www.dw.com/en/special-envoy-georg-milbradt-ukraine-has-achieved-major-success/a-40154634 Special Envoy Georg Milbradt: Ukraine has achieved major success] [[Deutsche Welle]].</ref> his mandate was extended in 2022.<ref>[https://www.bmz.de/de/aktuelles/aktuelle-meldungen/ukraine-milbradt-sonderbeauftragter-verwaltungsmodernisierung-112880 Bundesregierung verlängert Berufung von Georg Milbradt als Sonderbeauftragter für Verwaltungsmodernisierung in der Ukraine] [[Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development]] (BMZ), press release of 8 June 2022.</ref>

==Other activities==
* [[HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management|HHL Foundation]], Chairman of the Board<ref>[https://www.hhl.de/en/about/hhl-foundation/#3 About Us] [[HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management|HHL Foundation]].</ref>
* [[Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems]], Member of the Board of Trustees
* Forum of Federations, Member of the Board (2010-2013), Chairman of the Board (from 2013)
* [[Deutsche Bank]], Member of the Advisory Board (2004-2006)<ref>[https://geschaeftsbericht.deutsche-bank.de/2004/gb/serviceseiten/downloads/files/verzeichnis_beiratsmitglieder_db_gb04.pdf Members of the Advisory Board, 2004] [[Deutsche Bank]].</ref><ref>[https://annualreport.deutsche-bank.com/2006/ar/servicepages/downloads/files/dbfy2006_advisory_council_members.pdf Members of the Advisory Board, 2006] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304074840/https://annualreport.deutsche-bank.com/2006/ar/servicepages/downloads/files/dbfy2006_advisory_council_members.pdf |date=4 March 2016 }} [[Deutsche Bank]].</ref>

Milbradt oversees the [[Schüler Helfen Leben]] initiative.

==Recognition==
* 2009 – [[Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany|Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]]
* 2004 – [[Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria|Grand Decoration of Honour in Silver with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria]]
* 2002 – [[Order of Merit of the Free State of Saxony]]

==Personal life==
Milbradt has been married to Angelika Meeth-Milbradt, a professor of economics, since 1975. They have two children.

==Works==

* ''Die demographische Herausforderung. Sachsens Zukunft gestalten'',  by Georg Milbradt and Johannes Meier, Bertelsmann Stiftung, 2004, {{ISBN|3-89204-793-6}} 
* ''Kraft der Visionen'', by Georg Milbradt and Thomas Rietzschel, Kiepenheuer, 2003, {{ISBN|3-378-01065-7}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

* Mühlbradt, Max: ''Das Geschlecht Milbradt (Milbrandt, Mildebrath, Milbrath, Milbrod, Mühlbrecht, Mühlbradt). Nachfahrentafeln''. Landsberg an der Warthe: Selbstverlag des Verfassers 1934.
* Ulrich Brümmer: ''Parteien und Wahlen in Sachsen'', Wiesbaden 2006, {{ISBN|3-531-14835-4}}

== External links ==
* {{DNB portal|123329930|TYP=}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060205012832/http://www.georg-milbradt.de/ Official homepage]

{{Ministers-President of Saxony}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milbradt, Georg}}
[[Category:1945 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Academic staff of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz]]
[[Category:Christian Democratic Union of Germany politicians]]
[[Category:Members of the Landtag of Saxony]]
[[Category:Politicians from Dortmund]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Free State of Saxony]]
[[Category:Minister-presidents of Saxony]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Münster]]