member of the Bundestag ( German parliament )
What was the position of Thomas Oppermann from 2005 to Nov 2007?
Thomas Oppermann Thomas Ludwig Albert Oppermann ( 27 April 195425 October 2020 ) was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party ( SPD ) . From October 2017 until his death he served as Vice President of the Bundestag . In his earlier career , he served as First Secretary ( 2007–2013 ) and later as chairman ( 2013–2017 ) of the SPD Parliamentary Group in the Bundestag . Oppermann belonged to the right wing of the SPD , known as Seeheimer Kreis . Life and career . Oppermann was born in Freckenhorst on 27 April 1954 . Oppermann received his abitur from the Goetheschule in Einbeck . Afterwards , he studied German studies and English studies at University of Tübingen . From 1976 to 1978 , he worked at Action Reconciliation Service for Peace ( ARSP ) in the United States . After his return to Germany , he went to law school at University of Göttingen , finishing in 1986 . From then until 1990 , Oppermann was an administrative court judge in Hanover and later in Braunschweig . From 1988 to 1989 , he was seconded to serve as chief legal affairs officer for the city of Hann . Münden . Oppermann had three daughters and one son . Political career . Role in regional politics . Oppermann has been a member of the ( SPD ) since 1980 and president of the regional SPD in Göttingen since 1989 . He was a member of the Lower Saxon Landtag from 1990 to 2005 . He was speaker for legal affairs there from 1990 to 1998 . Between 1998 and 2003 , Oppermann served as State Minister for Science and Culture in the cabinets of Minister-Presidents Gerhard Schröder , Gerhard Glogowski and Sigmar Gabriel . In 1999 , after Glogowskis resignation , Oppermann lost an internal party vote against Gabriel on becoming the next Minister-President . From 2003 to 2005 , Oppermann was the economic speaker of the state SPD parliamentary group . National politics . From the 2005 federal election until his death in 2020 , Oppermann served as a member of the Bundestag ( German parliament ) . Within his parliamentary group , he was part of the Seeheim Circle . From March 2006 to November 2007 , he was speaker of the working group and leader of the SPD delegation on the committee to investigate the secret services ( Geheimdienst-Untersuchungsausschuss ) . Oppermann was elected as the First Parliamentary Secretary of the SPD parliamentary group in November 2007 , succeeding Olaf Scholz ; he was subsequently re-elected in 2011 and 2013 . In this capacity , he also joined the parliaments Council of Elders , which – among other duties – determines daily legislative agenda items and assigning committee chairpersons based on party representation . He also became a member of the Parliamentary Oversight Panel ( PKGr ) , which provides parliamentary oversight of Germanys intelligence services BND , BfV and MAD . Between 2006 and 2013 , Oppermann was the Deputy Chairman of the German-Israeli Parliamentary Friendship Group . From 2009 , he served on the parliamentary body in charge of appointing judges to the Highest Courts of Justice , namely the Federal Court of Justice ( BGH ) , the Federal Administrative Court ( BVerwG ) , the Federal Fiscal Court ( BFH ) , the Federal Labour Court ( BAG ) , and the Federal Social Court ( BSG ) . Ahead of the 2009 elections , German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier included Oppermann , then relatively unknown face to the German public , in his shadow cabinet of 10 women and eight men for the Social Democrats’ campaign to unseat incumbent Angela Merkel as chancellor . During the campaign , Oppermann served as shadow minister for interior affairs and therefore as counterpart of incumbent Wolfgang Schäuble . Chairman of the SPD Parliamentary Group , 2013–2017 . In the negotiations to form a so-called Grand Coalition following the 2013 federal elections , Oppermann led the SPD delegation in the internal and legal affairs working group ; his co-chair was Hans-Peter Friedrich of the CSU . When Frank-Walter Steinmeier resigned as Chairman of the SPD Parliamentary Group to serve once again as foreign minister in Angela Merkels second Grand Coalition , Oppermann was elected as his successor on 16 December 2013 . Oppermann also served on the Committee on the Election of Judges ( Wahlausschuss ) , which is in charge of appointing judges to the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany . In late 2015 , the SPDs board under the leadership of Sigmar Gabriel mandated Oppermann and Manuela Schwesig with the task of drafting an electoral program for the 2017 federal elections . In the Social Democrats’ campaign to unseat incumbent Angela Merkel as chancellor , Oppermann focused on defence policy , thereby being a counterweight to incumbent Ursula von der Leyen . Vice-President of the German Bundestag , 2017–2020 . After the Social Democrats experienced their worst result in German post-war history , the new chairman Martin Schulz nominated Andrea Nahles to replace Oppermann as leader of the partys group in the German Parliament . He also served on the Committee on Foreign Affairs . From 2019 , he was a member of the German delegation to the Franco-German Parliamentary Assembly . In August 2020 , Oppermann announced that he would not stand in the 2021 federal elections but instead resign from active politics by the end of the parliamentary term . Political positions . In 2011 , Oppermann publicly spoke out in favor of holding a national referendum over fundamental principles of the European Union on the day of the 2013 parliamentary election . In 2013 , Oppermann criticized the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel as news emerged of its intentions to sell arms to Saudi Arabia , saying that the conservatives wanted to totally upgrade the countrys military capabilities . Faced with 800,000 migrants arriving in Germany in 2015 , Oppermann said his party would never accept a CSU proposal to create transit zones near the border , where asylum seekers with no chance of staying could be quickly sent back home . Other activities . Corporate boards . - EnBW , Member of the Advisory Board ( 2005–2006 ) Non-profits . - German Football Association ( DFB ) , Chairman of the Ethic Commission ( since 2019 ) - Hertie School of Governance , Member of the Board of Trustees - Friedrich Ebert Foundation ( FES ) , Member - Friends of the Center for Palliative Care of the University of Göttingen , Member of the Board of Trustees - Berlin Institute for Advanced Study , Member of the Board of Trustees ( until April 2015 ) - Göttingen International Handel Festival , Member of the Supervisory Board - Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry , Member of the Board of Trustees - Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization , Member of the Board of Trustees - Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research , Member of the Board of Trustees - Volkswagen Foundation , Member of the Board of Trustees - ZDF , Member of the Television Board - Das Progressive Zentrum , Member of the Circle of Friends - Fraunhofer Society , Member of the Senate ( 2006–2008 ) <ref Niedersachsen/Bremen 2006></ref> Controversy . When former member of parliament Sebastian Edathy in December 2014 appeared before a Bundestag inquiry into his purchase of child pornography , he was asked about whether a tip-off from party colleagues gave him time to destroy evidence ahead of a police raid on his home and office . Edathy said senior SPD members , particularly Oppermann , breached legal privilege by discussing the case with colleagues and staff . During a closed-door hearing of the Committee on Internal Affairs earlier that year , Oppermann had denied that he or any of his fellow high-ranking SPD officials indirectly or directly informed or even warned Sebastian Edathy of the investigation or our knowledge of it . Death . Oppermann collapsed while waiting for a TV appearance and was transported to a hospital in Göttingen , where he died on 25 October 2020 , at the age of 66 . External links . - Retrieved 12 March 2010