Cem Özdemir

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Person.png Cem Özdemir  Rdf-entity.pngRdf-icon.png
(politician)
16-09-02-Cem Özdemir-RalfR-RR2 4940.jpg
Born21 December 1965
NationalityGerman
SpousePía María Castro
Member ofAmerican Council on Germany/Young Leaders/2001, Atlantic Initiative, Atlantik-Brücke, European Council on Foreign Relations, German Marshall Fund, Transatlantic Institute/Friends of Israel, WEF/Global Leaders for Tomorrow/2002

Employment.png Leader of Alliance 90/The Greens

In office
15 November 2008 - 27 January 2018
Succeeded byAnnalena Baerbock

Employment.png Member of the Bundestag Wikipedia-icon.png

In office
22 October 2013 - Present
Preceded byGuido Westerwelle

Cem Özdemir is a German politician of the German political party Alliance 90/The Greens. He is of part of the carefully nurtured party fraction that brought The Greens from a pacifist party to a strongly militaristic ('olive green') stance, pointing correctly out that "we Greens have lost our fear of departments that deal with security issues."[1].

He has spoken in support of the wars, 'humanitarian interventions', in Kosovo, the 20-year occupation of Afghanistan, Libya 2011 and for a military campaign in Syria. The party's image as peace-loving is immensely useful to create an altruistic image for modern wars, and Özdemir is one of the top candidates for Defence Minister in a future German government. He has mused on the "exciting question" of whether it is "actually a law of nature that conservatives always end up at the top of the defense ministry." and with false modesty "there is nothing that speaks against a female green defense minister."[1]

In September 2004, Cem Özdemir was among the signatories of an open letter to the heads of state and government of NATO and the EU against the policies of the Russian president Putin, published by the neo-conservative American think tank Project for the New American Century (PNAC).[2]

Five-day internship at the Bundeswehr

In 2019, he completed a five-day internship at the Bundeswehr, where he was appointed First Lieutenant, cited the oath and had to stand to attention. The Bundeswehr wrote in a report about the course that it wanted to win the participants as "multipliers", to further the cause of the army. Özdemir said "as a parliamentarian, I decide on mandates for military operations. It's about existential issues, life and death. That is a huge responsibility. So I thought it was good to get a deeper insight into the work of the troop myself."[1]

He is for building a pan-European army and an EU military-industrial complex, saying "it would be more effective than this abstract goal if each army did not cook its own soup in terms of equipment. Defense policy should not be industrial policy. How about a tank that is standardized across Europe, for example?", and more than implying that this combined army will be used in wars abroad: "we will live in a world where Americans no longer feel responsible for anything. Even the question of what is happening in North Africa, whether countries are destabilizing there, whether Islamists are settling down or autocrats rule, will interest only a few in the USA. But we must be interested."[1]

Other activities

In 2002, Özdemir took out a credit with Moritz Hunzinger, a German PR consultant and lobbyist, in order to overcome personal financial issues. This affair was also associated with Rudolf Scharping, former German Minister of Defence (1998 – 2002). Subsequently, Özdemir resigned as spokesman for domestic affairs and as a member of the Bundestag.[3][4]


 

Events Participated in

EventStartEndLocation(s)Description
Brussels Forum/2009Belgium
Brussels
Yearly discreet get-together of huge amount of transatlantic politicians, media and military and corporations, under the auspices of the CIA and NATO-close German Marshall Fund.
Brussels Forum/2010Belgium
Brussels
Yearly discreet get-together of huge amount of transatlantic politicians, media and military and corporations, under the auspices of the CIA and NATO-close German Marshall Fund.
Brussels Forum/20188 March 201810 March 2018Belgium
Brussels
Annual 3 day spooky get-together of transatlantic politicians, media and military and corporations, under the auspices of the CIA and German Marshall Fund. Discussed the "Fight for Economic Equality".
Munich Security Conference/20105 February 20107 February 2010Germany
Munich
Bavaria
An anti-war demonstration outside described it as "Nothing more than a media-effectively staged war propaganda event, which this year had the purpose of justifying the NATO troop increase in Afghanistan and glorifying the continuation of the war as a contribution to peace and stability."
Munich Security Conference/20156 February 20158 February 2015Germany
Munich
Bavaria
"400 high-ranking decision-makers in international politics, including some 20 heads of state and government as well as more than 60 foreign and defence ministers, met in Munich to discuss current crises and conflicts."
Munich Security Conference/201812 February 201814 February 2018Germany
Munich
Bavaria
The 54th Munich Security Conference
Munich Security Conference/201915 February 201917 February 2019Germany
Munich
Bavaria
The 55th Munich Security Conference, which included "A Spreading Plague" aimed at "identifying gaps and making recommendations to improve the global system for responding to deliberate, high consequence biological events."
Munich Security Conference/202218 February 202220 February 2022Germany
Munich
Bavaria
WEF/Annual Meeting/201323 January 201327 January 2013World Economic Forum
Switzerland
2500 mostly unelected leaders met to discuss "leading through adversity"
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References