Sopron (H), 29 november 2001
Dr Christoph E Palmer (CDU), Minister for European Affairs at the State Ministry of Baden Württemberg (D) was elected Vice-President of the Assembly of European Regions and President of the Institutional Affairs Committee at recent elections at the AER General Assembly on 29th November 2001 in Sopron, Hungary.
Born in 1962, in Stuttgart, Mr Palmer has a Doctorate in Economic and Social Sciences. He was a lecturer at the University of Stuttgart and at the Institute of Higher Education in Villingen-Schwenningen. Since 1989 he has been deeply committed to Public Affairs. As a member of Stuttgart Municipal Council, he was nominated Secretary of State within the Ministry of Science, Research and Art in elections in 1996: some of his most notable acts whilst in this position were the creation of the Culture Commission for the Land, the launch of the extension of the Stuttgart Gallery and the installation of a wide-ranging programme in favour of reading called “Room for words”. In 1998 he was nominated Minister and Political Speaker for the Minister-President Erwin Teufel. At elections in 2001, he was re-elected to his position with additional responsibilities: he is now in charge of European Affairs and of Film and Media Promotion. Minister Palmer is also President of the CDU Party in Stuttgart since 1996.
At this General Assembly, the AER also elected Mr Klaus Klipp as Secretary General of the organisation for a five year mandate.
Mr Klipp was born in Kassel in Germany in 1952 and graduated in Law. He began his professional career in the Ministry of Finance of the Land of Hessen, in Wiesbaden (1985-1992), where he went from Deputy Head of Unit/Budget of the Ministries of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Social Affairs (1985-88) to Head of Unit/Budget of the Ministry of Environment (1988-90) to Head of Unit/Budget for the construction of public buildings. In 1992 he spent 6 months in Thüringen in former East Germany in order to participate in the creation of new administrative structures. In 1992 he was nominated as Chef de Cabinet of the Vice-Mayor/Financial Affairs for the city of Frankfurt-am-Main. He continued his career within the city’s audit service as Head of Department between 1993-97 and was promoted to the position of Director of the European Affairs Office in 1998, responsible for the development and management of the town’s European and International policies and activities, a post which he occupied until his election as AER Secretary General.
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