1. Peter Ramsauer was born on 10 February 1954 and is a German politician of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria who served as the Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Development in the Second Merkel cabinet.
22 Facts About Peter Ramsauer
1. 2.
Peter Ramsauer has qualified as a professional miller in accordance with the traditional occupation of his ancestry.
3.
Peter Ramsauer's wife Susanne, a home economics teacher, is a cousin of German-American actress Sandra Bullock.
4.
Peter Ramsauer joined the conservative Young Union youth organisation in 1972 and the CSU in 1973.
5.
Peter Ramsauer was elected Bavarian vice-chairman of the JU in 1983 and vice-chairman of the CSU in 2008.
6.
In 1978 Peter Ramsauer obtained a seat in the municipal diet of Traunreut and in 1984 became a member of the district assembly of Traunstein.
7.
Peter Ramsauer ran successfully in the 1990 federal election and has been a member of the Bundestag for Traunstein since then.
8.
On 28 October 2009 Peter Ramsauer was appointed Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Development at the behest of Chancellor Angela Merkel, succeeding Wolfgang Tiefensee.
9.
In February 2024, Peter Ramsauer announced that he would not stand in the 2025 federal elections but instead resign from active politics by the end of the parliamentary term.
10.
In 2010, in his capacity as transport minister, Peter Ramsauer rejected plans for an initial public offering of rail operator Deutsche Bahn, arguing that the company first needed to focus on improving quality, security, cleanliness, punctuality and reliability of its trains.
11.
In 2014, Peter Ramsauer publicly criticized France for announcing plans to buy a 20 percent stake in Alstom despite its heavy debts and budget deficit and accused the country's government of showing "ice-cold" national interests in choosing US firm General Electric over German Siemens for an alliance with Alstom.
12.
In October 2016, Peter Ramsauer accompanied Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Sigmar Gabriel to Tehran to attend the German-Iranian Joint Economic Commission's first meeting in 15 years.
13.
In 2007, Peter Ramsauer accompanied Minister President Edmund Stoiber of Bavaria to a meeting with President Vladimir Putin.
14.
Amid a 2014 debate over whether Germany needs to rethink its energy strategy and reduce its dependence on Russian gas imports due to the Russo-Ukrainian War, Peter Ramsauer spoke out in favour of considering importing shale gas from the United States, or alternative embracing "domestic resources".
15.
In June 2017, Peter Ramsauer voted against Germany's introduction of same-sex marriage.
16.
In 2016, Peter Ramsauer was accused of making a racist attack against a photojournalist during a meeting between Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and German Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel.
17.
The photographer stated that Peter Ramsauer attacked him saying, "Don't touch me you filthy Greek" first in German language and later in English.
18.
Peter Ramsauer denied the insult on several occasions but confirmed having received unpleasant physical contact with a photographer at the event.
19.
Peter Ramsauer had been the most prominent politician in Germany to come out in favour of Greece leaving the euro zone.
20.
Peter Ramsauer is a member of a conservative student fraternity based in Munich, Franco-Bavaria, which left its former association Deutsche Burschenschaft in 2013 to distance itself from right-wing extremism.
21.
Since June 2014, Peter Ramsauer has been the President of the Ghorfa Arab German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, an association that facilitates the commercial documents of businesses that want to export to Arab countries.
22.
Peter Ramsauer has been described as a "shepherd" of the German language, seeking to avoid English loanwords.