10 Facts About Ruprecht Polenz

Ruprecht Polenz was born on 26 May 1946 and is a German politician and member of the Christian Democratic Union political party.

Ruprecht Polenz became senior member of the CDU party on 10 April 2000 under the leadership of the party's chairwoman Angela Merkel.

Ruprecht Polenz was the party's secretary-general from April to November 2000.

Ruprecht Polenz served as chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs between 2005 and 2013.

Ruprecht Polenz was a member of the German delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and a substitute member of the Committee on Cultural and Media Affairs.

Ruprecht Polenz has stated that he would consider the killings genocide.

Contrary to his own party, Ruprecht Polenz has been one of Germany's most outspoken proponents of an accession of Turkey to the European Union.

In 2011, Ruprecht Polenz was among the first to speak out publicly against the decision of Quadriga, a German nonprofit group, to honor Prime Minister Vladimir Putin of Russia; the group later canceled its annual prize ceremony following further public criticism of Putin's stance on democracy and human rights in Russia.

Ahead of the Christian Democrats' leadership election in 2018, Ruprecht Polenz publicly endorsed Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer to succeed Angela Merkel as the party's chair.

Ruprecht Polenz has repeatedly described the AfD as right-wing, right-wing extremist and fascist.