1. Thilo Sarrazin was born on 12 February 1945 and is a German politician and former member of the SPD, writer, senator of finance for the State of Berlin from January 2002 until April 2009, former member of the Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank until 2010.
Thilo Sarrazin became well known after publishing a controversial book about Muslim immigrants in Germany in 2010.
Thilo Sarrazin's father was a doctor and his mother was the daughter of a West Prussian landowner.
Thilo Sarrazin has referred to himself as "a European mongrel".
Thilo Sarrazin grew up in Recklinghausen where he graduated from the local gymnasium after which he did his military service.
In 1975 Sarrazin began working in the Federal Ministry of Finance.
Thilo Sarrazin is considered a key developer of the people's share model of the German railway, which provides for the issue of non-voting preferred stock to limit the influence of private investors.
Thilo Sarrazin is regarded as an explicit supporter of orienting the Deutsche Bahn on the principles of efficiency under a cost-effectiveness analysis.
Thilo Sarrazin drew his salary for a transitional period during which the details of the separation procedures were regulated.
Thilo Sarrazin sued, but the case was dismissed by the Federal Court.
Thilo Sarrazin was appointed Finance Senator to the Senate of Berlin in January 2002.
Thilo Sarrazin adhered to financial policy based on strict savings and a single-entry bookkeeping system for the management of local authorities.
Thilo Sarrazin dismissed the accusations on the grounds that he saw no financial loss for the city.
Whether Thilo Sarrazin should keep his job at the Bundesbank or be dismissed was to be reviewed by then Federal President Christian Wulff.
However, on September 9,2010, Thilo Sarrazin asked the President to relieve him of his duties as a board member.
An arbitration committee, meeting in Berlin on 21 April 2011, decided that Thilo Sarrazin could remain a member of the party.
The formal accusation that he had damaged the party with his theories could not be upheld, in particular because Thilo Sarrazin read a statement in which he said he had never intended to depart from social democratic values and that he had never intended to suggest that social-Darwinist theories should be implemented in political practice.
Thilo Sarrazin is married to Ursula Thilo Sarrazin and has two sons.
In 2010, Thilo Sarrazin's book came under criticism for claiming that Germany's immigrant Muslim population is reluctant to integrate and tends to rely more on social services than to be productive.
Thilo Sarrazin proposed stringent reforms for the welfare system to rectify the problems.
In 2018, Thilo Sarrazin's statements were criticized by the chairman of the Interior Committee of the German Bundestag, Sebastian Edathy, the United Services trade union and the political scientist Gerd Wiegel.
The Central Council of Jews in Germany strongly criticized Thilo Sarrazin, condemning him as racist.
The German-Turkish sociologist and best-selling author Necla Kelek, who has defended Thilo Sarrazin, introduced him at a Berlin press conference in August 2010 attended by roughly 300 journalists.
The publication of his book "Deutschland schafft sich ab" provoked accusations that Thilo Sarrazin was stoking racism and xenophobia.