Stanislaw Tillich

Stanislaw Rudi Tillich (German pronunciation: [ˈstanɪslaf ˈtɪlɪç]; Upper Sorbian: Stanisław Tilich, pronounced [ˈstanʲiswaf ˈtʲilʲix]; born 10 April 1959) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He served as the 3rd Minister President of Saxony from 2008 to 2017. From 1 November 2015 until 31 October 2016, he was President of the Bundesrat and ex officio deputy to the President of Germany. Tillich is of Sorbian ethnicity and lives in Panschwitz-Kuckau (Pančicy-Kukow), which is 35 kilometres north-east of Dresden near Kamenz.

Early life and education

Born in Neudörfel (Sorbian: Nowa Wjeska) near Kamenz (Sorbian: Kamjenc), Tillich studied construction and drive techniques at the Dresden University of Technology after finishing his Abitur at the Sorbian Gymnasium in Bautzen in 1977. He graduated from university with a Diplomingenieur degree in 1984. Tillich was an employee of the district administration of Kamenz between 1987 and 1989. Later he became an entrepreneur.

Political career

Early beginnings

Tillich joined the Christian Democratic Union (East Germany) in 1987 and became a member of the CDU after German reunification in 1990. He was a member of the Volkskammer in 1990.

Tillich was delegated as an observer of the European Parliament between 1991 and 1994. He joined the European People's Party and was a member of the European Parliament between 1994 and 1999 where he was the Parliament's rapporteur on the 1998 EU budget.