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Hans-Georg Maaßen

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Hans-Georg Maaßen
Maaßen in 2023
President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
In office
1 August 2012 – 8 November 2018[1]
PresidentJoachim Gauck
Frank-Walter Steinmeier
ChancellorAngela Merkel
DeputyErnst Stehl
Thomas Haldenwang
Preceded byHeinz Fromm
Succeeded byThomas Haldenwang
Personal details
Born
Hans-Georg Maaßen

(1962-11-24) 24 November 1962 (age 61)
Rheindahlen, West Germany (now Germany)
Political partyValues Union
Other political
affiliations		CDU (until 2024)
SpouseYuko Maaßen
Residence(s)Berlin, Germany
Alma materUniversity of Cologne
Occupationlawyer, civil servant, politician

Hans-Georg Maaßen (born 24 November 1962 in Mönchengladbach) is a German civil servant and lawyer. From 1 August 2012 to 8 November 2018,[1] he served as the President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany's domestic security agency and one of three agencies in the German Intelligence Community.[2][3] Maaßen is one of the founders and, since January 2023 also president,[4] of the Values Union, a German registered association, converted in 2024 to a political party, that consists mostly of more conservative members of the Christian Democratic Union.[5]

Life and career

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Maaßen was born on 24 November 1962 in Mönchengladbach. In 1991 he began working at Germany's Interior Ministry. On 18 July 2012, Maaßen was appointed by the Cabinet of Germany to take over from Heinz Fromm as President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.[6] Several months later, he was sworn in to this post.[7] On 18 September 2018, an agreement was made to promote Maaßen to a role within the Interior Ministry and relieve him of his previous duties once a successor for his post has been agreed on.[3] However, after various statements critical of the German government, he was instead placed in "early retirement" on 8 November 2018.[8][1]

In April 2021, Maaßen was selected as the Christian Democratic Union's candidate for the constituency of Suhl – Schmalkalden-Meiningen – Hildburghausen – Sonneberg in the 2021 German federal election.[9] He was defeated by Social Democrat Frank Ullrich.

Controversy

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2013 mass surveillance disclosures

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During the 2013 mass surveillance disclosures, German media reported that Maaßen visited the headquarters of the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) in January and May. According to classified documents of the German government, Maaßen had agreed to transfer all data collected by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution via XKeyscore to the NSA.[10]

Snowden question

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In June 2016, he questioned whether Edward Snowden was working for Russian intelligence, and Snowden sent a sarcastic response in perfect German.[11]

Ob Maaßen Agent des SVR oder FSB ist, kann derzeit nicht belegt werden. (Whether Maaßen is an agent of the SVR or FSB [two Russian security services] cannot be currently determined.)

Cooperation with the FSB had also been suggested by Oleg Kalugin, at least since Snowden's arrival in Russia.[12]

Chemnitz protests and retirement

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After the 2018 Chemnitz protests, for several weeks politics and the media focused on a video where a black-clad man comes out of an angry mob and briefly runs after another man. Some sources claim that the chased person is of Afghan heritage.[13]

In response to the video, Maaßen caused controversy as some sources claim that an angry mob had "hunted" foreign-looking people. In an interview with Bild, Maaßen questioned whether there was any credible evidence for such "hunts", and stated that his security agency had in fact not seen any such evidence. Maaßen offered no reason for questioning the widely accepted narrative of what had happened in Chemnitz.[14]

Maaßen's statements, which seemed to undermine the credibility of the media and political institutions such as the one he represented, led to calls for his dismissal across the political spectrum (excluding the AfD).[14] After Maaßen had been asked to explain his behaviour to a parliamentary committee, the SPD called on Angela Merkel to dismiss Maaßen immediately.[15] This move could have escalated to a crisis within the Fourth Merkel cabinet since the responsible minister, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, continued to back Maaßen over the row. In attempt to resolve the situation, on 18 September 2018 an agreement was reached to move Maaßen from his role as President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution to a role as state secretary in Seehofer's ministry. According to media reports this new position would have been on a higher pay grade.[16] However, this proposed solution caused further outrage among the German public and members of the SPD, who did not accept what would effectively be a promotion for Maaßen. A renegotiation within the government ended on 23 September 2018 with an announcement that Maaßen would now be an "advisor" in the interior ministry, and no longer be receiving a pay rise.[17]

Shortly after the Chemnitz controversy, Maaßen caused yet another scandal with his departure speech from the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. According to a copy of this speech leaked to the public in early November 2018, in it Maaßen presented himself as the victim of a conspiracy of "radical left-wing" forces in the German government against him, due to his criticism of the government's "naive", "left-wing" security and migration policies. On 5 November, as a result, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer concluded that a trusting relationship with Maaßen was no longer possible, asking president Frank-Walter Steinmeier to place him in early retirement.[8]

Bundestag candidature

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Maaßen's selection as a CDU candidate for the 2021 federal election was met with controversy both within and outside the party. The Greens and SPD were both critical of the decision,[18] while CDU official Serap Güler and state minister Karin Prien both expressed outrage. Prien described Maaßen as a "marginal actor on the democratic spectrum, with whom most Christian Democrats have little in common." Party secretary Paul Ziemiak stated that the party expects "clear differentation from the AfD" from its candidates.[9] Maaßen stated he sought to win over voters from the Alternative for Germany, as well as protest voters and non-voters.[19] In July 2021, the non-governmental organization Campact announced a campaign to prevent Maaßen from being elected.[20] Maaßen was defeated in the direct mandate election for the Thuringian constituency of Suhl – Schmalkalden-Meiningen – Hildburghausen – Sonneberg by Social Democrat Frank Ullrich. As he was not on the CDU party list in Thuringia, he thus failed to be elected to the Bundestag.[21]

Values Union

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Main article: Values Union

Maaßen is an important figure behind the Values Union (German: WerteUnion), a German registered association.[22]

The Values Union was founded in 2017 and mostly included the CDU members seeking to reestablish their party's conservative roots. The CDU's executive committee did not recognize the Values Union as a party subdivision. The critics accused the Union to be close to Alternative for Germany (AfD).[5] Quite small at the time group argued against Angela Merkel's approaches to euro rescue [de] and the 2015 European migrant crisis. Maaßen refused to rule out potential coalitions with AfD in the medium-term. The 2019 resolution of the presidium and executive committee of the CDU related to the murder of Walter Lübcke indirectly accused Maaßen and the Values Union of complicity: "Anyone who supports the AfD must know that they are poisoning the social climate and brutalizing the political discourse". At the time statements by the CDU leadership could have been interpreted as supporting expulsion of Maaßen from the party.[23]

Maaßen was elected to be a president of the Value Union in January 2023.[4] The federal leadership of the CDU initiated his expulsion in February 2023.[24] In the beginning of 2024 Maaßen announced a vote among the association members in order to turn the Values Union into a political party that will take an anti-immigration course.[25]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Verfassungsschutzpräsident Maassen offiziell nicht mehr im Amt" (in German). 8 November 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  2. ^ "Dr. Maaßen wird zum 1. August Präsident des BfV" [Dr. Maaßen will be President of the BfV from 1 August] (Press release) (in German). Berlin, German: Bundesministerium des Innern (BMI). 18 July 2012. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Maaßen muss gehen - ins Innenministerium". BR24 (in German). 18 September 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Max Otte als AfD-Kandidat – Zerbröselt die Werteunion?" [Max Otte as AfD candidate – is the Values Union crumbling?]. RND (in German). 26 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  5. ^ a b Grotz & Schroeder 2023, p. 192.
  6. ^ "Neuer Präsident für das Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz" (in German). Federal Ministry of the Interior. 18 July 2012. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  7. ^ Jenna Günnewig (15 November 2012). "Terrorabwehrzentrum in Köln eröffnet". Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
  8. ^ a b "Seehofer schickt Maaßen in einstweiligen Ruhestand" (in German). 5 November 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  9. ^ a b "Germany's CDU under fire over nomination of controversial ex-spy chief". Deutsche Welle. 1 May 2021.
  10. ^ "Verfassungsschutz beliefert NSA". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 14 September 2013. Die Zusammenarbeit des Verfassungsschutzes mit der NSA könnte künftig sogar noch ausgeweitet werden. Seit Juli 2013 testet der Verfassungsschutz die Späh- und Analysesoftware XKeyscore. Sollte der Geheimdienst das Programm im Regelbetrieb nutzen, hat sich das BfV verpflichtet, alle Erkenntnisse mit der NSA zu teilen. Das hatte der Präsident des Bundesamtes, Hans-Georg Maaßen, dem US-Dienst zugesichert. Im Januar und Mai war Maaßen zu Besuchen bei der NSA.
  11. ^ "Deutscher Verfassungsschutz: Snowden könnte russischer Spion sein" [German Constitutional Protection: Snowden could be Russian spy]. Die Presse (in German). 10 June 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  12. ^ "Former KGB general: Snowden is cooperating with Russian intelligence". 22 May 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  13. ^ ""Hetzjagd"-Video aus Chemnitz echt - Ermittler widersprechen Maaßen". Münchner Merkur (in German). 7 July 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  14. ^ a b "German security chief called to explain claims about far-right videos". TheGuardian.com. 11 September 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  15. ^ "Germany's SPD demands dismissal of top security official". 13 September 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  16. ^ "Chemnitz unrest: German top spy Maassen forced out". BBC News. 18 September 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  17. ^ Bender, Ruth; Benoit, Bertrand (23 September 2018). "Fractious Germany Coalition Strikes Deal Over Intel Chief". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  18. ^ "Germany's CDU wrangles over nomination of controversial ex-spy chief". Politico. 2 May 2021.
  19. ^ DER SPIEGEL (30 April 2021). "Ex-Verfassungsschutzchef Maaßen für CDU in Thüringen als Bundestagskandidat nominiert". www.spiegel.de (in German). Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  20. ^ "Campact will Wiederwahl einiger CDU-Abgeordneter verhindern" (in German). T-Online. 29 July 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  21. ^ "Bundestagswahl 2021: Debakel für Maaßen – Olympiasieger schnappt CDU-Politiker Direktmandat weg" (in German). Frankfurter Rundschau. 27 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  22. ^ Unzufriedene CDU-Konservative: Was die Werteunion ist und was sie will, ZDF
  23. ^ Oppelland 2020, pp. 60–61.
  24. ^ tagesschau.de. "CDU-Vorstand beschließt Ausschlussverfahren gegen Maaßen" (in German). Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  25. ^ Geuther, Gudula (5 January 2024). "Hans-Georg Maaßen will Werteunion zur Partei machen" (in German). Deutschlandfunk. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
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Sources

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