{{short description|German politician (born 1954)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder | name = Thomas de Maizière | honorific_suffix = Bundesminister a. D.<!-- Please do not remove it, it is currently his official title in Germany. --> | image = 2017-09-24 Thomas de Maizière by Sandro Halank–1.jpg | caption = De Maizière in 2017 | office = Minister of the Interior | chancellor = Angela Merkel | term_start = 17 December 2013 | term_end = 14 March 2018 | predecessor = Hans-Peter Friedrich | successor = Horst Seehofer | chancellor1 = Angela Merkel | term_start1 = 28 October 2009 | term_end1 = 3 March 2011 | predecessor1 = Wolfgang Schäuble | successor1 = Hans-Peter Friedrich | office2 = Minister of Defence | chancellor2 = Angela Merkel | term_start2 = 3 March 2011 | term_end2 = 17 December 2013 | predecessor2 = Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg | successor2 = Ursula von der Leyen | office3 = Head of the Chancellery<br />Minister for Special Affairs | chancellor3 = Angela Merkel | term_start3 = 22 November 2005 | term_end3 = 27 October 2009 | predecessor3 = Frank-Walter Steinmeier {{small|(as Secretary of State)}} | successor3 = Ronald Pofalla | office5 = Member of the Bundestag <br /> for Meißen | term_start5 = 27 October 2009 | term_end5 = 26 October 2021 | predecessor5 = ''Constituency established'' | successor5 = Barbara Lenk {{Collapsed infobox section begin |last=yes |State political posts |titlestyle=border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes | office6 = Member of the Landtag of Saxony <br /> for Bautzen 1 | term_start6 = 19 October 2004 | term_end6 = 21 November 2005 | predecessor6 = Andreas Hahn | successor6 = Karl Mannsfeld | office7 = State Minister for the Interior of Saxony |1blankname7 = {{nowrap|Minister-President}} |1namedata7 = Georg Milbradt | term_start7 = 11 November 2004 | term_end7 = 22 November 2005 | predecessor7 = Horst Rasch | successor7 = Albrecht Buttolo | office8 = State Minister of Justice of Saxony |1blankname8 = {{nowrap|Minister-President}} |1namedata8 = Georg Milbradt | term_start8 = 2 May 2002 | term_end8 = 11 November 2004 | predecessor8 = Manfred Kolbe | successor8 = Geert Mackenroth | office9 = State Minister of Finances of Saxony |1blankname9 = {{nowrap|Minister-President}} |1namedata9 = Kurt Biedenkopf | term_start9 = 31 January 2001 | term_end9 = 2 May 2002 | predecessor9 = Georg Milbradt | successor9 = Horst Metz | office10 = State Minister and Chief of the State Chancellery of Saxony |1blankname10 = {{nowrap|Minister-President}} |1namedata10 = Kurt Biedenkopf | term_start10 = 27 October 1999 | term_end10 = 31 January 2001 | predecessor10 = Günter Meyer | successor10 = Georg Brüggen | office11 = State Secretary and Chief of the State Chancellery of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern |1blankname11 = {{nowrap|Minister-President}} |1namedata11 = Berndt Seite | term_start11 = 8 December 1994 | term_end11 = 2 November 1998 | predecessor11 = Gabriele Wurzel | successor11 = Otto Ebnet{{Collapsed infobox section end}}}} | birth_name = Karl Ernst Thomas de Maizière | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1954|1|21|df=y}} | birth_place = Bonn, West Germany | death_place = | death_date = | signature = Signature of Thomas de Maizière.png | party = Christian Democratic Union | spouse = Martina de Maizière | children = 3 | father = Ulrich de Maizière | relatives = Lothar de Maizière (cousin) | allegiance = {{flag|West Germany}} | branch = {{flagicon image|Bundeswehr Logo.svg|50px|Emblem of German Ground Forces}} ''Bundeswehr'' | service_years = 1972–1974 | rank = Oberleutnant | unit = {{flagicon image|Bundeswehr Logo Heer with lettering.svg|50px|Emblem of German Ground Forces}}''Army (Heer)'' / Panzerbrigade 34 }} '''Karl Ernst Thomas de Maizière''' ({{IPA|de|də mɛˈzi̯ɛːɐ̯}}; born 21 January 1954) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who served as Federal Minister of the Interior from 2009 to 2011 and 2013 to 2018, as well as Federal Minister of Defence from 2011 to 2013. He previously served as Head of the Chancellery and Federal Minister for Special Affairs in the First Merkel cabinet from 2005 to 2009. Since 2009, he has been a member of the Bundestag for Meißen.
Along with Ursula von der Leyen and Wolfgang Schäuble, De Maizière was one of only three ministers to have continuously served in Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinets from 2005 until 2018.<ref name="businessweek.com">Arne Delfs (22 January 2014), [https://archive.today/20140323130000/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-01-22/merkel-succession-beckons-after-von-der-leyen-s-defense-posting Merkel Succession Beckons After von der Leyen’s Defense Posting] ''Businessweek''.</ref> Together with von der Leyen, he was widely looked on as a possible future successor to Merkel.<ref>Arne Delfs (17 July 2014), [https://archive.today/20141101131059/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-07-16/merkel-at-60-seen-avoiding-kohl-s-fate-as-ratings-hold-up Merkel at 60 Says No Rest on Laurels as Power Uncontested] ''Bloomberg''.</ref> Before his appointment to the federal cabinet, he served as a minister in the state government of Saxony, including as chief of staff to the Minister-President, State Minister of Finance and State Minister of Justice.
==Early life and education== thumb|Thomas de Maizière, {{Circa|1970s}} Maizière was born in Bonn to the later Inspector general of the Bundeswehr, Ulrich de Maizière. He graduated at the Aloisiuskolleg in Bonn and studied law and history at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität in Münster and the University of Freiburg. He passed his first state examination in law in 1979 and his second 1982, earning his Doctor of law (Dr. jur.) in 1986.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bundesregierung.de/Webs/Breg/EN/Federal-Government/Cabinet/ThomasDeMaiziere/thomas-de-maiziere.html |title=Thomas de Maizière (CDU) |publisher=Federal Government |access-date=18 August 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805131628/http://www.bundesregierung.de/Webs/Breg/EN/Federal-Government/Cabinet/ThomasDeMaiziere/thomas-de-maiziere.html |archive-date=5 August 2011 }}</ref>
He belongs to a noble family originally from Maizières-lès-Metz<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article12712012/Die-Familie-de-Maiziere-eine-deutsche-Dynastie.html|title=Die Familie de Maizière, eine deutsche Dynastie|newspaper=Die Welt|language=de|publisher=Welt|date=2011-03-06|access-date=2017-11-14|last1=Müller|first1=Uwe}}</ref> who, as Huguenots, had fled France for asylum in Prussia in the late 17th century.<ref name="Quick Fill">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/03/world/europe/03iht-germany03.html|title=Merkel Is Quick to Fill Open Cabinet Position|last=Dempsey|first=Judy|authorlink=Judy Dempsey|newspaper=The New York Times|date=2011-03-02|access-date=2015-07-09}}</ref> The Maizière family still attended French-language schools and Huguenot churches in Berlin until the beginning of the 20th century. His cousin Lothar de Maizière is also a CDU politician and was the last, and only democratically elected, Premier of the German Democratic Republic, who later served as Federal Minister of Special Affairs in the government of Helmut Kohl until his resignation following the discovery of his affiliation with the GDR secret service.<ref name="Quick Fill" />
==Political career== ===Early career in state politics=== Maizière worked for the governing mayor (prime minister) of West Berlin (Baron Richard von Weizsäcker and Eberhard Diepgen),<ref name="Merkel shares history with aide">Judy Dempsey (18 October 2005), [https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/18/world/europe/18iht-germany.html Merkel shares history with aide] ''International Herald Tribune''.</ref> before becoming a member of the West German team in the negotiations on German reunification. After 1990 he worked with re-establishing democratic structures in states that were part of the former German Democratic Republic. He became secretary of state at the ministry of culture of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in November 1990. From December 1994 to 1998 he was chief of staff of the Chancellery of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}
He served as the chief of the Saxon Chancellery from 1999 to 2001, with the rank of cabinet minister. As chief of staff to Kurt Biedenkopf, he helped negotiate the special Solidarity Pact designed to finance the reconstruction of the former East Germany.<ref name="Merkel shares history with aide"/> From 2001 to 2002 he served as the minister of finance of Saxony, from 2002 to 2004 minister of justice, and from 2004 to 2005 as minister of the interior.<ref name="nytimes.com">Judy Dempsey (2 March 2011), [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/03/world/europe/03iht-germany03.html Merkel Is Quick to Fill Open Cabinet Position] ''International Herald Tribune''.</ref>
===Chief of Staff at the Federal Chancellery (2005–2009)=== On 17 October 2005, Maizière was nominated as a member of the Federal Government as chief of the Chancellor's office and as federal minister for special affairs in the first Merkel cabinet.<ref name="nytimes.com"/> He took office on 22 November 2005, after Merkel's election as Chancellor by the Bundestag. In his capacity as chief of staff of the chancellery, he also functioned as deputy president of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (''Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik'').
Between 2007 and 2009, Maizière was one of 32 members of the Second Commission on the modernization of the federal state, which was established to reform the division of powers between federal and state authorities in Germany.
===Federal Minister of the Interior (2009–2011)=== He was elected in Meißen. In the negotiations to form a coalition government following the 2009 federal elections, Maizière led the CDU/CSU delegation in the working group on taxes, national budget, and financial policy; with Hermann Otto Solms of the FDP as joint chairman. Following the formation of the Second Merkel cabinet, he took office as Federal Minister of the Interior.
As Interior Minister, Maizière long played down security worries, but he abruptly changed course late in 2010, giving warnings that there were serious indications of terror attacks being prepared in Europe and the United States.<ref>Erik Kirschbaum and Eric Kelsey (2 March 2011), [https://www.reuters.com/article/germany-merkel-cabinet-idUSLDE7211TG20110302 German ministers in cabinet reshuffle] Reuters.</ref> In July 2010, he outlawed the Internationale Humanitäre Hilfsorganisation (IHH), a charity registered in Frankfurt, because of its alleged links to the militant Palestinian organization Hamas, arguing that "the IHH has, under the cover of humanitarian aid, supported Gaza Strip-based so-called social associations which are attributable to Hamas, for a long period of time and to a considerable financial extent."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100715054544/http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/germany-outlaws-charity-over-alleged-hamas-links-1.301483 Germany outlaws charity over alleged Hamas links] ''Haaretz'', 12 July 2010.</ref> That same month, Maizière announced that Germany would take over and release two prisoners of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.<ref>[http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/prisoner-plans-germany-agrees-to-take-two-inmates-from-guantanamo-a-705220.html Prisoner Plans: Germany Agrees to Take Two Inmates from Guantanamo] ''Spiegel Online'', 7 July 2010.</ref>
In October 2010, Maizière and Transport Minister Peter Ramsauer banned arrivals of all air cargo from Yemen, after the German authorities had been tipped off by a foreign intelligence service that there were explosives inside a U.S.-bound parcel trans-shipped at Cologne Bonn Airport.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150612021344/http://www.haaretz.com/news/world/germany-tipped-off-britain-about-mail-bomb-minister-says-1.322159 Germany tipped off Britain about mail bomb, minister says] ''Haaretz'', 31 October 2010.</ref>
===Minister of Defence (2011–2013)=== thumb|De Maizière as Minister of Defence at a news conference in 2012
On 2 March 2011, Merkel announced that Maizière was to take over from Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, the federal defence minister who had resigned from office the previous day.<ref name=hel2mar>{{cite news|last=Pidd|first=Helen|title=Angela Merkel appoints her closest adviser as defence minister|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/mar/02/angela-merkel-appoints-adviser-defence-minister|access-date=11 July 2013|newspaper=The Guardian|date=2 March 2011}}</ref> On 3 March, he was formally appointed to this post.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bundesregierung.de/nn_1264/Content/DE/Artikel/2011/03/2011-03-02-bk-neue-minister.html |title=Neue Minister ernannt |work=Cabinet of Germany |access-date=3 March 2011 |date=3 March 2011 |language=de |trans-title=New ministers appointed }}{{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> He held the defence ministry portfolio until 17 December 2013.
Signaling one of the biggest shake-ups in decades for the German military, in 2011 Maizière unveiled plans to reduce troop numbers, cut bureaucracy, and eliminate duplication inside the Federal Ministry of Defence. Under these proposals, the army was to be turned into a wholly professional force.<ref>Judy Dempsey (18 May 2011), [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/19/world/europe/19iht-germany19.html Germany Plans Deep Cuts to Its Armed Forces] International Herald Tribune.</ref>
On the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of the diplomatic relations between German and India, Maizière participated in the first joint cabinet meeting of the two countries' governments in Delhi in May 2011.<ref>Günther Bannas (30 May 2011), [https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/hoffnung-auf-eurofighter-geschaeft-erste-deutsch-indische-regierungskonsultationen-1640384.html Hoffnung auf „Eurofighter"-Geschäft: Erste deutsch-indische Regierungskonsultationen] ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung''.</ref> On 7 June 2011, he attended the state dinner hosted by President Barack Obama in honor of Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House.<ref>[https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2011/06/07/expected-attendees-tonights-state-dinner Expected Attendees at Tonight's State Dinner] Office of the First Lady of the United States, press release of 7 June 2011.</ref>
Speaking to the German newspaper ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'' in February 2012, Maizière said that an Israel Defense Forces strike on Iran's nuclear facilities was "highly unlikely" to succeed, and noted that such a strike would cause "obvious political damage."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120212220220/http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/germany-israeli-military-strike-on-iran-unlikely-to-succeed-1.412501 Germany: Israeli military strike on Iran unlikely to succeed] ''Haaretz'', 12 February 2012.</ref> During a meeting in Berlin in March 2012, he warned Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak against an attack on Iran, joining other Western countries which were applying heavy international pressure on Israel to prevent it from attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities.<ref>Ofer Aderet (27 March 2012), [https://web.archive.org/web/20120327230842/http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/germany-official-meeting-with-israel-s-barak-left-me-more-concerned-of-war-with-iran-1.421058 Germany official: Meeting with Israel's Barak left me 'more concerned' of war with Iran] ''Haaretz''.</ref><ref>Barak Ravid (31 March 2012), [https://web.archive.org/web/20120331102407/http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/diplomania/australia-joins-list-of-countries-warning-against-israeli-strike-on-iran-1.421769 Australia joins list of countries warning against Israeli strike on Iran] ''Haaretz''.</ref>
In 2012, Maizière told a gathering of army reservists that he considered the U.S. strategy of using drones for targeted killings a "strategic mistake". According to the online news edition of the German public television broadcaster ''ARD'', Maizière had said he thought it was unwise to have U.S. commanders direct such attacks from their bases in the United States.<ref>Judy Dempsey (11 June 2012), [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/12/world/europe/12iht-letter12.html Europe Stays Quiet Despite Unease About Drones] International Herald Tribune.</ref>
===Second appointment as Federal Minister of the Interior (2013–2018)=== [[File:Minniti and De Maizière.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Thomas de Maizière with his Italian counterpart Marco Minniti, 2017]] In the negotiations to form a government following the 2013 federal elections, Maizière led the CDU/CSU members in the working group on foreign affairs, defense, and development cooperation; his co-chair from the SPD was Frank-Walter Steinmeier. On 17 December 2013, he was appointed as Federal Minister of the Interior for a second time.<ref name="Bio">{{cite news|title=Minister|url=http://www.bmi.bund.de/EN/Ministry/Minister/minister_node.html|access-date=24 February 2014|publisher=Federal Ministry of the Interior|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140206035143/http://www.bmi.bund.de/EN/Ministry/Minister/minister_node.html|archive-date=6 February 2014}}</ref> In addition, he co-chairs the EPP Justice and Home Affairs Ministers Meeting, alongside Esteban González Pons.<ref>[http://www.epp.eu/about-us/structure/ Council of the EU and Ministerial meetings] European People’s Party (EPP).</ref>
On 23 February 2014, ''Bild am Sonntag'' reported that Maizière and other members of the government, as well as leading figures in business, were under NSA surveillance. The newspaper report, quoting an unnamed NSA official, said the U.S. was particularly interested in the interior minister "because he is a close aide of Merkel, who seeks his advice on many issues and was rumored to be promoting his candidacy for the post of NATO secretary-general."<ref name="ReutersMerkel+">{{cite news|title=U.S. now bugging German ministers in place of Merkel: report|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-usa-spying-idUSBREA1M0IK20140223|work=Reuters|date=23 February 2014 |access-date=25 February 2014}}</ref><ref name="MerkelAideTargetedByNSA">{{cite news|title=Merkel's aides now on NSA radar, claims Dutch news report|url=http://www.germanynews.net/index.php/sid/220216286/scat/0b761d844c35f1be/ht/Merkels-aides-now-on-NSA-radar-claims-Dutch-news-report|access-date=24 February 2014|publisher=Germany News.Net}}</ref> From the beginning of 2015, the left-wing opposition and media commentators have repeatedly criticized de Maizière over his record as chief of staff in 2005–09, and over what he knew about Germany's Federal Intelligence Service (BND) helping U.S. agencies to spy on European firms such as the defence manufacturer Airbus.<ref>Erik Kirschbaum (29 April 2015), [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-politics-minister-idUSKBN0NK1QD20150429?feedType=RSS&feedName=everything&virtualBrandChannel=11563 Close Merkel ally de Maiziere rejects charges he lied] Reuters.</ref>
In late 2014, Maizière proposed a law according to which the government would have the power to withdraw the identity cards of potential foreign fighters and replace them with another form of identification; this was meant to allow government agencies to prevent Germans from leaving the country to join groups such as Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.<ref>Rainer Buergin and Arne Delfs (17 October 2014), [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-17/germany-clamps-down-on-flow-of-fighters-to-islamic-state.html Germany Clamps Down on Flow of Fighters to Islamic State] ''Bloomberg News''.</ref> In May 2015, he banned ''Yuruyus'', a leftist-terrorist newspaper published by the Turkish extremist group DHKP-C, and had his ministry order raids across the country in connection with this ban.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/05/06/world/europe/ap-eu-germany-turkey-paper-banned.html Germany Bans Extremist Turkish Paper, Conducts Raids] ''The New York Times'', 6 May 2015.</ref>
By late 2015, amid the European migrant crisis, de Maizière urged that Europe should set a limit on the number of refugees it takes in and seek out those most clearly entitled to protection.<ref>Francois Murphy (26 November 2015), [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-germany-idUSKBN0TF0II20151126 German interior minister calls for European refugee cap: newspaper] Reuters.</ref> His critics say he failed to fight for more staff and budget for the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), which falls under his ministry, despite years of warnings from German states that the agency was being overwhelmed with asylum applications.<ref>Noah Barkin (17 September 2015), [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-germany-minister-idUSKCN0RH2BV20150917 Loyal Merkel ally in firing line over refugee crisis] Reuters.</ref> In an effort to better detect the identities of migrants arriving from Syria, Afghanistan and other trouble spots, de Maizière later spearheaded the introduction of an identity card for refugees.<ref>Caroline Copley (9 December 2015), [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-germany-idUSKBN0TS1K620151209#ODikvJ2zgKwilx4w.97 German cabinet approves identity card for refugees] Reuters.</ref>
In 2016, Maizière banned the neo-Nazi group "White Wolves Terror Crew" (WWT) following raids on 15 properties across the country as worries were growing about a rise in right-wing sentiment after the influx of more than a million migrants the previous year.<ref>Madeline Chambers (16 March 2016), [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-neonazis-idUSKCN0WI24W Germany bans neo-Nazi group as fears of far-right grow] Reuters.</ref>
In January 2016, Maizière participated in the first joint cabinet meeting of the governments of Germany and Turkey in Berlin.<ref>[https://www.bundesregierung.de/Content/DE/Pressemitteilungen/BPA/2016/01/2015-01-15-deu-tuerk-regierungskonsultationen-breg.html Erste Deutsch-Türkische Regierungskonsultationen in Berlin] Federal Government of Germany, press release of 15 January 2016.</ref>
===Later career=== After leaving government in 2018, Maizère served on the Committee on Finance. In addition to his work in parliament, he taught constitutional law at the University of Leipzig.<ref>[http://www.lvz.de/Leipzig/Bildung/Thomas-de-Maiziere-lehrt-Jura-an-der-Leipziger-Uni Neuer Job: Thomas de Maizière lehrt Jura an der Leipziger Uni] ''Leipziger Volkszeitung'', 8 June 2018.</ref>
Ahead of the Christian Democrats' leadership election in 2018, de Maizière publicly endorsed Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer to succeed Angela Merkel as the party’s chair.<ref>Christian Rothenberg (5 December 2018), [https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/kampf-um-den-cdu-vorsitz-so-gross-sind-die-lager-der-unterstuetzer-fuer-merz-spahn-und-kramp-karrenbauer/23718502.html So groß sind die Lager der Unterstützer für Merz, Spahn und Kramp-Karrenbauer] ''Handelsblatt''.</ref>
Since 2019, de Maizière has been serving as chairman of the Deutsche Telekom Foundation.<ref>[https://www.telekom-stiftung.de/en/press/change-leadership Change in leadership: Thomas de Maizière to be the new Chairman] Deutsche Telekom Foundation.</ref> Also in 2019, he was appointed by the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community to serve on the committee that oversaw the preparations for the 30th anniversary of German reunification.<ref>[https://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/pressemitteilungen/DE/2019/04/30-jahre-deu-einheit.html 30 Jahre Friedliche Revolution und Deutsche Einheit] Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community, press release of 3 April 2019.</ref>
In 2020, de Maizière was appointed by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to co-chair (alongside A. Wess Mitchell) a group of experts to support his work in a reflection process to further strengthen NATO’s political dimension.<ref>[https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_174756.htm Secretary General appoints group as part of NATO reflection process] NATO, press release of 31 March 2020.</ref>
In May 2020, de Maizière announced that he would not stand in the 2021 federal elections but instead resign from active politics by the end of the parliamentary term.<ref>Markus Langner (12 May 2020), [https://www.bild.de/regional/dresden/dresden-aktuell/sachsens-cdu-groesse-de-maiziere-macht-schluss-mit-bundestag-70589826.bild.html Ex-Bundesinnenminister De Maizière macht Schluss mit Bundestag ] ''BILD''.</ref>
==Life after politics== In 2023, de Maizière and Heide Pfarr served as unpaid arbitrators for negotiations between German railway operator Deutsche Bahn and the Railway and Transport Union (EVG).<ref>Alfons Frese (26 July 2023), [https://www.tagesspiegel.de/wirtschaft/schlichter-empfehlen-420-euro-mehr-tarifkonflikt-bei-der-bahn-ist-vorerst-beendet-10216321.html Schlichter empfehlen 410 Euro mehr: Tarifkonflikt bei der Bahn ist vorerst beendet] ''Der Tagesspiegel''.</ref>
==Other activities== * German Evangelical Church Assembly, Member of the Presidium * Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Member of the Board of Trustees * Moritzburg Festival, Member of the Board of Trustees * National Paralympic Committee Germany, Member of the Board of Trustees * Safety in Ski Sport Foundation (SIS), Member of the Board of Trustees * ZEIT-Stiftung, Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2018)<ref>Dana Heide, Daniel Delhaes, Silke Kersting and Stephan Scheuer (6 September 2018), [https://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/it-medien/ehemaliger-bundesinnenminister-thomas-de-maiziere-hat-sechs-neue-jobs-auch-einen-bei-der-telekom/23003838.html Thomas de Maizière hat sechs neue Jobs – auch einen bei der Telekom] ''Handelsblatt''.</ref> * German Forum for Crime Prevention (DFK), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Trustees (2013–2018)
==Recognition== * 2006 – Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic * 2007 – Royal Norwegian Order of Merit * 2009 – Grand Cross of the Ordem do Mérito * 2009 – Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany<ref>[https://www.bundespraesident.de/SharedDocs/Reden/DE/Frank-Walter-Steinmeier/Reden/2019/06/190607-OV-Maiziere.html Speech given at the ceremony honoring Thomas de Maizière on 7 June 2019] President of Germany.</ref>
==Personal life== Maizière is married to Martina de Maizière, with whom he has three children. He is a Protestant.
In April 2023, de Maizière was one of the 22 guests at the ceremony in which Angela Merkel was decorated with the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit for special achievement by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at Schloss Bellevue in Berlin.<ref>Kati Degenhardt (17 April 2023), [https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/deutschland/innenpolitik/id_100160680/angela-merkel-dankt-ihrem-mann-er-hatte-vieles-auszuhalten-.html Merkels emotionaler Dank: "Er hatte Vieles auszuhalten"] ''T-Online''.</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
== Publications == * {{cite news|url=http://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/data-debates-datenschutz-ist-kein-selbstzweck/19391956.html|title=Datenschutz ist kein Selbstzweck|newspaper=Der Tagesspiegel|date=2017-02-16|access-date=2017-03-16}} * {{cite news|url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/inland/innenminister-de-maiziere-leitlinien-fuer-einen-starken-staat-in-schwierigen-zeiten-14601852-p3.html?printPagedArticle=true#pageIndex_3|title=Leitlinien für einen starken Staat in schwierigen Zeiten|newspaper=Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung|date=2017-01-03|access-date=2017-03-16}} * {{cite news|url=http://www.bild.de/news/standards/thomas-de-maiziere/ein-patriot-hasst-nicht-43073032.bild.html|title=Ein Patriot hasst nicht!|newspaper=Bild|date=2015-10-20|access-date=2017-03-16}} * {{cite news|url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/die-gegenwart/digitale-agenda-das-netz-raum-der-chancen-und-der-freiheit-13102900.html?printPagedArticle=true#pageIndex_2|title=Das Netz – Raum der Chancen und der Freiheit|language=de|newspaper=Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung|date=2014-08-17|access-date=2014-12-27}} * {{cite news|url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/inland/49-jahre-nach-dem-mauerbau-wie-deutschland-zusammenwachsen-kann-1782198.html|title=Wie Deutschland zusammenwachsen kann|language=de|newspaper=Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung|date=2010-08-13|access-date=2014-12-27}} * {{cite news|url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/staat-und-recht/gastbeitrag-den-teufelskreis-durchbrechen-1790064.html|title=Den Teufelskreis durchbrechen|language=de|newspaper=Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung|date=2009-04-22|access-date=2014-12-27}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Maiziere, Thomas De}} Category:1954 births Category:Defence ministers of Germany Category:German Lutherans Category:German untitled nobility Category:Interior ministers of Germany Category:Living people Thomas Category:Politicians from Bonn Category:University of Freiburg alumni Category:University of Münster alumni Category:Ministers of the Saxony state government Category:Heads of the German Chancellery Category:Members of the Bundestag for Saxony Category:Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Category:Members of the Bundestag 2017–2021 Category:Members of the Bundestag 2013–2017 Category:Members of the Bundestag 2009–2013 Category:Members of the Bundestag for the Christian Democratic Union of Germany