Martin Bangemann

Martin Bangemann was a member of the European Parliament from 1973 to 1984, and the German Federal Minister of Economics from 1984 to 1988.

Background

In 1989, Bangemann joined the European Commission. He was Commissioner for the internal market and industrial affairs in the Delors Commission from 1989 to 1995. He was then Commissioner for Industrial affairs, Information & Telecommunications Technologies in the Santer Commission from 1995 to 1999.

Affiliations

• Commissioner for internal market and industrial affairs (1989-1994)
• Commissioner for Information and Telecommunications Technologies (1994-1999)
• Non-executive Advisory Boards of Telefonica (2000-2005)

Record and Controversies

Background of Conflicts

Since 1 July 2000, Bangemann has been an executive of the Spanish telecommunication company Telefonica. His move to Telefonica was the topic of much controversy and a lawsuit by the EU in 1999, because of possible conflicts of interest with his previous post as the telecommunications commissioner. The lawsuit was dropped when Bangemann promised not to start work for a third party before 2001. Since July 2001, he has been a board member of Hunzinger Information AG.

Martin Bangermann's move from his position as Commissioner for Industry and Telecommunications sparked outrage when he moved to a new position at Telefonica, the Spanish telecommunications giant: the very field in which he had been setting European policy. At the time his salary at Telefonica was reportedly £630,000 per annum. Leader of the socialist group in the European Parliament said, "This is a sleaze soaked appointment."

This article is part of the EU Revolving Door project of SpinWatch.

Resources

• EU Facts, "The Bangemann/Telefonica Scandal," accessed 31 January 2010.
• Walker, Martin, "Anger as EU commissioner takes top telecom job," 01 July 1999, Guardian, accessed 31 January 2010.