

9 August 1953
Born in Münster, married, five children
1972
Abitur (senior school-leaving certificate) from Gymnasium Carolinum, Osnabrück
1973
Military service
1974 - 1980
Read law in Erlangen and Münster; first state examination in law
1980 - 1982
Legal internship; second state examination in law
From 1983
Lawyer in Osnabrück
1990 - 2010
Member of the German Bundestag
1990 - 1994
Member of the Budget Committee of the German Bundestag
1994 - 1998
Chairman of the Finance Committee of the German Bundestag
1994 - 2010
Member of the Conciliation Committee between the Bundestag and Bundesrat
1998 - 2005
Deputy Chairman of the Finance Committee of the German Bundestag
2002 - 2010
Deputy Chairman of the FDP parliamentary group
2006 - 2010
Member of the Administrative Council of the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin)
Since May 2010
Member of the Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank
responsible for the Cash Management Department and the Payment and Settlement Systems Department