Andreas Pinkwart (born 1960) is a German politician and academic who served as State Minister for Economic Affairs, Digitization, Innovation and Energy in the governments of Ministers-President Armin Laschet and Hendrik Wüst of North Rhine-Westphalia from 2017 to 2022 and as Deputy Minister-President and State Minister for Innovation, Technology and Research from 2005 to 2010. He previously was the Dean of HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management and holder of the Stiftungsfonds Deutsche Bank Chair of Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship.
Education Pinkwart was born in Neunkirchen-Seelscheid, North Rhine-Westphalia. After finishing his Abitur (A-levels) in 1979 Pinkwart took on an apprenticeship with Dresdner Bank in Cologne. He subsequently studied Economics and Management Science in Münster and Bonn, receiving his Diplom-Volkswirt in 1987. With his dissertation "Chaos und Unternehmenskrise" (chaos and a business crisis) he attained the title Dr. rer. from the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-University of Bonn. It was published as edition 116 of the series Beiträge zur betriebswirtschaftlichen Forschung.entry for thesis
Career Early beginnings Pinkwart's political career is closely knit to the FDP (Free Democratic Party). He joined the party in 1980, at the age of 19.Bernd Eyermann (20 June 2017), FDP-Politiker Pinkwart vor Rückkehr in Landesregierung General-Anzeiger. From 1988 to 1990 he was part of the FDP's scientific staff and from 1991 onwards he was first secretary to the chairman of the FDP's parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Hermann Otto Solms.
Pinkwart's career in Higher Education began 1994 at the College of Higher Education in Düsseldorf, where he was professor of Economics and Management Science. From 1998 onwards a professorship at the University of Siegen followed, where Pinkwart taught Business Administration with focus on SMEs.
In 2002, Pinkwart succeeded Jürgen Möllemann as chairman of the FDP in North Rhine-Westphalia, an office he held until 2010. From 2003, he also served as one of the national party's deputy chairmen under the leadership of Guido Westerwelle.
Member of the German Parliament, 2002–2005 From 2002 to 2005 Pinkwart was a Member of Parliament (German Bundestag), where he was part of the FDP parliamentary group led by Wolfgang Gerhardt. He served as his parliamentary group's spokesperson on the Finance Committee between 2002 and 2004 and later as the group's spokesperson on the national budget. From 2004, he also led the Bundestag group of FDP parliamentarians from North Rhine-Westphalia, one of the largest delegations within the FDP parliamentary group.
Deputy Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia, 2005–2010 From 2005 until 2010, Pinkwart served as State Minister for Innovation, Technology and Research and Deputy Minister-President of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, under the leadership of Minister-President Jürgen Rüttgers. In this capacity, he was also a Member of the Federal Council (Bundesrat of Germany). During his time in office, the state government tried hard to win new research institutions to be set up in North Rhine-Westphalia; eventually, the Max Planck Society set up its Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing in Cologne, and the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres based a new German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases in Bonn.Ludger Wess (13 January 2009), Andreas Pinkwart The Scientist.
Following the 2009 federal elections, Pinkwart was part of the FDP team in the negotiations with Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU/CSU on a coalition agreement. He led his party's delegation in the working group on education and research policy; his co-chair of the CDU/CSU was Annette Schavan.
Return to academia At the beginning of 2011 Pinkwart became a senior research fellow at the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS) at the Johns Hopkins University, Washington D.C. His research project as fellow focused on the roles of universities as entrepreneurial hubs and engines of innovation in the U.S. and Germany. From 2011 he served as Dean of HHL Leipzig Graduate School of ManagementHHL Executive management and the first holder of the Stiftungsfonds Deutsche Bank Chair of Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship.
State Minister for Economic Affairs, 2017–2022 Following the 2017 state elections in North Rhine-Westphalia, Pinkwart was part of the FDP team in the negotiations with Armin Laschet's CDU on a coalition agreement. He led his party's delegation in the working group on economic affairs and energy policy; his co-chair of the CDU was Hendrik Wüst.Tobias Blasius (23 May 2017), NRW-Koalitionsverhandlungen beginnen in einer Jugendherberge Westfalenpost.
From 2017 to 2022, Pinkwart served as State Minister for Economic Affairs, Digitization, Innovation and Energy in the government of Minister-President Armin Laschet. In this capacity, he was also one of the state's representatives on the Bundesrat,Andreas Pinkwart Bundesrat. where he served on the Committee on Foreign Affairs; the Committee on Economic Affairs; and the Committee on Urban Development, Housing and Regional Planning.
In the negotiations to form a so-called traffic light coalition of the Social Democrats (SPD), the Green Party and the FDP following the 2021 federal elections, Pinkwart led his party's delegation in the working group on digital policy; his co-chairs from the other parties were Jens Zimmermann and Malte Spitz.Andreas Apetz and Thomas Kaspar (October 22, 2021), Ampel-Koalition: Alle Verantwortlichen, AGs und Themen im Überblick Frankfurter Rundschau.
Pinkwart was nominated by his party as delegate to the Federal Convention for the purpose of electing the President of Germany in 2022.Drucksache 17/16063: Ergebnis der Wahl der Mitglieder zur 17. Bundesversammlung State Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia.
In November 2022, Pinkwart announced that he would resign his parliamentary seat and leave active politics.Ex-Minister Pinkwart kommt zurück nach Siegen Westdeutscher Rundfunk, 8 November 2022.
Political positions Following the 2010 state elections, Pinkwart ruled out a center-left coalition between the SPD, the FDP and the Green Party even though the three parties would have been able to achieve a majority in the state parliament.Veit Medick, Philipp Wittrock and Sebastian Fischer (10 May 2010), Key State Vote Handicaps Merkel Spiegel Online.
On energy policy, Pinkwart is widely regarded to be a critic of the country's energy transition as envisioned by former chancellors Gerhard Schröder and Angela Merkel. In 2017, he held that he wanted to preserve the use of fossil fuels and place greater restrictions on where wind turbines can be built.Marc Etzold and Cordula Tutt (21 July 2017), The End of the Energy Transition? Handelsblatt. In 2018, he demanded at least 10 billion euros ($11.5 billion) in structural support if coal-fired power stations are phased out.Tom Kaeckenhoff (11 January 2019), Germany's biggest state wants at least $11.5 billion for exiting coal Reuters.
Other activities Corporate boards Deutsche Bank, member of the advisory board (2011-2017)Members of the Advisory Board, 2011 Deutsche Bank.Members of the Regional Advisory Board, 2017 Deutsche Bank. Evotec AG, member of the supervisory board (2011-2014)Evotec reports 34% revenue and profitable earnings growth; revenue guidance raised Evotec AG, press release of 11 August 2011.Resolutions of the Annual General Meeting of Evotec AG Evotec AG, press release of 17 June 2014. NRW.BANK, Ex-Officio member of the supervisory board (1998-2011; 2017–2022)Executive Bodies NRW.BANK.
Non-profits Bertelsmann Stiftung, Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2023)Andreas Pinkwart wird Mitglied des Kuratoriums der Bertelsmann Stiftung Bertelsmann Stiftung, press release of 15 May 2023. Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), member of the board of trusteesBoard of Trustees Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI). German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), member of the board of trusteesBoard of Trustees German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). Jackstädt Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Research, University of Wuppertal, member of the advisory boardAdvisory Board Jackstädt Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Research, University of Wuppertal. Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences (MPI MiS), Member of the Board of TrusteesBoard of Trustees Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences (MPI MiS). Rationalisierungs- und Innovationszentrum der Deutschen Wirtschaft, member of the board of trustees Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm, member of the board of trusteesBoard of Trustees Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm. Vision: The Journal of Business Perspective, member of the editorial boardEditorial Board Vision: The Journal of Business Perspective. German Association of University Professors and Lecturers (DHV), member German Academic Association for Business Research (VHB), member RAG-Stiftung, member of the board of trustees (2012-2014)Zwei Neubesetzungen im Kuratorium der RAG-Stiftung RAG-Stiftung, press release of 26 February 2015.
Recognition Royal Norwegian Order of Merit (2007) Order of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia (2012) University of Kent Innovation in Academia Award for Science and Business (2017)Innovation in Academia Awards 2017 University of Kent.
Personal life Pinkwart is married and has two children. The family lives in Witterschlick.Peter Lamprecht (6 October 2002), Klonschaf gegen Kampfschwein Die Welt.Bernd Eyermann (1 December 2002), "Ich freue mich auch, wenn andere im Rampenlicht stehen" General-Anzeiger.
References
External links Pinwart's Official biography at HHL