Norbert Walter-Borjans (born 17 September 1952), also known by the nickname NoWaBo, is a German economist and politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who served as co-leader of the SPD (alongside Saskia Esken) from 2019 to 2021. He served as State Minister of Finance of North Rhine-Westphalia from 2010 until 2017.
Early life and education The son of a carpenter,Madeline Chambers (19 November 2019), German 'Robin Hood' eyes top SPD job, new deal on Merkel coalition Reuters. Walter-Borjans was born 1952 in the West German city of Krefeld and studied economics at the University of Bonn and reached a PhD.
Political career From 1991 until 1998, Walter-Borjans worked as spokesperson of the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia, then led by Minister-President Johannes Rau.
From 2010 to 2017 Walter-Borjans served as State Minister of Finance of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the government of Minister-President Hannelore Kraft. In this capacity, he was one of the state's representatives in the Bundesrat, where he served on the Finance Committee. During his time in office, the state government – as main shareholder –, the German government and Helaba agreed to divide up the asset of ailing WestLB and cover any losses during the winding-down process.James Wilson (24 June 2012), Regulators on alert over WestLB assets disposal Financial Times. On Walter-Borjans's initiative, the state government on several occasions resorted to buying Swiss account data from whistle-blowers to pursue German tax dodgers.David Jolly (23 November 2012), German Lawmakers Reject Swiss Tax Deal New York Times.
In the negotiations to form a Grand Coalition of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU together with the Bavarian CSU) and the SPD following the 2013 federal elections, Walter-Borjans was part of the SPD delegation in the working group on financial policies and the national budget, led by Wolfgang Schäuble and Olaf Scholz.
Together with Saskia Esken, Walter-Borjans announced his candidacy for the 2019 Social Democratic Party of Germany leadership election;Madeline Chambers (4 September 2019), German Social Democrats start "speed-dating" for aspiring leaders Reuters. the duo was soon endorsed by the SPD in North Rhine-Westphalia, the party's largest chapter, and its chairman Sebastian Hartmann.Rennen um SPD-Vorsitz – NRW-Vorstand nominiert Walter-Borjans ZDF, 30 August 2019. as well as the SPD youth organization and its leader Kevin Kühnert, which account for some 80,000 of the 430,000 SPD members."The self-destruction of the German Social-Democrats". The November 2019 run-off was won by Esken and Walter-Borjans.
Walter-Borjans 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.
Other activities Corporate boards NRW.BANK, Ex-Officio Member of the Supervisory Board (2012–2017)Wilfried Goebels (12 November 2012), Finanzminister Walter-Borjans ist Multifunktionär in Aufsichtsräten General-Anzeiger. Portigon, Ex-Officio Member of the Supervisory Board (2012–2017)Matthias Inverardi (3 November 2016), WestLB successor Portigon searched by prosecutors in tax probe Reuters. RAG AG, Ex-Officio Member of the Supervisory Board (2012–2017)Wilfried Goebels (12 November 2012), Finanzminister Walter-Borjans ist Multifunktionär in Aufsichtsräten General-Anzeiger. KfW, Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Supervisory Directors (2010–2017)2010 Annual Report KfW.
Non-profit organizations Deutschlandradio, Member of the Broadcasting Council (2012–2017)Wilfried Goebels (12 November 2012), Finanzminister Walter-Borjans ist Multifunktionär in Aufsichtsräten General-Anzeiger. Verkehrsclub Deutschland, Founding Member
References