Prof. Dr. Christian Schwarz-Schilling


Christian Schwarz-Schilling was born in Innsbruck in 1930 and grew up in Potsdam where his father was active as a composer. He studied Eastern Asiatic cultural sciences and linguistics and history and graduated at Munich Ludwig-Maximilian University in 1956 with a doctorate degree. An apprenticeship in a bank followed, after which he was active for 25 years as managing partner of Sonnenschein accumulator factory in Büdingen and Berlin.

 

In 1960, he joined the CDU (Christian Democratic Union), in 1966, he became a member of the Hessian Landtag (State Parliament), and ten years later he became a member of the German Bundestag (Federal Parliament) (1976-2002); he was chairman of the commission of inquiry for information and communication technology. From 1982 until 1992, he served as Federal Minister of the Postal Authority and Telecommunications.

 

Subsequent to his resignation from his ministerial office, as a member of the German parliament he was mainly active in economic and media policy. In the following years, an important political emphasis was placed on the fields of conflict resolution, creation of peace and the observance of the human rights. From 1995 until 1998, he was chairman of the Subcommittee for Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid in the Bundestag.
In 1995, the International Fold appointed him as intermediator in the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina; in 2005, the appointment was extended to mediation in the Kosovo, Macedonia and Southern Serbia.

 

He founded the Schwarz-Schilling foundation in 2003, in order to give his life’s work for peace and development in the world a frame also beyond these commissions. In 2006, another appointment by the International Fold into the Balkans followed which this time included the highest powers as the High Representative of the International Fold and Special Representative of the EU in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

 

After the end of this mandate in the summer of 2007, Christian Schwarz-Schilling maintained his affinity to the Balkans. Presently, as a professor at Sarajevo University, School of Science and Technology, he passes on his knowledge to the young generation. As Honorary President of the “CSS Project for Integrative Mediation”, he continues to support mediation processes in the Balkans. In addition to numerous other awards, the founder was awarded the Grand Merit Cross with Star of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1992 as well as the Hessian Peace Award in 2007.
He is recipient of the “Light of Truth Award 2012”, presented by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 2013.