2.06 meters, "Notorious yes-man" - and what else?
The new Minister-President of Rhineland-Palatinate is named Alexander Schweitzer. The successor of Malu Dreyer in Rhineland-Palatinate must maintain an overview of the traffic light coalition in Mainz. His immense body size is not an obstacle. But there is more that is unusual about him.
Alexander Schweitzer wants to be a "nurturing and learning Minister-President" for Rhineland-Palatinate as the successor of Malu Dreyer. "People should feel that they are being listened to, that they have a role," said the 50-year-old Palatinate native in Mainz. Therefore, he intends to be involved in opinion-making both on TikTok on the internet and at the tables of the state this summer.
The 2.06-meter-tall social politician is linking himself to the motto of his predecessors Dreyer and Kurt Beck (both SPD): "Close to the people." He intends to advocate for the social democratic promise of advancement through education policy, which SPD-led governments in the state have always been proud of.
Born in Landau near the French border, Schweitzer spent the first six years of his life on cargo ships between Germany and the Benelux countries. "I grew up among people who worked around the clock with their hands," he recounts. "This time also shaped my image of work."
His wife has known him since school
"We then went ashore to the Catholic kindergarten, together with my two-and-a-half-year-old younger sister." He grew up on a farm in the southern Palatinate and was the first in his family to obtain an Abitur in Bad Bergzabern. The vegan lives there with his wife and his two school-age sons. His wife is a teacher at a Realschule plus. The two have known each other since school, but became a couple much later.
The older daughter (25) from a previous relationship has left the house. Schweitzer studied law in the state capital Mainz, then was a state secretary for economics, a Landtag deputy, and SPD general secretary. In the first government of Malu Dreyer, he was her successor in the office of Social Minister (2013/14) - and at 39 years old, the youngest cabinet member.
He joined the SPD at the age of 16, Kurt Beck, whose constituency Southwestern Palatinate he later took over, was his political godfather. Schweitzer is considered a long-standing hope for the party. But also an excellently networked power politician who can wait. He has good connections in the Berlin SPD and has been a member of the party executive of the federal party since 2017. Schweitzer also assures: "I had no strategy and no plan, I was never focused on offices. I just always said yes."
Basketball player, but also FCK fan
He is a big fan of football club 1. FC Kaiserslautern, his personal favorite sport is appropriately for his body size basketball. "I used to play center for Bad Bergzabern basketball team" - the position of the largest and physically strongest player. He gave up his basketball career for politics. The FCK fan is also chairman of the Fritz-Walter-Foundation, which promotes the support of sports youth development and exchange with Central and Eastern Europe.
I'd prefer that the Palatinate family father also continue to sleep in the Parliament in the future when he is in Mainz. He also does not intend to give up his mandate as Minister-President. He describes himself as a "passionate parliamentarian" and stood out in seven years as faction leader (2014-2021) in the Landtag with many pointed speeches.
He also intends to continue this as a head of government: It should be noted that he is pleased to be able to take political positions more frequently again. "As a minister, I often sat on the government bench and had to defend many things in the debate for myself."
- Despite his towering height of 2.06 meters, Alexander Schweitzer's wife, a teacher at a Realschule plus, has known him since their school days.
- In politics, Alexander Schweitzer, the new Minister-President of Rhineland-Palatinate, is a Yes-sayer, as evidenced by his tenure as a state secretary for economics, a Landtag deputy, and SPD general secretary.
- With his passion for basketball, Schweitzer was once the center player for the Bad Bergzabern basketball team, but gave up his career to focus on politics and is now the chairman of the Fritz-Walter-Foundation.
