1962 Born on 12 July in Essen, Germany, widowed, two children 1983 Law studies in Bonn, Germany, and in Lausanne, Switzerland 1988 First state examination in law 1991 Legal clerkships in Bonn and Speyer, Germany, and in Sydney, Australia 1994 Second state examination in law 1995 Desk officer in the Federal Chancellery 1996 Expert consultant in the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag 2005 Head of the Minister’s Office and spokesman for Federal Minister Dr. Wolfgang Schäuble in the Federal Ministry of the Interior 2006 Head of the executive group at the Federal Ministry of the Interior 2009 Head of the executive group at the Federal Ministry of Finance 2010 Head of Division VIII (in charge of privatisations, investments and federal real estate) at the Federal Ministry of Finance 2016 President of the Bundesnachrichtendienst