Thomas_Mirow

Thomas Mirow

Thomas Mirow

German politician

Thomas Mirow (born 6 January 1953) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party who served as president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development from 2008 to 2012.[1][2][3][4][5]

Early life and education

Mirow was born and raised in Paris, where his father was Germany's representative at the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC). He wrote his doctoral thesis on Charles De Gaulle’s foreign policy.[6]

Career

Career in state politics

From 1991 until 1997, Mirow held various positions in the state government of Mayor Henning Voscherau of Hamburg, including as State Minister and Head of the Chancellery (1991-1993) and as State Minister for Urban Development and Head of the Chancellery (1993-1997). He later served as State Minister for Economic Affairs in the government of Mayor Ortwin Runde from 1997 until 2001.

Career in the private sector

Between 2002 and 2005, Mirow worked as advisor to Ernst & Young and M. M. Warburg & Co. In 2004, he was a member of the European Commission’s High-level Group on the Mid-Term Review of the Lisbon Strategy, chaired by former Prime Minister of the Netherlands Wim Kok.[7]

In the 2004 state elections, Mirow was the Social Democrats' candidate to unseat incumbent Mayor Ole von Beust.

State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Finance, 2005-2008

From 2005 until 2008, Mirow served as State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Finance under Minister Peer Steinbrück in the first coalition government of Chancellor Angela Merkel.

President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, 2008-2012

At the 2008 annual meeting of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Kyiv, Mirow was selected to replace Jean Lemierre; he had previously been nominated by a majority of EU Member States.[8] He was the second German to head the EBRD.[9]

During Mirow's tenure, the EBRD made efforts to tackle endemic corruption in the bank's area of operations. In 2011, it lifted the immunity of four Russian officials, including Yelena Kotova, Moscow's representative on the bank's board, to facilitate criminal probes by British police and the Russian authorities.[10]

Also, Mirow focused the bank's activities on Russia, the Balkans and Central Asia.[11]

By the end of his term in 2012, Mirow was formally proposed by Russia and Bulgaria for another four years in office.[12] He campaigned for his re-appointment without Germany's backing in a five-candidate race after the European Union failed to agree a consensus candidate; he was eventually replaced by Suma Chakrabarti.[13]

In 2012, Mirow joined the faculty of Hertie School of Governance as Senior Fellow.[14]

Other activities

International organizations

Corporate boards

  • National Management Holding Baiterek, Member of the Board of Directors[16]
  • HSH Nordbank, Chairman of the Supervisory Board (2013-2018)[17]
  • RiverRock European Capital Partners, Member of the Senior Advisory Board (since 2013)
  • Deutsche Telekom, Ex-Officio Member of the Supervisory Board (2006-2008)[18]
  • Hamburg Airport, Ex-Officio Chairman of the Supervisory Board (1997-2001)
  • HHLA, Ex-Officio Chairman of the Supervisory Board (1997-2001)
  • KfW, Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Supervisory Directors (1997-2001)

Non-profit organizations

  • Deutsche Nationalstiftung, Chair of the Board[19]
  • ZEIT-Stiftung, Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2017)[20]
  • Übersee Club, Member of the Board of Trustees[21]

References

  1. [1]
    Thomas Mirow. "Thomas Mirow: Executive Profile & Biography - Businessweek". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2016-04-30.
  2. [2]
    "Thomas Mirow joins Rothschild Group as Senior Advisor". Rothschild.com. 2013-02-01. Archived from the original on 2016-02-12. Retrieved 2016-04-30.
  3. [3]
    "HSH Nordbank AG | Thomas Mirow takes over chairmanship of the HSH Nordbank Supervisory Board". Hsh-nordbank.com. 2013-02-28. Retrieved 2016-04-30.
  4. [4]
    "Thomas Mirow: "In Hamburg ist man immer unter Druck" - DIE WELT". Welt.de. 1970-01-01. Retrieved 2016-04-30.
  5. [5]
    "Finanzindustrie: HSH Nordbank macht Thomas Mirow zum Chef des Aufsichtsrats | ZEIT ONLINE". Zeit.de. 2013-01-11. Retrieved 2016-04-30.
  6. [6]
    Tim Jones (June 11, 2008), Germany’s bargain banker European Voice.
  7. [7]
    President Prodi and Mr Wim Kok announce the establishment of the High-level Group on the Lisbon Strategy European Commission, press release of April 22, 2004.
  8. [8]
    Stefan Wagstyl (March 19, 2008), Succession row casts shadow over EBRD Financial Times.
  9. [9]
    German Named New European Development Bank President Deutsche Welle, May 19, 2008.
  10. [10]
    Sujata Rao (January 21, 2011), EBRD chief laments corruption after director fired Reuters.
  11. [11]
    Katrin Bennhold and Alison Smale (July 5, 2008), New Head of Development Bank Puts Focus on Russia New York Times.
  12. [12]
    Clare Kane (May 11, 2012), EBRD presidents past, present and, possibly, future Reuters.
  13. [13]
    Carolyn Cohn and Drazen Jorgic (May 18, 2012), Briton wins EBRD presidency for first time Reuters.
  14. [14]
    Former EBRD President Thomas Mirow joins the Hertie School faculty Hertie School of Governance, press release of November 7, 2012.
  15. [15]
    2005 Annual Report European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
  16. [16]
    Board of Directors National Management Holding Baiterek.
  17. [17]
    James Wilson (February 8, 2013), HSH Nordbank struggles amid shipping woes Financial Times.
  18. [18]
    Thomas Mirow joins the Supervisory Board Deutsche Telekom, press release of January 17, 2006.
  19. [19]
    Board Deutsche Nationalstiftung.
  20. [20]
    Dagmar Reim, Fritz Horst Melsheimer und Dr. Thomas Mirow ins Kuratorium der ZEIT-Stiftung berufen ZEIT-Stiftung, press release of January 12, 2017
  21. [21]
    Board of Trustees Übersee Club.
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