17 May 1962

Born in Düren; Protestant; married, one daughter

1982

Abitur at  Städtisches Gymnasium am Wirteltor in Düren

1985

Fellowship from the Konrad Adenauer Foundation

1986 - 1987

Assistant to Matthias Wissmann, Member of the German Bundestag

1992

Magister Artium (M. A.) in Political Science, History and Public Law at the University of  Bonn

1992 - 2004

Member of staff at the Steel Trade Association, Düsseldorf

since 1994

Member of the German Bundestag

since 2000

Member of the Land Synod of the Protestant Church of the Rhineland

1998 - 2005

Spokesman on Education and Research Policy of the CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group

2003 - 2005

Spokesman for the CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group in the Bundestag's Study Commission on "Law and Ethics of Modern Medicine"

since 2003

Federal Chairman of the CDU/CSU  Protestant Working  Group (EAK)

since 2005

Member of the board of trustees of the Jülich Solar Institute (SIJ), Aachen University of Applied Sciences (in an honorary capacity)

since November 2005

Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Education and Research