Guido Westerwelle

Guido Westerwelle
Westerwelle in 2013
Vice Chancellor of Germany
In office 28 October 2009 – 16 May 2011
Chancellor	Angela Merkel
Preceded by	Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Succeeded by	Philipp Rösler
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 28 October 2009 – 17 December 2013
Chancellor	Angela Merkel
Preceded by	Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Succeeded by	Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Leader of the Free Democratic Party
In office 4 May 2001 – 13 May 2011
General Secretary	Cornelia Pieper Dirk Niebel Christian Lindner
Preceded by	Wolfgang Gerhardt
Succeeded by	Philipp Rösler
Leader of the Opposition
In office 1 May 2006 – 22 October 2009
Chancellor	Angela Merkel
Preceded by	Wolfgang Gerhardt
Succeeded by	Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Leader of the Free Democratic Party in the Bundestag
In office 1 May 2006 – 22 October 2009
Preceded by	Wolfgang Gerhardt
Succeeded by	Birgit Homburger
Member of the Bundestag for North Rhine-Westphalia
In office 8 February 1996 – 22 October 2013
Preceded by	Heinz Lanfermann
Succeeded by	multi-member district
Constituency	Free Democratic Party List
Personal details
Born	(1961-12-27)27 December 1961 Bad Honnef, West Germany (now Germany)
Died	18 March 2016(2016-03-18) (aged 54) Cologne, Germany
Cause of death	Leukemia
Political party	Free Democratic Party
Domestic partner	Michael Mronz (2003–2016)
Alma mater	University of Bonn University of Hagen

Guido Westerwelle (German: [ˈɡiːdo ˈvɛstɐˌvɛlə]; 27 December 1961 – 18 March 2016) was a German politician who served as foreign minister in the second cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel and Vice-Chancellor of Germany from 2009 to 2011, being the first openly gay person to hold any of these positions. He also led the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) from 2001 until he stepped down in 2011.^[1] A lawyer by profession, he was a member of the Bundestag from 1996 to 2013.