Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg

Guttenberg's consultancy worked for Wirecard, and he used his contacts, including with the German government and Angela Merkel, to support the company's entry into the Chinese market. The matter became politically sensitive after Wirecard's collapse. In 2021, the Deutscher Rat für Public Relations also reprimanded Guttenberg for lack of transparency surrounding an opinion piece about the ban on short selling, published in the context of a communications strategy favourable to Wirecard.

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Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Guttenberg held a senior position with the US-German start-up Augustus Intelligence, which became controversial in Germany because of its political network and the Philipp Amthor affair. His name and contacts were examined in press investigations into how the company sought access, credibility and government relationships.

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Directly implicated

After a German soldier was killed in December 2010 by a shot fired from a fellow soldier's weapon, the official information supplied to Parliament was criticised as incomplete, and the opposition accused the ministry of misinforming MPs. Guttenberg acknowledged that the wording of a parliamentary note was incomplete while rejecting allegations of concealment and pointing out that he himself had mentioned another soldier's weapon at an early stage.

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Political responsibility

Following a cadet's death aboard the training ship Gorch Fock and testimonies describing organisational failings and a problematic atmosphere, Guttenberg temporarily relieved commander Norbert Schatz of his duties. The decision prompted criticism, including from within the coalition, on the grounds that it could appear to prejudge the inquiry's findings.

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Political responsibility

Numerous unattributed passages were identified in Guttenberg's doctoral thesis. The University of Bayreuth revoked his degree, and its committee subsequently concluded that he had engaged in intentional deception and breaches of good academic practice. Guttenberg left the Defence Ministry and his political positions. A subsequent criminal investigation concerning copyright was closed after payment of 20 000 euros to a charity, without a criminal conviction.

State of the evidence

Admitted by the person

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Personally implicated

After becoming Defence Minister, Guttenberg initially described the Kunduz bombing as militarily appropriate before publicly revising his assessment as information about civilian casualties and internal reports became clearer. He subsequently dismissed General Wolfgang Schneiderhan and State Secretary Peter Wichert, claiming that information had been withheld from him. Schneiderhan challenged this account before the inquiry committee, fuelling an enduring controversy over the flow of information and the minister's political responsibility.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility