Dr. Rainer Dulger has been unanimously re-elected as President of the Confederation of German Employers' Associations (BDA). The General Meeting of the BDA today in Berlin voted in a secret ballot to re-elect him for a further two-year term of office. Dulger has been honorary President of the BDA since 26 November 2020.

Dr. Rainer Dulger: "It is a great honour for me to be Employer President. We are facing a huge structural change that will lead to fundamental changes in the German economy and is a defining issue of our time for our country and our society. Those who merely manage it will fail - only those who shape it will still be a player at the end of the decade. This applies to companies as well as to political majorities.

Announcements of a new beginning and a coalition for the future must not remain mere empty phrases. For me, new beginnings do not mean more regulation and burdens. A new beginning means economic dynamism with confidence in the creativity of people in local businesses. And new beginnings can only be achieved with respect for property, entrepreneurial performance, entrepreneurial spirit, independence, risk-taking and responsibility for jobs.

Those who want to preserve the social insurance system must reform it. Anyone who pretends that everything and more can be promised is shattering the foundations of contribution-financed insurance and is setting course for a social system that is state-run and tax-financed and dependent on cash flow and political expediency. We employers are in favour of sensitive but consistent reforms in all social security systems.

What really gets me as an entrepreneur is the question: do we actually still want entrepreneurs in this country? How attractive is it to start up in this country and create the jobs of tomorrow? If we still want entrepreneurs in this country, then we need to work together to re-establish a culture in our country, in our schools and universities, that creates the incentives to strengthen that will. As President of the Employers' Association, I will work to get people talking about entrepreneurship as a career again. Because if you soon no longer find anyone who takes the risk of founding a company, who partly goes into liability with his private assets, then it will also be over with employment and prosperity in this country."

As the top employer boss, Dr. Rainer Dulger represents the interests of more than 1 million companies with around 30.5 million employees. The Confederation of German Employers' Associations (BDA) is the largest top socio-political organisation. It works to ensure that companies can invest in Germany, drive innovation and create jobs and training places. The BDA thus represents the entire German economy, from industry, trade and crafts to services and the chemical industry. "This breadth - which also runs through small, medium-sized and large companies - is our strength. I want to continue to unite and strengthen this diversity. This is what I stand for as Employers' President," said Dulger.

Curriculum Vitae Dr. Rainer Dulger

Dulger, born in 1964, has been a member of the BDA's Executive Committee since 2003 and was acting vice-president of the BDA until his election as president last year. Previously, Dulger was President of Gesamtmetall, the umbrella organisation of 21 employers' associations in the German metal and electrical industry, from 2012 to 2020. From 2014 to the present, he has also been president of the Stuttgart-based Landesvereinigung Baden-Württembergischer Arbeitgeberverbände, now called Unternehmer Baden-Württemberg after your merger this year with the Landesverband der Baden-Württembergischen Industrie. He has been managing partner of ProMinent GmbH for more than 20 years. The company, which was founded by his father and is based in Heidelberg, has developed into one of the world's leading manufacturers in the field of dosing technology and water disinfection. Today, more than 2,700 employees work at the headquarters in Germany and at another 50 locations worldwide.

Rainer Dulger is married and has two children.

Press photos for your use of Employer President Dr. Rainer Dulger can be found at:

https://arbeitgeber.de/newsroom/fotos-videos

Election of Vice Presidents:

Dr. Kai Beckmann
President Bundesarbeitgeberverband Chemie
Member of the Executive Board, CEO Performance Materials Merck KGaA

Dr. Andreas Eurich
Chairman Employers' Association of Insurance Companies in Germany
Chairman of the Executive Board Barmenia Versicherungen

Wolfram Hatz (Treasurer)
President Association of Bavarian Business
Chairman of the Advisory Board and Shareholder Motorenfabrik Hatz GmbH & Co. KG

Arndt G. Kirchhoff
President METALL NRW
President unternehmer nrw
State Association of Business Associations North Rhine-Westphalia
Managing Partner Kirchhoff Holding GmbH & Co. KG
President Institute of the German Economy Cologne

Angelique Renkhoff-Mücke
Vice President Association of Bavarian Industry
Chairwoman of the Board WAREMA Renkhoff SE

Josef Sanktjohanser
President German Retail Association - HDE
PETZ REWE GmbH

Dr. Stefan Wolf
President GESAMTMETALL General Association of Employers' Associations in the Metal and Electrical Industry
Chairman of the Management Board ElringKlinger AG

Hans Peter Wollseifer
President Zentralverband des Deutschen Handwerks
Managing Partner Wollseifer Grundbesitzgesellschaft GmbH & Co. KG

Election of the members of the Presidium:

Thomas Bäumer
Managing Director Colosseum Dental Germany

Werner M. Bahlsen
President of the Lower Saxony Business Associations
Chairman of the Board of Directors Bahlsen GmbH & Co. KG

Jutta Beeke
Vice President Collective Bargaining and Social Policy Hauptverband der Deutschen Bauindustrie
Managing Partner Echterhoff Bau Group

Birgit Bohle
Chairwoman of the Board agv comunity, Employers' Association for Telecommunications and IT
Member of the Board Deutsche Telekom AG

Gerhard F. Braun
President of the Rhineland-Palatinate Federation of Employers' Associations

Dr. Jörg Brückner
President Association of Saxon Business
Managing Partner KWD Kupplungswerk Dresden GmbH

Martin Empl
President of the Confederation of German Agricultural and Forestry Employers' Associations

Claus-Christian Gleimann
Chairman Association of Employers' Associations of Energy and Utility Companies (VAEU)
Executive Labour Director E.ON SE

Johannes Heger
President PfalzMetall
Association of the Palatinate Metal and Electrical Industry
Managing Partner HegerGuss GmbH

Ralf Hengels
President of the Employers' Association for Food and Drink
Labour Director and Chief Human Resources Officer Nestlé Deutschland AG

Ingrid Hofmann
Vice President Federal Association of Personnel Service Providers (BAP)
Managing Partner I.K. Hofmann GmbH

Ilka Horstmeier
Member of the Board of Management BMW AG

Dr. Dirk Jandura
President Federal Association of Wholesale, Foreign Trade, Services
Managing Director Oskar Böttcher GmbH & Co. KG

Hartmut Koch
President Association of the Economy of Thuringia
Managing Partner TIBOR Gesellschaft für Bildung, Beratung und Vermittlung mbH

Martin Krengel
Chairman Vereinigung der Arbeitgeberverbände der Deutschen Papierindustrie e. V.
Chairman of the Board WEPA Hygieneprodukte GmbH

Gregor Lehnert
President Federal Association of the Security Industry
Managing Director UGL Group of Companies Gregor Lehnert

Dr. Richard Lutz
Chairman of the Board of Management Deutsche Bahn AG

Wolf Matthias Mang
President Vereinigung der hessischen Unternehmerverbände
Managing Director Arno Arnold GmbH

Stefan Moschko
President Vereinigung der Unternehmensverbände in Berlin und Brandenburg
Head of Personnel Department Germany Siemens AG

Sandra Mühlhause
President Bundesverband der Systemgastronomie BdS
Chief Human Resources Officer McDonald's Deutschland LLC

Dr. Philipp Murmann
President UVNord - Federation of Business Associations in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein
Managing Director Zöllner Holding GmbH

Ingeborg Neumann
President of the German Textile and Fashion Industry Association
Managing Partner Peppermint Holding GmbH

Dr. Michael Niggemann
President of the German Air Transport Employers' Association
Member of the Executive Board Deutsche Lufthansa AG

Lutz Oelsner
President Business Associations in the State of Bremen
Member of the Supervisory Board GESTRA AG

Dr. Arend Oetker
Managing Partner Dr. Arend Oetker Holding GmbH & Co. KG

Dr. Thomas Ogilvie
Member of the Board of Management of Arbeitgeberverband Postdienste
Member of the Board of Management of Deutsche Post AG

Jürgen W. Peschel
President of the German Association for Paper and Plastics Processing
Managing Director Smurfit Kappa Deutschland GmbH

Sabine Schmittroth
Chairwoman Employers' Association of the Private Banking Industry
Member of the Board of Managing Directors Commerzbank AG

Lars Schwarz
President Federation of Business Associations for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Hotel Mecklenburger Hof

Folkmar Ukena
President NORDMETALL
Managing Partner LEDA WERK GmbH & Co. KG

Sandra Widmaier-Gebauer
Director Group Human Resources Otto (GmbH & Co. KG)

Judith Wiese
Member of the Managing Board and Labor Director Siemens AG

Election of Board Members:

Thomas Bäumer
Colosseum Dental Germany

Dr. Andreas Eurich
Chairman Employers' Association of Insurance Companies in Germany
Chairman of the Executive Board Barmenia Versicherungen

Johannes Heger
Managing Partner HegerGuss GmbH
President PfalzMetall
Association of the Palatinate Metal and Electrical Industry

Ingrid Hofmann
Vice President Federal Association of Personnel Service Providers (BAP)
Managing Partner I.K. Hofmann GmbH

Ilka Horstmeier
Member of the Board of Management BMW AG

Dr. Richard Lutz
Chairman of the Board of Management Deutsche Bahn AG

Dr. Arend Oetker
Managing Partner Dr. Arend Oetker Holding GmbH & Co. KG

Wilfried Porth
Chairman SÜDWESTMETALL Association of the Metal and Electrical Industry Baden-Württemberg
Member of the Board of Management for Human Resources and Labor Director Mercedes-Benz AG

Angelique Renkhoff-Mücke
Vice President Association of Bavarian Industry
Chairwoman of the Board WAREMA Renkhoff SE

Josef Sanktjohanser
President German Retail Association - HDE
PETZ REWE GmbH

Folkmar Ukena
President NORDMETALL
Managing Partner LEDA WERK GmbH & Co. KG

Judith Wiese
Member of the Managing Board and Labor Director Siemens AG