Westerwelle then stepped down as party leader.

FDP leader Guido Westerwelle became the unofficial leader of the opposition by virtue of the FDP's position as the largest opposition party in the Bundestag.

On election night party leader Westerwelle said his party would work to ensure that civil liberties were respected and that Germany got an " equitable tax system and better education opportunities.

The FDP supports gay rights ; former party leader Guido Westerwelle is openly gay.

Westerwelle, the youngest party chairman at the time, emphasized economics and education, and espoused a strategy initiated by his deputy Jürgen Möllemann, who, as chairman of the North Rhine-Westphalia branch of party, had led his party back into the state parliament, gaining 9. 8 % of the vote.

In the federal elections of 2009, Westerwelle committed his party to a coalition with Dr Merkel's CDU / CSU, ruling out a coalition with Social Democrats and Greens, and led his party to unprecedented 14. 6 %.

By July the party was only receiving 3 % support in opinion polls, a record low, reflecting what political insiders had called his " last stand " in January, comparing Westerwelle and his party to Captain Ahab and the Pequod.

Westerwelle himself, who was made party chairman particularly because his predecessor Wolfgang Gerhardt had been viewed by many as dull and stiff, has labelled his approach as Spaßpolitik ( fun politics ) in the past.

Early in the campaign, Guido Westerwelle, leader of the Free Democrats, declared himself a " Chancellor Candidate ," usually a title reserved for the main election leaders of the SPD and CDU / CSU.

Also, German politician and leader of the Free Democratic Party Guido Westerwelle was born in Bad Honnef.

Philipp Rösler is FDP chairman, having succeeded Guido Westerwelle, the party's second-longest serving chairman, in May 2011.

Guido Westerwelle (; born 27 December 1961 ) is a German liberal politician, who, since 28 October 2009, has served as the Foreign Minister in the second cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel, and who was Vice Chancellor of Germany from 2009 to 2011.

In July 2011 Westerwelle was the President of the United Nations Security Council as he headed the German delegation to the United Nations.

In 1996, Westerwelle was first elected a member of the Bundestag, filling in for Heinz Lanfermann, who had resigned from his seat after entering the Ministry of Justice.

Angela Merkel was re-elected as chancellor, and Guido Westerwelle served as the Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor of Germany.

Because of the losses Guido Westerwelle had to resign as chair of the FDP in favor of Philipp Rösler, Federal Minister of Health, who was consequently appointed as vice chancellor.

Guido Westerwelle was born in Bad Honnef in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

In 1998, Westerwelle was re-elected to parliament.

In the federal elections of 2005, Westerwelle was his party's frontrunner.

Fischer said she was not worthy of the recognition ; Westerwelle offered no justification to deny the award.

Wulff's candidacy for President of Germany in the 2010 presidential election was formally confirmed by Angela Merkel, Guido Westerwelle and Horst Seehofer, the heads of the CDU, FDP and CSU parties, during the evening of 2010.

When neither Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's Social Democrats and Greens nor a coalition of Christian and Free Democrats, favored by Angela Merkel and Westerwelle, managed to gain a majority of seats, Westerwelle rejected overtures by Chancellor Schröder to save his chancellorship by entering his coalition, preferring to become one of the leaders of the disparate opposition of the subsequently formed " Grand Coalition " of Christian and Social Democrats, with Merkel as Chancellor.

Westerwelle joined the FDP in 1980.

Westerwelle became a vocal critic of the new government.

In 2006, according to an internal agreement, Westerwelle succeeded Wolfgang Gerhardt as chairman of the parliamentary group.

Westerwelle is a staunch supporter of the free market and has proposed reforms to curtail the German welfare state and deregulate German labour law.

When Eskil stepped down as Archbishop of Lund in 1177, he chose Absalon as his successor.

On November 25, 1994, Morita stepped down as Sony chairman after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage while playing tennis.

November 25 1994 his stepped down as Sony chairman.

Gianfranco Fini was the leader of the party since its foundation in 1995, however he stepped down in 2008 after being elected to the nominally non-partisan post of President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and was succeeded by Ignazio La Russa, who managed to merge the party into The People of Freedom ( PdL ).

No. 1 ( Commander / Leader ) for the 2011 – 2012 seasons was originally Commander Dave Koss ; effective 27 May 2011, Koss " stepped down Friday in the wake of a subpar performance at a Virginia air show.

Cuba has been ruled by Castro's Communist Party of Cuba, although Castro himself formally stepped down as leader in 2008, to be replaced by his brother Raúl Castro.

By the time he stepped down in 1988 he had completed 13 years at the production helm.

Capellas stepped down on November 12, 2002, just six months on the job, to become CEO of MCI Worldcom where he would lead its acquisition by Verizon.

In 1849 Atchison stepped down as President pro tempore in favor of William R. King.

It was also the last season as head coach for Adams, who stepped down after the season to concentrate on his duties as general manager.

Raymond stepped down as the president of the Open Source Initiative in February 2005.

* 642: She ascended the throne as Kōgyoku-tennō, and she stepped down in response to the assassination of Soga no Iruka ( see: Isshi Incident ).

After Junna stepped down from the throne, two former Emperors were alive.

" When he stepped down as director he received a Department of Commerce Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Federal Service.

Through a peace settlement arranged by the US charge'd ' affaires in Tegucigalpa, Bonilla stepped down and the war with Nicaragua came to an end.

Veeck would sell his shares in the White Sox in, and Greenberg stepped down as general manager on August 26 of that season.

He retained his posts as foreign minister and vice chancellor through German reunification and until 1992, when he stepped down for health reasons.

Gaddafi stepped down as General Secretary of the General People's Committee in 1977, being succeeded by Abdul Ati al-Obeidi.

He stepped down as expected the same day and was succeeded by Ali Tarhouni.

In 1998 Rau stepped down from his positions as SPD Chairman and Minister President, and on 23 May 1999, was elected Federal President by the Federal Assembly of Germany to succeed Roman Herzog ( CDU ).

Although Tim Smith stepped down from the House of Commons at the 1997 General Election, both Neil Hamilton and Jonathan Aitken sought re-election for their seats, and were both defeated, in Hamilton's case by the former BBC Reporter Martin Bell, who stood as an anti-sleaze candidate, both the Labour and LibDem candidates withdrawing in his favour, amidst further publicity unfavourable to the Conservatives.

While the low volume of business conducted by Universal in Germany made such threats largely hollow, the State Department, under pressure from the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League and the Screen Actors Guild, stepped in and the German government backed down.

Former Wizard / Sporting Kansas City player Sasha Victorine provided color commentary in the beginning of 2011 but stepped down to spend more time with family.

Soon afterwards he stepped down as Blackburn manager to become Director of Football at the club, before leaving altogether in 1996.