Guido Westerwelle, Germany’s first openly gay Foreign Minister, has failed to retain his seat in parliament, forcing him out of that role
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has lost that job after his party failed to gain enough of the vote to retain his seat in parliament.
Westerwelle’s Free Democratic Party only received 4.8% of the vote when 5% was needed to retain his seat.
The Free Democratic Party’s vote has slumped rapidly from a peak of 14.6% in 2009.
Westerwelle had been one of the most outspoken European leaders to speak out against Russia’s ban on the so-called gay propaganda but had cautioned against a boycott of next year’s Sochi Winter Olympics.
Westerwelle came out publicly when he attended Chancellor Angela Merkel’s 50th birthday party with long term partner Michael Mronz in 2004 and the couple formally entered into a registered partnership in 2011.
Westerwelle was Germany’s first openly gay Foreign Minister and one of only a handful of openly LGBT people to be appointed to such a high level of government around the world.
During July of 2011 Westerwelle held the role of President of the United Nations Security Council as head of the German delegation to the United Nations – making him possibly the most powerful openly gay or lesbian person on the planet for that brief period.
Source – Gay Star News
