Photo Gallery Peter Altmaier's Sudden Political Ascendence
On the morning of May 16, 2012, Peter Altmeier was still the secretary of the parliamentary group of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives. But late Wednesday afternoon, Merkel said he would replace Norbert Röttgen in the post.
Röttgen was forced to step down after a disastrous election campaign in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Altmaier is known for his penchant for riding a bicycle to work and for obsessively tapping away at his smartphone. Altmaier also enjoys a good relationship with members of the Pirate Party. The politician believes his own conservative Christian Democratic Union party could learn a lot about the Internet from the Pirates.
The prospect of gaining the ministry post would be the pinnacle of Altmeier's fast rise within his party. This image shows Altmeier in 1999 at a time when he held lower-level positions within his party, which was in the opposition at the time.
Back in 1999, Altmaier (left) and Röttgen (second from left) were both still on their way to the top.
