Status: 03/01/2022 10:54 a.m
Former Chancellor Ronald Pofalla is giving up his board position at Deutsche Bahn more than three years before the end of his contract. According to the person responsible for the Stuttgart 21 construction project, he is leaving for personal reasons.
After seven years on the board of Deutsche Bahn (DB), the former head of the Chancellery, Ronald Pofalla, is leaving the state-owned company. The 62-year-old is leaving at the end of April “at his own request”, the company said.
“After more than seven years with the company, it’s time to start the next phase of my life,” said Pofalla. Bahn boss Richard Lutz described him as a highly valued colleague who “has played a key role in shaping our ‘Strong Rail’ strategy”.
From the Chancellery to the train
Before moving to the DB Group, Pofalla was CDU General Secretary and from 2009 to 2013 head of the Federal Chancellery under Angela Merkel. His move to the DB Group under the then Bahn boss Rüdiger Grube was controversial.
Initially, he focused on government relations. Pofalla has been a board member for infrastructure since 2017. This also includes the Stuttgart 21 construction project. The costs for this are expected to increase by another billion to 9.15 billion euros, as was leaked in February. That’s why Pofalla was recently criticized.
The contract ran until 2025
Pofalla’s contract as a board member of the state-owned company ran until July 2025. According to information from the news agency Reuters regardless of his early departure, he shall not receive any severance pay or any payment for the remaining term of office. However, the group does not provide any information on these financial issues in its announcement.