Bio:
Dr. Jorgo Chatzimarkakis MEP is a member of the European Parliament Committee on Industry, Research and Energy and of the Committee on Budgetary Control. He was Rapporteur for the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme. He is also a Substitute on the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development and the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. He was elected Member of the European Parliament for the German Liberal Party in 2004. Dr. Chatzimarkakis has been actively involved in devloping directives on a wide range of subjects, most notably innovation issues (CIP), education and research policies (EIT), and CO2 emission reductions for the automotive industry (CARS 21).
Since 2006 Dr. Chatzimarkakis is a member of the Pharmaceutical Forum, a high level group designed to provide a political mandate for relevant public health issues. He launched the European Life Science Circle (ELSC), a platform to discuss relevant issues in the context of life sciences and pharmaceuticals.
He joined the German Young Liberals (Julis) in 1990 and the German Free Democratic Party (FDP) in 1991, of which he is a Member of the National Board.
He is also Secretary General of the Regional FDP branch in Saarland.
From 1993 to 1996, Dr. Chatzimarkakis held the post of Science Policy Officer at the German Bundestag, before joining the Policy Planning Unit in the German Foreign Office. Founder of a Public Affairs Consultancy in 1999, he also lectured extensively at Duisburg University and University of Saarland on politcal science and information sciences. He is also President of the DHW (German-Hellenic Economic Association). Dr. Chatzimarkakis studied agriculture and political sciences in Bonn and Oxford, he holds a PhD in political science, obtained from the University of Bonn in 2000.