Since 1972, Member of the German Bundestag. 1981-84, Parliamentary Secretary of the CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group, German Bundestag. 1984-89, Federal Minister for Special Tasks. 1989-91, Federal Minister of the Interior. 1991-2000, Head of the CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group. 1998-2000, CDU National Chairman. Since 2000, Member of the CDU Presidium. 2005-09, Federal Minister of the Interior. Since 2009, Federal Minister of Finance.