BERLIN, Feb 7 (Reuters) - German Economy Minister Michael Glos has offered his resignation, a ministry spokesman said on Saturday.
In a letter to the head of his Christian Social Union (CSU) party, Glos said he did not intend to serve as a government minister after a federal election due in September.
'As I will turn 65 this year, my lifeplanning is not consistent with belonging to a cabinet after September 28,' he wrote in the letter, whose contents were reported by the Bild am Sonntag newspaper and confirmed by the ministry spokesman.
Glos, a conservative, informed Chancellor Angela Merkel of the letter to CSU party chief Horst Seehofer by telephone.
With Europe's largest economy facing the prospect of its deepest post-war recession, Merkel's government has agreed twin economic stimulus packages that it says are worth a combined 81 billion euros ($103.8 billion).
Glos was a surprise choice as economy minister after the 2005 federal election. Once in the post, he took it upon himself to promote the small- and medium-sized firms -- the so-called Mittelstand -- that form the backbone of Germany's economy.
He has repeatedly called for tax cuts, earning himself criticism from some Social Democrats, who share power with Merkel's conservatives.
The CSU, the Bavarian sister party of Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), suffered heavy losses in a state election last September and Seehofer has since taken over at the party's helm.
Glos said the new start at the CSU was another reason for his resignation offer.
'The work as minister for the economy and technology is the high point of my political life,' Glos wrote in the letter.
'Above all, it was important to me to implement effective measures during the financial and economic crisis.'
(Reporting by Gernot Heller; Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by Angus MacSwan) ($1=.7807 Euro) Keywords: GERMANY GLOS/RESIGNATION (paul.carrel@reuters.com; +49 30 2888 5210; Reuters messaging: paul.carrel.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
In a letter to the head of his Christian Social Union (CSU) party, Glos said he did not intend to serve as a government minister after a federal election due in September.
'As I will turn 65 this year, my lifeplanning is not consistent with belonging to a cabinet after September 28,' he wrote in the letter, whose contents were reported by the Bild am Sonntag newspaper and confirmed by the ministry spokesman.
Glos, a conservative, informed Chancellor Angela Merkel of the letter to CSU party chief Horst Seehofer by telephone.
With Europe's largest economy facing the prospect of its deepest post-war recession, Merkel's government has agreed twin economic stimulus packages that it says are worth a combined 81 billion euros ($103.8 billion).
Glos was a surprise choice as economy minister after the 2005 federal election. Once in the post, he took it upon himself to promote the small- and medium-sized firms -- the so-called Mittelstand -- that form the backbone of Germany's economy.
He has repeatedly called for tax cuts, earning himself criticism from some Social Democrats, who share power with Merkel's conservatives.
The CSU, the Bavarian sister party of Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), suffered heavy losses in a state election last September and Seehofer has since taken over at the party's helm.
Glos said the new start at the CSU was another reason for his resignation offer.
'The work as minister for the economy and technology is the high point of my political life,' Glos wrote in the letter.
'Above all, it was important to me to implement effective measures during the financial and economic crisis.'
(Reporting by Gernot Heller; Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by Angus MacSwan) ($1=.7807 Euro) Keywords: GERMANY GLOS/RESIGNATION (paul.carrel@reuters.com; +49 30 2888 5210; Reuters messaging: paul.carrel.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.