Ex-Minister zu Guttenberg has a doctorate again

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Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg (archive photo): New doctoral thesis presented in Great Britain

The former defense minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg has apparently again obtained his doctorate. As initially reported by the "Bild" newspaper, Guttenberg submitted a corresponding work to the British Southampton Business School, a faculty of the University of Southampton, last year.

In fact, there is a 488-page long publication on the university's website about the correspondent banking business, which Guttenberg submitted to obtain the academic degree "Doctor of Philosophy".

The paper was published in November 2018, the final version in July 2019. Guttenberg, who is listed as an author under the name of Karl Buhl-Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg, was reportedly supported by the German economist Richard Werner.

Thanks to friends "on both sides of the Atlantic"

Werner attests to the minister, according to "Bild" for his doctorate, "remarkable, excellently researched research results on an important topic". In the preface to the doctoral thesis, Guttenberg thanks his "friends on both sides of the Atlantic". They would have given him the "necessary critical and motivating help". He also praised his wife's support and dedicated the work to her and their children.

Guttenberg had largely used foreign texts in his first doctoral thesis without specifying this and therefore had to give up his doctorate. The CSU politician admitted serious mistakes, but denied having acted deliberately. At first he kept his offices, after severe criticism Guttenberg resigned from his office as defense minister on March 1, 2011.

The University of Bayreuth later published a 40-page report in which Guttenberg was accused of "willful scientific misconduct". It was said at the time that he "evidently and grossly violated the standards of good scientific practice and deliberately deceived them." Investigations against Guttenberg were closed after a payment of 20,000 euros.

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