Dr. Theo Zwanziger is a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 lawyer and sports official. He is the current president of the German Football Association

German Football Association

The German Football Association is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB organises the German football leagues, including the national league, the Bundesliga, and the men's and women's national teams. The DFB is based in Frankfurt and is...

 (DFB). For his contributions to German football, he received the Bundesverdienstkreuz

Bundesverdienstkreuz

The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany is the only general state decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has existed since 7 September 1951, and between 3,000 and 5,200 awards are given every year across all classes...

 in 2005.

Career

Theo Zwanziger was an amateur player for his local VfL Altendiez, playing there until 1975. He studied law in Mainz

Mainz

Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...

 and graduated in fiscal and constitutional law. Between 1980 and 1985, he worked as a judge in Koblenz

Koblenz

Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...

 before joining the government of Rhineland-Palatinate

Rhineland-Palatinate

Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....

 as a representative of the CDU

Christian Democratic Union (Germany)

The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...

.

In 1992, Zwanziger entered the DFB as a member of the executive board ("Mitglied des Vorstandes"). He was a vital part of the groundbreaking 2001 decision to grant autonomy to the German Fußball-Bundesliga

Fußball-Bundesliga

The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...

 professional teams, letting them organise themselves in the DFL (Deutsche Fußball-Liga). In 2001, Zwanziger was made treasurer of the DFB and elected vice president on 2003. For his contributions to German soccer, he received the Bundesverdienstkreuz

Bundesverdienstkreuz

The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany is the only general state decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has existed since 7 September 1951, and between 3,000 and 5,200 awards are given every year across all classes...

 in 2005. On December 8, 2006, he was named co-president alongside Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder

Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder

Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder , often called "MV", is the current Vice President of the Union of European Football Associations . Prior to his UEFA career, Mayer-Vorfelder was a politician of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, and served in the state cabinet of Baden-Württemberg from 1976 to 1998...

. After Mayer-Vorfelder left the DFB to become UEFA vice president in 2007, he is the sole president of the DFB.

Litigation against a German journalist

When the renowned sport journalist Jens Weinreich called him an "unglaublicher Demagoge" (unbelievable demagogue), Zwanziger unsuccessfully asked the Landgericht Berlin (country court of Berlin) to issue a temporary injunction against this statement. Zwanziger later publicly announced to go to the court of Koblenz, his former place of work for another attempt, resulting in further criticism from the press and journalists' associations. As of March 2009, Zwanziger's legal attempts to silence Weinreich have all but failed. Weinreich has publicly stated that he fears Zwanziger might continue to use SLAPP

Strategic lawsuit against public participation

A strategic lawsuit against public participation is a lawsuit that is intended to censor, intimidate, and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition....

tactics to outspend Weinreich, hence accepting donations from the public to cover his legal expenses. On 27 March 2009, Weinreich and the DFB agreed out of court.