Wolfgang Schäuble is a German lawyer and politician of the Christian Democratic Union party whose political career has spanned more than four decades. He is one of the most experienced and longest serving politicians in German history and since 2017 has been the President of the Bundestag. Born in Freiburg Im Breisgau in 1942, Schäuble studied at both the University of Freiburg and the University of Hamburg and subsequently began a career in law at the district court of Offenburg in 1978, his political career began in 1969 as a member of the Junge Union, the youth division of the CDU and CSU. His ministerial career began in 1984 when he was appointed Minister for Special Affairs by Chancellor Helmut Kohl. In a 1989 reshuffle, Schäuble was appointed Minister of the Interior, he led negotiations for reunification on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany. During his tenure as Minister of the Interior, Schäuble was one of the most popular politicians in Germany and was mentioned as a possible future Chancellor, though he faced occasional criticism from civil rights activists for his law and order policies.

After the defeat of the CDU/CSU in the 1998 federal election, Schäuble succeeded his mentor Helmut Kohl as Chairman of the CDU, but resigned after less than two years in the aftermath of the 1999 party financing scandal. In 2005, Schäuble again became Minister of the Interior in the Cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel, in 2009 Minister of Finance, a position he remained in for eight years. Described in this capacity as "Germany's second most powerful person" after Merkel, he took a hard line towards Southern European countries during the eurozone crisis and rejected calls from the International Monetary Fund to give Greece more time to rein in deficits. A proponent of austerity policies, Schäuble's 2014 budget allowed Germany to take on no new debt for the first time since 1969, known as Black Zero in CDU election campaigns. On 27 September 2017 the CDU/CSU group in the Bundestag announced Schäuble's nomination as President of the Bundestag, he was elected to that position on 24 October 2017.

Schäuble was born as the son of a tax finance advisor. He is the middle brother of three. After completing his Abitur in 1961, Schäuble studied law and economics at the University of Freiburg and the University of Hamburg, which he completed in 1966 and 1970 by passing the First and Second State Examinations becoming a qualified lawyer. In 1971 Schäuble obtained his doctorate in law, with a dissertation called "The public accountant's professional legal situation within accountancy firms". Schäuble entered the tax administration of the state of Baden-Württemberg becoming a senior administration officer in the Freiburg tax office. Subsequently, he became a practising registered lawyer at the district court of Offenburg, from 1978 to 1984. Schäuble's political career began in 1961 with him joining the Junge Union, the youth division of the CDU. During his studies he served as chairman of the Ring Christlich-Demokratischer Studenten, in Hamburg and Freiburg. In 1965 Schäuble became a member of the CDU.

From 1969 to 1972, he was district chairman of the Junge Union in South Baden. From 1976 to 1984, he served as chairman of the CDU National Committee for Sport. Schäuble has been a member of the Bundestag since 1972. On 21 October 2017, Schäuble became the longest serving member of parliament in german history overtaking August Bebel, a member of the North German Reichstag and the Reichstag from 1867 until 1881 and from 1983 until 1913. From 1981 to 1984 he was parliamentary whip of the CDU/CSU group and in November 1991 he became its chairman. Schäuble gave up this position in 2000 as another consequence of the financing scandal. Between October 2002 and 2005, Schäuble served as the parliamentary group's deputy chairman, under the leadership of Angela Merkel. Schäuble has always been elected to the Bundestag by means of winning an electorate seat, rather than through a list placing in Germany's system of proportional political representation. On 15 November 1984 Schäuble was appointed as Minister for Special Affairs and head of the Chancellery by Chancellor Helmut Kohl.

When in 1986 Soviet press belabored Kohl for having, in a magazine interview, made a comparison between the propaganda skills of Mikhail S. Gorbachev and Joseph Goebbels, Schäuble was reported to have counseled the Chancellor against writing Gorbachev an apology for the remark, saying it would be misunderstood as a sign of weakness. In his capacity as Minister for Special Affairs, Schäuble was put in charge of the preparations for the first official state visit of Erich Honecker, Chairman of the State Council of the German Democratic Republic, in 1987. By that time, he was considered to be one of Kohl's closest advisers. In a cabinet reshuffle Schäuble was made Minister of the Interior on 21 April 1989. In this role he led the negotiations on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany for reunification with the GDR in 1990, he and East German State Secretary Günther Krause signed the Unification Treaty on 31 August 1990. In a speech to parliament in 1991, Schäuble clinched the argument in favour of moving the German capital from Bonn to Berlin.

In the 1990s Schäuble was one of the most popular politicians in Germany and there was constant speculation that he would replace Kohl as Chancellor, whose popularity was declining. In November 1991, Schäuble became the Christian Democrats' parliamentary floor leader, replacing 71-year-old Alfred Dregger

Aerocaribe Flight 7831 was a British Aerospace Jetstream, registration N912FJ, with 17 passengers and 2 crew on a short haul flight from Terán Airport in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, to Carlos Rovirosa Pérez International Airport in Villahermosa, Tabasco both cities in Mexico. On 8 July 2000, as Flight 7831 leave the airport, severe weather in their flight path prompted the captain to ask air traffic control at Tuxtla Gutiérrez for permission to circumvent the severe weather. Air traffic control granted the request and the flight turned to the right, but at 19:50 Flight 7831 struck the ground in a mountainous area while descending; the aircraft burst into flames on impact. Flight 7831 crashed near Chulum Juarez and all passengers and crew on board died in the site of the accident. Airdisaster.com Accident description at Nicholas. "Aerocaribe Jetstream 32 crash kills 19." Flight International. 10 July 2000. "Se estrella avion comercial en Chiapas. El Universal. Monday 10 July 2000

The UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves covers internationally designated protected areas, each known as biosphere reserves, that are meant to demonstrate a balanced relationship between people and nature. The World Network of Biosphere Reserves of the MAB Programme consists of a dynamic and interactive network of sites, it works to foster the harmonious integration of people and nature for sustainable development through participatory dialogue, knowledge sharing, poverty reduction, human well-being improvements, respect for cultural values and by improving society’s ability to cope with climate change. It promotes North-South and South-South collaboration and represents a unique tool for international cooperation through the exchange of experiences and know-how, capacity-building and the promotion of best practices; as of 2019 total membership had reached 686 biosphere reserves in 122 countries occurring in all regions of the world. Myanmar had its first biosphere reserve inscribed in 2015.

This takes into account some biosphere reserves that have been withdrawn or revised through the years, as the program’s focus has shifted from simple protection of nature to areas displaying close interaction between man and environment. 1 Includes the Intercontinental Biosphere Reserve of the Mediterranean, shared between Morocco and Spain* Source - UNESCO Directory of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves, 2019 Article 4 of the "Statutory Framework of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves". Defines the criteria for Biosphere Reserves, including it should encompass a mosaic of ecological systems representative of major bio geographical regions, including a graduation of human interventions It should be of significance for biological diversity conservation It should provide an opportunity to explore and demonstrate approaches to sustainable development on a regional scale It should have an appropriate size to fulfill the three functions of biosphere reserves It should include these functions through appropriate zonation, recognizing core and outer transition zones.

Article 9 of the Statutory Framework states that “the status of each biosphere reserve should be subject to a periodic review every ten years, based on a report prepared by the concerned authority, on the basis of the criteria of Article 4". If a biosphere reserve no longer satisfies the criteria contained in Article 4, it may be recommended the state concerned take measures to ensure conformity. Should a biosphere reserve still does not satisfy the criteria contained in Article 4, within a reasonable period, the area will no longer be referred to as a biosphere reserve, part of the network. Article 9 of the Statutory Framework gives a state the right to remove a biosphere reserve under its jurisdiction from the network; as of 2018, a total of 45 sites had been withdrawn from the World Network of Biosphere Reserves by 9 countries. Some reserves have been withdrawn after they no longer met newer, stricter criteria for reserves, for example on zonation or area size. In June 2017, during the International Coordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere Programme meeting in Paris, the United States has withdrawn 17 sites from the program.

Searchable list of UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves