Hermann Borghorst

Hermann Borghorst (born 1947) is a fossil fuel lobbyist and former politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).

Biography Early life and education The eighth son of an Emsland craftsman, Borghorst was born in the town of Maczków in the Polish occupation zone in Germany.

Borghorst studied at the Otto Suhr Institute for Political Science, Free University of Berlin, and Sciences Po, before completing a doctorate at Tulane University.

Politics Borghorst became a member of the SPD in 1970, and from 1985-1990 worked for the German Trade Union Confederation. He was first elected as an SPD representative to the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin in 1991. Within the SPD he was considered to be aligned to the party's right. In 2000 he put himself forward for Chairman of the Berlin SPD, saying that the party structures needed reform.

Energy lobby In 2001 Borghorst resigned from parliamentary politics to take up a position with the energy conglomerate Vattenfall. A Greenpeace report identified Borghorst as a direct beneficiary of the SPD's apparent revolving door into the coal industry. The fluid relationship between the party and the fossil fuel industry has been seen as a roadblock to energy transition.