Franz Müntefering (born January 16, 1940) is a German politician and chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), one of the two largest national parties in modern times. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... January 16 is the 16th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD – Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands) is the second oldest political party of Germany still in existence and also one of the oldest and largest in the world, celebrating its 140th anniversary in 2003. ...

He was born in Neheim (now part of Arnsberg) and joined the SPD in 1966. He was a member of the Bundestag from 1975 to 1992 and again since 1998; from 1995 to 1998 he was a member of the Landtag (state legislature) of North Rhine-Westphalia. Map of Germany showing Arnsberg Arnsberg is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ... 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... The Bundestag (Federal Diet) is the parliament of Germany. ... 1975 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... 1992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... With eighteen million inhabitants inhabiting 34,080 km² in western-northwestern Germany, North Rhine-Westphalia (German Nordrhein-Westfalen) is largest in population though only fourth in area among Germanys sixteen federal states, and contains about 22% of Germanys GDP. The capital is Düsseldorf. ...

He was Bundesgeschäftsführer (acting director) of the SPD from 1995 to 1998, was the first to hold the new post (17 have been created before) of general secretary from 1999 to 2002, and thereafter became leader of the SPD faction in the Bundestag. In February 2004 he was designated to succeed Chancellor Gerhard Schröder as party chairman in March 2004. 1999 is a common year starting on Friday of the Common Era, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Gerhard Fritz Kurt Schröder [] (born April 7, 1944), a German politician, has been serving as Chancellor of Germany since 1998. ...

In April 2005, Müntefering criticized the market economy of Germany and proposed radically more state involvement to promote economic justice and more justice in genneral. This began a debate which has dominated the national news, being the subject of front-page articles and covered on the main television news broadcasts nearly every day. Müntefering's suggestions have been criticized by employers and many economists, but have met with popular support (75% in some opinion polls) (other opinion polls showed a differnet figure).