Martin Schulz
A bookshop owner from a small German town who rose to preside over the European Parliament, becoming a passionate defender of the European project.
Born 1955 (age 71)·German politician·Birthday: December 20·Baby Boomers
Biography
Martin Schulz's story is a distinctly European one. A frustrated football career and battles with alcoholism led him to find purpose in books, running a small-town bookstore for over a decade. This grounding in community life fueled his political entry, and in 1994 he vaulted directly from local mayor to the European Parliament. There, he found his true calling. As leader of the Socialists and Democrats group, and later as President of the Parliament itself, he transformed from a backbencher into a formidable institutional force. With a famously fiery temper and unwavering federalist conviction, he clashed with national leaders over austerity and democratic backsliding, arguing always for a more integrated and socially just Europe. His brief, unsuccessful return to German national politics in 2017 only underscored that his stage—and his legacy—was always in Brussels.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Martin was born in 1955, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Martin Was Born
The biggest hits of 1955
#1 Movie
Lady and the Tramp
Best Picture
Marty
#1 TV Show
The $64,000 Question
Martin's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1955Born
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1960Started school
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1968Became a teenager
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1971Could drive
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1973Could vote
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1976Turned 21
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1985Turned 30
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1995Turned 40
Oklahoma City bombing; Windows 95 released
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $96,500Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Gangsta's Paradise" — CoolioBest Picture: Braveheart
2005Turned 50
Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans; YouTube launches
Gas: $2.30/galHome: $167,500Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"We Belong Together" — Mariah CareyBest Picture: Crash
2015Turned 60
Paris climate agreement; same-sex marriage legalized in the US
Gas: $2.43/galHome: $171,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Uptown Funk" — Mark Ronson ft. Bruno MarsBest Picture: Spotlight
2025Turned 70
AI agents go mainstream
Gas: $3.10/galHome: $385,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"APT." — Rose & Bruno Mars
2026Age 71 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Served as President of the European Parliament from 2012 to 2017, overseeing a period of significant political and economic crisis in the EU.
- Was the long-time leader of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, the second-largest group in the European Parliament.
- Became the Spitzenkandidat (lead candidate) for the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) in the 2017 federal elections.
Did You Know?
He is a noted bibliophile and owned a bookshop in Würselen, Germany, for twelve years before entering politics full-time.
In 2003, he had a famous heated exchange with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in the European Parliament, which boosted his profile.
He moved to Brussels in 1994 and learned French, which he often used in his parliamentary duties.
“Europe is not just a common market. Europe stands for a model of society, for solidarity, for cohesion.”
