Education
German was educated at the Open University and Street Mary's College.
German was educated at the Open University and Street Mary's College.
In 1996, he was awarded the Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for his public and political service. Has also been a school governor. In the 1996 New Year"s Honours he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
He contested Cardiff North in October 1974 and 1979 for the Liberals, before fighting Cardiff Central in 1983 and 1987 for the Social Democratic Party–Liberal Alliance, but was unsuccessful on each occasion.
Under a Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition he became Deputy First Minister 2000-2001 (and Minister for the Economy and Transport) and again in 2002-2003 (and Minister for Rural Affairs and Wales Abroad). He stepped down from the role of Deputy First Minister between the two dates to answer allegations made about his role at the Welsh examination board, the WJEC. During this period he was temporarily replaced by Jenny Randerson as Acting Deputy First Minister.
He was succeeded by Kirsty Williams. In May 2010, German was named to the House of Lords as a "working peer" in the Dissolution Honours list.
German took his seat as Baron German, of Llanfrechfa in the County Borough of Torfaen.
He was leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats from 2007-2008. His political career spans over three decades, as councillor and Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats on Cardiff City Council between 1983–1996 and joint leader of the Council from 1987 to 1991. He was elected to the National Assembly for Wales in 1999 and re-elected in 2003 and 2007.
In November 2007, Mike German became leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, after Lembit Opik stood down to ensure that the leadership of the party was in the National Assembly and not Westminster. German"s political interests include skills development in small and large companies in Wales, constitutional affairs, local government, economy and regeneration. He was succeeded to the Assembly in June 2010 by his wife, Veronica, a Torfaen councillor, as she was the next candidate on the regional party list in 2007.
In his early life he was a member of 28th Cardiff Sea Scout Group.