Career
In 1978 he received a diploma in sociology. From 1983 to 1990 he was editor of the magazine Wissenschaft und Frieden ("Science and Peace"). He is the deputy for Die Linkspartei.
In 2000 he joined the PDS (now "Die Linkspartei").
In the 2005 federal election he was elected to the Bundestag on the party list for North Rhine-Westphalia.