Riedl was a member of the
Bundestag from 1969 to 1998. In 1969 and 1972, he was elected to the Bundestag via the Bavarian national list, and was subsequently a directly elected representative from the
Munich South electoral district. From 1971 to 1994, Riedl was deputy chairman of the CSU in
Munich. He was also Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Budgets from 1982 to 1987. After the
West German federal election of 1987, Riedl was appointed parliamentary Secretary of State to the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, during the chancellorship of
Helmut Kohl. He left office on 22 January 1993 in a cabinet reshuffle and was succeeded by
Reinhard Göhner (CDU). During this period he served under three economy ministers:
Martin Bangemann,
Helmut Haussmann and
Jürgen Möllemann, all from the
Free Democratic Party (FDP). At the 1998 Bundestag election, Riedl lost his constituency to (
SPD) and left the Bundestag.
Tax investigation Due to the suspicion of the advantage with tax collectors around
Karlheinz Schreiber in 1996, his immunity as a Bundestag deputy was lifted; the
Augsburg public prosecutor ordered his house to be searched. On 14 November 1997, the Bundestag restored his immunity after the investigation by the Augsburg prosecutors failed. Later, the prosecutors office in Augsburg had to cease the investigation against Riedl in accordance with § 170 Abs.2 of the
Strafgesetzbuch for
nolle prosequi. In 2009, author published a book entitled
Macht und Missbrauch Von Strauß bis Seehofer - Ein Insider packt aus (English: Power and Abuse from Strauss to Seehofer - an insider speaks out), which alleged that on 29 October 1996, the Chief Prosecutor informed the Attorney General that the investigating prosecutor would cease the proceedings against Riedl. The Bavarian Minister of Justice at that time, , forbade the competent prosecutor to stop the investigations. By November 1997, the Bundestag restored Riedl's immunity beyond all factional borders. After the Bundestag elections in 1998, Riedl was no longer a member of parliament and therefore had no immunity, and the investigation against him was reopened and kept open until March 2000, though there was no new evidence or any investigations against him. ==Business activities==