Kirchhof obtained a doctorate at the early age of 25 having studied law at the
University of Freiburg and
LMU Munich. He then became director of the Institute for Tax Law (
Institut für Steuerrecht) at the
University of Münster. In 1987, he was finally appointed to the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany in
Karlsruhe, where he remained a judge until 1999. He then assumed the position of professor at the
University of Heidelberg School of Law. From January until March 2000, with former President
Roman Herzog and former
Bundesbank president
Hans Tietmeyer, Kirchhof led an independent commission to investigate the
CDU donations scandal. During the
2005 federal election campaign,
Angela Merkel, leader of the
CDU/
CSU, announced that Kirchhof would serve as minister of finance if she formed a government. Kirchhof proposed a graduated income tax rate of 15, 20, and 25%. Chancellor
Gerhard Schröder successfully mocked Kirchhof during the SPD's campaign, calling him "that professor from Heidelberg", implying Kirchhof an ivory-towered point of view. This proposal undermined the CDU's credibility on economic affairs and led many Germans to believe that the party's platform for deregulation would only benefit the rich. It was a major contribution to the CDU's drop in the polls, from a lead of 21% over the
SPD at the start of the election campaign to 9%. Merkel's own popularity dropped 10% when she publicly endorsed Kirchhof's tax proposals. Although Merkel's popularity improved after she later distanced herself from Kirchhof's proposals, the CDU did not recover its earlier large lead in the polls. Kirchof attempted to bring the matter to a close before polling day by indicating that he would be remaining in academia and would not accept a position in government. Kirchhof has very conservative opinions on issues such as family and feminism, although these did not become an issue during the campaign. He has been quoted as saying that "the mother's career lies in the family, which doesn't produce power, but friendship, not money, but happiness." After the election of
Matteo Renzi as Prime Minister of Italy, there has been contact with Paul Kirchhof. ==Other activities==