Talk:Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg

Intricate detail

Preserving the material here by providing this link. Pls see edit summary for rationale. K.e.coffman (talk) 18:29, 2 April 2017 (UTC)

I further combined sections on "Family" & "Personal life" as talking about the same thing; reduced intricate detail. Pls see diff. K.e.coffman (talk) 18:41, 2 April 2017 (UTC)

Memberships reduced: diff; pls see edit summary for rationale. K.e.coffman (talk) 18:49, 2 April 2017 (UTC)

These reductions look fine to me. I'm going to try to shorten the NSA and Russia sections as well. That level of detail isn't really warranted, relative to more important aspects of Guttenberg's career (e.g., Minister of Defense). -Thucydides411 (talk) 19:26, 2 April 2017 (UTC)

Notice of move discussion for Causa Guttenberg

Please see:

• Talk:Causa_Guttenberg#Requested_move_3_April_2017

K.e.coffman (talk) 22:47, 3 April 2017 (UTC)

Post-resignation career

This strikes me as excessive intricate detail, "crystal ball" & speculations:

• In October 2012, after political resistance from Berlin led to the failure of the planned pan-European aerospace and defense merger of EADS and BAE, Guttenberg sharply criticized the German government's handling of this matter. In an op-ed published in the Financial Times, Guttenberg described the failed merger talks as a "missed opportunity of historic proportions" and emphasized the necessity of European cooperation as well as the industrial logic, synergies and cost savings associated with the proposed EADS-BAE link-up.
• A few days later, CSU chairman Horst Seehofer also criticized the German government's handling of the merger negotiations. Shortly afterward, speaking on the margins of a CSU party convention in Munich, Seehofer declared that he would try to bring Guttenberg back into German politics after the 2013 election cycle and said that Guttenberg should play a "significant" role.

References

Would there be any objections if this is removed from the article? Separately, I also removed the detail on Ghent initiative; preserving it here by providing this link. K.e.coffman (talk) 22:53, 10 April 2017 (UTC)

I wouldn't object to removing the above two paragraphs. -Thucydides411 (talk) 19:20, 11 April 2017 (UTC)

The post-resignation career sections seem undue, see for example Karl-Theodor_zu_Guttenberg#Center_for_Strategic_and_International_Studies, given that the resignation scandal gets only four paragraphs. Feedback? K.e.coffman (talk) 23:09, 10 April 2017 (UTC)

This entire section could go: Karl-Theodor_zu_Guttenberg#NSA_scandal. He was commenting as a private citizen, which Wikipedia does not necessarily need to report on. Same applies to Karl-Theodor_zu_Guttenberg#Russia; the article describes that the subject had published several op-eds. I don't think this is at all relevant, or could be drastically condensed instead.

K.e.coffman (talk) 23:11, 10 April 2017 (UTC)

I don't think Guttenberg's statements on the NSA scandal or Russia need their own sections. I'll look at the news coverage to try to figure out how much mention, if any, they should have. In my opinion, the post-resignation career sections should be condensed significantly. -Thucydides411 (talk) 19:23, 11 April 2017 (UTC)

Edits

I've implemented several reductions. I'm preserving the material here by providing this link. Here's another one: diff. K.e.coffman (talk) 03:02, 14 April 2017 (UTC)

Some more reductions diff. K.e.coffman (talk) 00:40, 19 April 2017 (UTC)

Buhl-Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg?

This Wikipedia article has a history of "citogenesis" (compare XKCD:978). On 9 February 2009, someone added a fake first name to it, which was then picked up by newspapers, leading to what looked like reliable sources that were, in fact, all itself copying from Wikipedia. Considering that history, I have to wonder where the name "Buhl-Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg" comes from?

On 1 November 2008, Welt.de/AP published what they said was his full name,[1] Karl-Theodor Maria Nikolaus Johann Jacob Philipp Franz Buhl-Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg, claiming to have received it from the registry office against Guttenberg's wishes. I find that remarkable, considering how far Germany's data protection laws go even for public figures. Guttenberg clearly had the right to keep his name(s) secret (source).

A few news agencies picked up that Welt.de/AP report, like Deutsche Welle on 9 February 2009,[2] but it was largely ignored. On 16 February 2009, someone asked about it on the talk page of the German Wikipedia article,[3] noting the lack of a reliable source (they only had the Welt.de article, and a report in Focus Magazine from November 2008). They also wondered about the strange fact that the "full name" allegedly received from the registry office is not, in fact, the minister's full name (we learned since that he was baptized Karl-Theodor Maria Nikolaus Johann Jacob Philipp Franz Joseph Sylvester). There were no replies to that comment.

For the next eight years, Wikipedia was content with the name Karl-Theodor Maria Nikolaus Johann Jacob Philipp Franz Joseph Sylvester Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg (without the "Buhl") -- except of course for that brief moment in early 2009 where someone added the fake name "Wilhelm" to it.[4] It was only on 8 October 2016 that this extra name "Buhl" was added to the German Wikipedia article,[5] based on an article in the tabloid Die Bunte from a few days prior.[6][7][8] Die Bunte's source for it is an alleged airline ticket, although some articles that went on to report their "discovery" also credit the 2008 Welt.de/AP story.

For the first few hours, the newly added name was indicated as unconfirmed on the German Wikipedia; that was changed a day later, on 9 October 2016, without further evidence having been provided.[9] From there, the name was then added to the English Wikipedia by an IP user on 13 November 2016.[10] The source is given in their edit summary: Copy from German Wikipedia

"Buhl" is the name of the winery owned by Guttenberg's father Enoch zu Guttenberg. According to the Austrian newspaper Kurier, who reported the Die Bunte discovery,[11] it is the name of the minister's great-grandfather Franz von Buhl (1867-1921), who they say had adopted Theodor's great-grandfather. Kurier cites the Kulmbach registry office, according to which the family carried "Buhl" as their legal last name, and von und zu Guttenberg as a (not legally binding) by-name. How Kurier had learned that information remains unclear. The registry office should be open to provide information about people born before 1900, so researching Franz von Buhl is no big deal, but getting information about Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg or his father is a different story!

Interestingly, the English Wikipedia still calls the minister's father Georg Enoch Robert Prosper Philipp Franz Karl Theodor Maria Heinrich Johannes Luitpold Hartmann Gundeloh Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg. In his German Wikipedia article, the name was changed to Georg Enoch Robert Prosper Philipp Franz Karl Theodor Maria Heinrich Johannes Luitpold Hartmann Gundeloh Buhl-Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg on 7 July 2018, at which time the same IP user also added "Buhl" to the German article about the minister's brother Philipp Franz zu Guttenberg.[12][13] The name "Buhl" had already been part of that latter article during 2016/2017, but it had been removed as a fake on 2 May 2017.[14]

To be clear, I don't know if "Buhl" is really Karl-Theodor's legal last name, and what it would mean if it is. It may be very hard to find reliable sources either way, not least because of all the citogenesis since 2008. What I know is that the name is poorly sourced, and that neither of the two original sources (Welt.de/AP's contact with the registry office, and Die Bunte's airline ticket) may be reliable. I'm not sure if we should follow them blindly, like we do right now. Renerpho (talk) 03:04, 10 November 2024 (UTC) Notified: WikiProject Biography/Politics and government, WikiProject Military history Renerpho (talk) 03:12, 10 November 2024 (UTC)

Do we have a source for he having secret names? If yes I'd suggest the approach of leading with whatever name he goes by then including a sentence in the personal life section that he has secret names and what Welt.de claims that they are.©Geni (talk) 04:01, 10 November 2024 (UTC)

@Geni: [15] discusses the legality of him keeping his name secret (it's legal). The Nov. 2008 Welt.de/AP report quotes him saying:[16] "Es gibt eine nicht unerhebliche Anzahl an Vornamen, die erspare ich Ihnen", sagte er auf neugierige Nachfragen. (English: "There are a not inconsiderable number of first names, I'll spare you," he said in response to curious enquiries.) Renerpho (talk) 04:08, 10 November 2024 (UTC)

@Geni: If we follow your approach, should we cite the secret names according to Welt.de (allegedly based on official registry records acquired by some means), or the different secret names according to literally everybody else since 2008 (originally traced back to someone's personal genealogy website[17])? Renerpho (talk) 04:12, 10 November 2024 (UTC)

We generally consider Welt.de to be a reliable source so go with that.©Geni (talk) 04:16, 10 November 2024 (UTC)

@Geni: Even if we do, Welt.de is not the only reliable source. They are, however, one of the very few (if not the only one) who are using that form of the name (without the last two first names "Joseph Sylvester").

The problem of the uncertain first names has been discussed on the German Wikipedia in early 2009, when Guttenberg took office as minister. To quote German Wikipedia user Jadadoo, from 15 February 2009 (original here, my translation):

True - but is there a source that the full name is actually that? This source is cited for the name, but it contradicts all other sources for the spelling "Karl Theodor" and the surname. In this respect, it is somewhat speculative what the full name is, but only the common name and the other first names are certain.

Naturally, that's the last reply that was ever made to that particular discussion. Alas, the name that was eventually used in the German Wikipedia article, later adopted by us, and that has appeared in hundreds of reliable sources since then, is not the one used by Welt.de. That's what I call "citogenesis". Renerpho (talk) 04:24, 10 November 2024 (UTC)

@Geni: I just noticed another problem: In the infobox, we give Karl-Theodor Maria Nikolaus Johann Jacob Philipp Joseph Sylvester Friedrich Buhl-Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg as his birth name. Our source [18] doesn't mention the name "Friedrich", which I have never seen before. The name was added by an IP user in this edit on 5 October 2020. I find a handful of reliable sources that have picked it up since then. Removed now in this edit. Renerpho (talk) 04:42, 10 November 2024 (UTC)

This is one of several names which that IP tried to add that day (Karl-Theodor Maria Nikolaus Johann Jacob Philipp James Franz Lennart Joseph Sylvester Eren Friedrich);[19] all except "Friedrich" were removed shortly after. Five edits were reverted, one was missed. Renerpho (talk) 04:57, 10 November 2024 (UTC)

The article about his wife Stephanie zu Guttenberg received the "Buhl-treatment" on 16 January 2023.[20] I couldn't find that edit at first because it had no edit summary and was marked as "minor". Renerpho (talk) 05:15, 10 November 2024 (UTC)

An independent, reliable source!

Hah! I just found a reliable source for his name that doesn't depend on any of the sources previously mentioned, and that's actually sanctioned by the family.

Spiegel.de wrote on 11 February 2009 that the complete genealogy of the family is published in "Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, vol. 110: Freiherrliche Häuser XIX, 1996, specifically on page 37 for the minister himself. These publications happen with support and permission from the families, giving the authors complete (legal) access to the original registry records. According to this source, the minister's name is Karl Theodor Maria Nikolaus Johann Jakob Philipp Franz Joseph Sylvester Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg; and his brother Philipp Franz Buhl-Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg is actually called Philipp Franz Maria Antonius Friedrich Wilhelm Emanuel Johannes Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg. So much for "secret names"! I guess that wasn't more than a good story... Those who wanted to know the minister's full name could have just looked it up in the literature. Also, the family never carried the name "Buhl", and there's no hyphen between "Karl" and "Theodor" in the official name.

Determining the actual list of first names was the result of a discussion on the German Wikipedia. The corresponding article in the FAZ from 15 February 2009 confirms that the Genealogische Handbuch des Adels is the source that was eventually used by the German Wikipedia, to decide what name to choose. That discussion, which took place between 9 and 18 February 2009, was buried in [21] and [22], but it's thorough. Sadly, the changes that happened in 2016 completely ignored it.

Now, about fixing this... and all the related articles that had the name "Buhl" added over the years... I'm not sure what to do. Renerpho (talk) 06:08, 10 November 2024 (UTC)

WP:FIXIT. Have fun. Synonimany (talk) 21:48, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

@Synonimany: Waiting for a book to arrive. Should come tomorrow, maybe Tuesday :) Renerpho (talk) 21:52, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

It took longer than I had expected, but the book I had ordered (the issue of Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels mentioned above) has finally arrived. It comes with some good news, as far as the need for work is concerned. It also leaves open some questions, but none that cannot be dealt with. I am slightly annoyed that I was led astray by old Wikipedia discussions who didn't bother to cite their sources in full. On the other hand, the discussion in 2009 was about the minister's given names, specifically, so I cannot blame them too much for not fully citing the surname. The Spiegel.de article from 11 February 2009 is based on those Wikipedia discussions, plus some unwarranted inferences by the author about the family name.

To make it short, the last name "Buhl" is real, and it is mentioned in Genealogisches Handbuch. On pages 35–36, in the entry for Karl Theodor's great-grandfather Georg Enoch (1893-1940), it says (my translation into English):

He bore the name "Buhl Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg" as the adopted son [per contracts from March 4, 1920, August 13, 1921, and January 24, 1922 in Deidesheim] of Franz Reichsrat von Buhl, owner of the Reichsrat von Buhl winery in Deidesheim, and his wife Frieda, née Russel

The entry for Karl Theodor himself comes without surprises, listing him as

Karl Theodor Maria Nikolaus Johann Jakob Philipp Franz Joseph Sylvester, * München 5.12.1971, ... (95358 Guttenberg)

There is no hyphen between "Karl" and "Theodor". There is no hyphen between "Buhl" and "Freiherr" either.

What this does not say is whether Karl Theodor's grandfather (and, in turn, the former minister himself) actually carried the last name Buhl as well. This is answered positively by this 1971 book, and by this 1997 book about the grandfather. Our article about the grandfather doesn't list the additional surname yet (unlike its German counterpart), so that's one thing that needs to be corrected. I'll start working on it... Renerpho (talk) 02:05, 6 December 2024 (UTC)