Siemens chairman expected to continue advising German chancellor after resignation

The German government said Friday that German electronics and engineering giant Siemens' chairman Heinrich von Pierer will continue to chair German chancellor's advisory council on innovation after he resigned amid a series of corruption scandals.

Under mounting pressure in the context of ongoing bribery allegations against Siemens top managers, von Pierer announced late Thursday night to step down from his current position as supervisory board chairman at Siemens.

In reaction to the legendary executive's resignation, Thoman Steg, German government's deputy spokesman, said on Friday that Chancellor Angela Merkel expected von Pierer to continue with his task as head of the Council for Competitiveness, Innovation and Growth.

Steg noted that von Pierer had decided to resign voluntarily and only a few managers could make a similar gesture.

Siemens, which makes everything from telephones to trains, is one of Europe's biggest engineering companies. But it has been hit by a series of scandals in recent months revolving around accusations that some employees used company money to pay bribes to help secure deals abroad.

German media reported that von Pierer was under pressure from other members on the board to resign due to the ongoing state prosecutors' investigations into the alleged corruption scandals. Von Pierer himself is not the subject of the prosecutors' investigations.

Von Pierer, who is often dubbed as Mr. Siemens, said he made the decision "to serve the best interests of the company" and that it was not because he was assuming "personal responsibility in view of the current investigations."

Siemens has already appointed steelmaker ThyssenKrupp's chairman Gerhard Cromme as his temporary successor until next year's annual general meeting.

Source: Xinhua