ministers have been from Altbayern—the south—and Catholics. On 1 October 2008, following the Bavarian state elections of 28 September, where his party lost its absolute majority of the seats for the first time in 46 years, Beckstein resigned from his post but remained in office until a new Minister-President was elected on 27 October. Beckstein was a CSU delegate to the Federal Convention for the purpose of electing the President of Germany in 2017. Views Beckstein is an outspoken critic of the Church of Scientology. He is a staunch supporter of Israel and has warned in the past of the danger of right-wing extremism and antisemitism. He has received the Jerusalem Prize of the (Zionistin Organisation of Germany) in July 2006 for his efforts. He has warned repeatedly of the dangers arising from Islamist extremists in Germany and has asked for greater powers for government security departments to deal with those. He was criticized for this by members of the SPD and German Muslims. As the head of the Bavarian government, Beckstein had the final say on whether Hitler's Mein Kampf could be published in Germany, since Bavaria holds the copyrights. Beckstein disallowed any form of publication of the book in Germany, fearing it would fuel right-wing extremism. Beckstein caused controversy in the run-up to Oktoberfest by declaring that people who drink two Maß of beer over several hours are fit to drive. Other activities Deutsche Bank, Member of the Regional Advisory Board for Bavaria (since 2011) University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU), Member of the Board of Trustees References External links Günther Beckstein Sworn in as new Bavarian Premier Deutsche Welle article on Günther Beckstein Website with quotes of Günther Beckstein (in German) Official Bavarian government website - Günther Beckstein biography (in German) Günther Beckstein's curriculum vitae at the official website of the Bavarian Landtag (in German) 1943 births Living people People from Hersbruck Ministers of the Bavaria State Government Members of the Bundestag for Bavaria Ministers-President of Bavaria Members of the Landtag of Bavaria German Lutherans Jurists from Bavaria 21st-century German politicians Members of the Bundestag for the Christian Social Union in Bavaria