helped negotiate an agreement on closing Germany's last anthracite mines and clearing the way for the stock market flotation of the mines' owner, RAG AG, at the time the largest German coal producer and an international chemicals, energy and real estate conglomerate.<ref>Carter Dougherty (14 June 2007), Germany finds solution to its withering coal mines International Herald Tribune’'.</ref> Between 2007 and 2009, Rüttgers was one of 32 members of the Second Commission on the modernization of the federal state, which had been established to reform the division of powers between federal and state authorities in Germany. Shortly before the 2010 state elections, Rüttgers's public image was damaged by a party fund-raising scandal, and local issues like education and the troubles of municipalities with heavy debt burdens were central to the campaign. He led his party to an electoral defeat; the steep drop of 10 percentage points compared with the previous election, in 2005, was even larger than most analysts had predicted and gave the Christian Democrats their worst postwar showing in that state. The loss also meant Chancellor Angela Merkel could no longer count on a majority for her governing coalition in the Bundesrat, composed of delegations from all 16 states. In July 2010, Rüttgers stepped down as caretaker premier and also gave up his position as state party chairman. Life after politics Rüttgers joined the Düsseldorf office of German law firm Beiten Burkhardt as Of Counsel in March 2011. In this capacity, he is a member of the firm's Assets, Succession, Foundations practice group and also advises international companies on investments in Germany and German companies on international investments. In May 2011, Deutsche Bahn nominated Rüttgers as executive director of the Brussels-based Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER); instead, Libor Lochman was eventually appointed to the position.Rüttgers zieht Kandidatur als Bahn-Chef-Lobbyist zurück Spiegel Online, 6 September 2011. Rüttgers was a CDU delegate to the Federal Convention for the purpose of electing the President of Germany in 2017Wahl der Mitglieder für die 16. Bundesversammlung Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia, decision of 14 December 2016. and 2022. In addition, Rüttgers has held several paid and unpaid positions since leaving politics, including the following: 321-2021: 1700 Years of Jewish Life in Germany, Chairman of the Board of Trustees (since 2018) CFC Industriebeteiligungen AG, Member of the Supervisory Board (since 2011) Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation, Member of the Foundation Council Brost-Stiftung, Member of the Board