Hans-Gert Pöttering (often written as Poettering; born 15 September 1945 in Bersenbrück, Lower Saxony) is a German conservative politician (CDU, European People's Party), and has been President of the European Parliament since January 2007.

He studied law, political science and history in University of Bonn, the University of Geneva, the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva and at Columbia University in New York. He took his first state exam in jurisprudence in 1973, earned a Ph.D. in political science and history in 1974 and took his second state exam in jurisprudence in 1976.

He has been a member of the European Parliament since 1979, one of only 14 members of the European Parliament to have served continuously since the first elections.