"In 2002, Germany looked a lot like the United States does today: it had no economic growth, and its unemployment rate was 8.7 percent and climbing. Gerhard Schroeder, the German chancellor at the time, made an emergency call to a trusted friend. "I was actually surprised when I got the call," says Dr. Peter Hartz, who had gained a high profile as human resources director at Volkswagen ... Schroeder wanted Hartz to apply his formula to the whole country, so the chancellor created a commission and put his friend in charge." (Quoted from article)