 Other official trips as foreign minister included Mronz, an event manager, and Ralf Marohn, a partner in his brother's company, also causing controversy.Westerwelle retorted that it was normal for foreign ministers to take industry representatives on their trips, calling himself a victim of "a left-wing "zeitgeist" that considers making business questionable".On 20 July 2004, Westerwelle attended Angela Merkel's 50th birthday party accompanied by his partner, Michael Mronz.