Neumann was born in Elbing, East Prussia, now Elbląg, Poland.
Following the flight and expulsion of Germans after World War II he found refuge in Bremen, West Germany.
[1] Since 1962, Neumann has been a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
He served from 1991 to 1998 as Secretary of State in the Federal Ministry of Research and Technology.
From November 2005 until December 2013, Neumann was the Minister of State at the German Chancellery and Representative of the Federal Government for Culture.