Gerhard Schröder

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This article discusses the Social Democratic German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. For the 1950s/1960s CDU politician with the same name, see Gerhard Schröder (CDU).


Gerhard Schröder
Gerhard Schröder
Order: 33rd Chancellor of Germany
(7th of the Federal Republic)
Term of Office: October 27, 1998–
Predecessor: Helmut Kohl
Date of Birth: April 7, 1944
Political Party: SPD
Profession: lawyer

Gerhard Fritz Kurt Schröder [ˌgeɐhaɐt fʁɪts kʊɐt ˈʃʁødɐ] (born April 7, 1944 in Mossenberg-Wöhren), a German politician, has been serving as Chancellor of Germany since 1998. His political career has unfolded within the left of center Social Democratic Party of Germany (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, SPD) — for a time he also served as Party Chairman. He heads a coalition of the SPD and the German Green Party. Before becoming a fulltime politician, he was a successful lawyer.

(His surname often appears spelled Schroeder in English, in accordance with the standard conversion of umlauts.)

Political career

Schröder joined the Social Democratic Party in 1963. In 1978 he became the federal chairman of the Young Socialists, the youth organisation of the SPD. In 1980 he was elected to the German Bundestag, and stood out provocatively as a young parliamentarian who wore a sweater to work instead of the traditional suit-and-tie. He became chairman of the SPD Hanover district.

Political success in Lower Saxony

1986 saw his election to the regional parliament of Lower Saxony as leader of the SPD faction. After the SPD's win of the regional elections in Lower Saxony on June 21 1990, he became minister-president of Lower-Saxony as head of a SPD/Greens coalition; in this position, he also won the 1994 (March 13, from there on absolute majority of the SPD itself, SPD-only government) and the 1998 (March 1) regional elections there.

Political career in Germany's federal politics

Following his start as minister-president, he became a member of the board of the federal SPD. In Germany's 1994 federal elections (October 16), he was the SPD's candidate for the foreign minister under the SPD's chancellor candidate Rudolf Scharping, but the SPD did not become the federal government after this election. On the evening of the 1998 Lower Saxony elections, he was announced to become chancellor candidate of the SPD. He became Chancellor of Germany on October 27 as head of a SPD/Green coalition, after these parties had gained the majority in the German Bundestag in the federal elections on September 27, 1998. In the general elections on September 22, 2002, he secured another four-year term, thanks to the victory of his governing Red-Green coalition, despite of a lost of several seats in the Bundestag maintaining only a 9 seat majority down from 21 previously.

His political opponent conservative rival, Edmund Stoiber, was quoted in the Associated Press at the time as saying Schroeder's majority in the Bundestag would not hold long. "I predict that this Schroeder government will rule for only a very short time. What I criticize above all is that (Schroeder) opened the floodgates for anti-American tones," Stoiber said on German television, calling the crisis with the United States "the most devastating of the last 50 years." [1]

Schröder as chairman of the SPD

After the resignation of Oskar Lafontaine from his office as SPD chairman in March, 1999, Schröder held that office as well. In February, 2004, he resigned as chairman of the SPD to concentrate, as Chancellor, on German reform processes. (Franz Müntefering succeeded him as chairman.) Speculation suggests that the SPD's historical low level of popularity in opinion polls provides one reason for his resignation as chairman. On May 22, 2005 after the SPD had just taken a devastating election defeat to the Christian Democrats in its former heartland North Rhine-Westphalia, Gerhard Schröder announced he would pave the way for new federal elections in Germany "as soon as possible". A motion of no confidence was passed in the Bundestag on July 1 by 296 to 151, after Schröder urged members to vote against his government in order to trigger new elections. In elections held on September 18, Schröder's party was narrowly defeated by Angela Merkel of the CDU, a development expected by most observers of German politics. However, according to exit polls, Merkel's CDU and its preferred coalition partners, the FDP, do not appear to have enough seats between them to form a coalition government alone, leaving the future make-up of Germany's government in doubt. Both Schroeder and Merkel have claimed victory in the election. Merkel has pledged that if she becomes Chancellor, she will work to restore Germany's relationship with the United States, still seen by many as weak under Schroeder despite co-operation between the two nations since they clashed at the United Nations over the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Political activity

Domestic policy

Schröder's Red-Green Alliance government achieved a reputation for some progressive policies — for example, the funding of renewable energies, liberalising homosexual partnerships, and trying to stop the Bundesländer introducing studying fees. Most voters associate Schröder with the Agenda 2010 reform program, which includes cuts in the social welfare system (national health insurance, unemployment payments, pensions), lowering taxes, and reforming regulations on employment and payment (Hartz I — IV).

After the 2002 election, Schröder's SPD party steadily lost support in opinion polls. Many increasingly perceived Schröder's third way (die Neue Mitte) program to be a harsh dismantling of the German welfare state. Germany's unemployment rate - a legacy of reunification - has also been a lingering problem for the Red-Green government.

File:SchröderandChirac.jpg
In September 1998 French President Chirac first met with Schröder.

Foreign policy

File:Putin Schröder.jpg
Schröder with Russian President Vladimir Putin, 2005.

Prior to Schröder's Chancellorship, no German military troops had served outside NATO territory since the end of the second world war. Schröder sent forces to Kosovo and to Afghanistan.

With Germany having a long experience with terrorism itself, Schröder declared solidarity with the United States of America after that country became the victim of terrorist attacks in September of 2001.

Along with French President Jacques Chirac, Schröder spoke out strongly against the war on Iraq during 2003, and refused any military assistance in that enterprise. Whilst re-affirming the Franco-German alliance, Schröder's stance gave rise to political friction between the U.S. and Germany, as Germany had a reputation as one of Washington's most important and intimate allies since the end of World War II. Schröder's opposition to the invasion of Iraq had multiple reasons; primarily it reflected popular opposition to the war, especially among the SPD voters and supporters of its coalition partner.

In addition to a friendly relationship with Chirac, Schröder has cultivated close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin in an attempt to strengthen the "strategic partnership" between Berlin and Moscow.

Relations with some European countries have sometimes become strained due to Schröder's alleged "powerplay"; examples are Austria, the Czech Republic and Spain.

Political style

In the first years of his government, Schröder became known as the Medienkanzler (chancellor of the media). He also gained a reputation for governing by commissions. After several changes in his cabinet, growing resistance from the now CDU-dominated Bundesrat, and eroding popularity, Schröder's style changed to something based largely on the authoritative power of the chancellor's office.

Personal life

Gerhard Schröder and Mexican president Vicente Fox.

Schröder's career, starting from a working-class background, has spanned a period as a successful lawyer, as well as politics.

Schröder was born in Mossenberg, in the Free State (and former Principality) of Lippe(-Detmold) (today North Rhine-Westphalia). His father, Fritz Schröder, died fighting in Romania during World War II weeks after young Gerhard's birth. His father's place of death was not known even to him until 2001, when his father's final resting place was revealed to be a cemetery in the village of Ceanu Mare, 375 km northwest of Bucharest. He visited this area on August 12, 2004. His mother Erika worked on farms to feed the family, consisting of herself and her two sons. Later she married again (Paul Vosseler), but continued to work hard — as a cleaning woman — to feed the five children of the family, then living in Bexten.

Schröder initially worked as a sales clerk in Göttingen, meanwhile studying at night school to gain a Mittlere Reife (high school) diploma. Still trying to learn more and to gain the possibility to attend university, in 1966 Schröder passed the Abitur test at Westfalen-Kolleg, Bielefeld. From 1966 to 1971 he studied law at the University of Göttingen. During the summer vacation he worked to earn his living. From 1972 onwards, Schröder served as an assistant at Göttingen University. In 1976 he passed his second law examination; he worked as a lawyer until 1990.

Schröder has been married four times, to:

  • Eva Schubach, married 1968, divorced 1972
  • Anne Taschenmacher, married 1972, divorced 1984
  • Hiltrud Hampel, married 1984, divorced 1997
  • Doris Köpf, married 1997

Doris has a daughter Klara (born 1991), from a previous relationship with a TV journalist (Klara lives with the couple). When not in Berlin, he lives in Hannover. In July 2004 he and his wife adopted a child named Viktoria from St. Petersburg in Russia.

The fact that he served on the Volkswagen board and tended to prefer pro-car policies has led to his being nicknamed the "Auto-Kanzler" (car chancellor).

Schröder identifies himself as a Protestant, but does not appear particularly religious; for example he did not add the optional So wahr mir Gott helfe formula (so help me God) when sworn in as chancellor for his first term in 1998.

Schröder's first cabinet, 27 October 1998 – 22 October 2002

File:Schroeder with bush.jpg
Gerhard Schröder with George W. Bush

Changes

Schröder's second cabinet, 22 October 2002 – present

See also

Template:Incumbent succession box
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