Gerhard Schröder

Gerhard Fritz Kurt Schröder (Mossenberg-Wöhren, April 7, 1944) is a German politician and lawyer belonging to the German Social Democratic Party (SPD), especially known for having been chancellor of Germany between 1998 and 2005. He also held other important positions, such as Minister-President of Lower Saxony between 1990 and 1998 and President of the Bundesrat between 1997 and 1998.

In 2017 he became Chairman of the Board of Directors of Rosneft, a Russian state-owned oil company, and in 2005 he became Chairman of the Board of Shareholders of Nord Stream AG, a consortium for the construction and operation of the Nord Stream pipeline. He is a personal friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin. On March 8, 2022, the German Attorney General initiated proceedings against Schröder for his alleged complicity in committing crimes against humanity due to his role in Russian state-owned corporations. On the same day, the SPD began the process to expel him from the party. The CDU/CSU coalition has called for Schröder to be placed on the European Union's list of sanctions against individuals with close ties to the Putin regime.

Biography

Summary

Of very humble origins, his father died fighting in World War II without ever knowing his son. He had two older sisters before his mother joined a second man, by whom she had two other sisters and a son. brother. The new family continued to live in poverty.

Born in Mossenberg-Wöhren, today belonging to Blomberg, in his adolescence he had to work to contribute to the needs of the house and to be able to pay for his own studies. He finally became the head of the family when his stepfather was confined in a tuberculosis sanatorium.

From 1958 to 1961 he was an apprentice in a retail trade company. He also worked as a construction worker's helper in Lage and Göttingen. From 1962 to 1964 he worked as a clerk in a hardware store and attended night school. He passed the elementary baccalaureate in 1964. From 1964 to 1966 he studied for the baccalaureate, which he got in 1966. Already in 1963 he had become a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany.

He studied Law at the University of Göttingen between 1966 and 1971. From 1972 to 1976 he worked as a Referendar in a court, since it serves as a kind of internship to prepare for the lawyer's job.

In 1976 he was authorized to practice as a lawyer and from 1978 to 1990 he was a self-employed lawyer in Hannover. He also made a career in the Social Democratic Party of Germany: from 1978 to 1980 he was federal chairman of the Jusos (youth organization of the SPD) and from 1980 to 1986 a member of the Bundestag, the lower house of the German parliament, for the Social Democrats. From 1983 to 1993 he chaired the Social Democrats of the city of Hannover, since 1986 he has been a member of the party executive and from 1986 to 1990 he was Chairman of the Social Democratic parliamentary group and member of the Landtag (parliament) of Lower Saxony. Since 1989 he has been a member of the party's board of directors.

From 1990 to 1998 he served as Minister President of Lower Saxony. From 1990 to 1994 he had formed a coalition with the Greens; in the following legislature he was able to govern without coalition partners. From 1994 to 1998 he was also Chairman of the Social Democratic Party in Lower Saxony. On October 27, 1998 he became Bundeskanzler (federal chancellor), i.e. head of government, of Germany.He was federal chancellor until November 22, 2005.

Private life

The month of August 2004 is important in his personal life, as he finally visits the grave of his father in Romania, whom he never knew because he died on the Eastern Front during World War II while his mother was pregnant. In addition, he along with his fourth wife adopt a three-year-old girl named Victoria, born in St. Petersburg, Vladimir Putin's hometown. With the latter, Schröder has established a friendly relationship in recent years.

When not in Berlin, he resides in Hannover.

Political career

In 1963 he had already joined the SPD and declared himself a Marxist.^{[citation needed]} In the 1970s, Schröder admired Willy Brandt, head of the government, whose Ostpolitik ("policy to the east") sought to improve relations with East Germany and the Soviet Union (USSR). He was president of the Social Democratic Youth.

In 1980 he was elected by a large majority as an SPD deputy for the district of Hanover. In 1989 Schröder was elected to the SPD presidency. In a coalition with the Greens, he won the regional elections in Lower Saxony and became head of government of that federal state. Schröder was re-elected twice to that position, most recently in 1998 by a wide margin, even though his party lost the 1994 general elections.

He was nominated for chancellorship in the 1998 federal election and undertook a series of changes to his public image, casting off his brusque manner and displaying hitherto unknown charisma. Formulating the concept of Neue Mitte (new center), he managed to prevail against the conservative Helmut Kohl, who had held the chancellorship since 1982. Once again he began a coalition with the Greens and together with their leader, Joschka Fischer, presented the Exit and Renewal program. He reformed the nationality code, the retirement pension regulations and the tax system. Under the influence of the Greens, his government has taken green stances on the nuclear power program and supports new types of renewable energy.

As chancellor, Schröder maintained close collaboration with France in international politics, which gave continuity to the bipartite union as the engine of the European Union, together with Jacques Chirac. Under his rule, Germany sent troops to Kosovo for a stabilization mission in 1999. Facing the United States, he agreed to Germany's traditional transatlantic stance, strongly supporting the overthrow of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, in whose mission the German military was one of the who had a greater presence in the coalition. He also began a relaunch in relations with Russia, especially in energy matters and strategic cooperation between the two countries.

Schröder in 2000.

In September 2002 the government coalition with the Greens won the general elections with a narrow majority, despite high unemployment. His government launches into a great program of socioeconomic reforms. Under the title Agenda 2010 laws concerning work, health, pensions and immigration are reformed. Internationally, he openly opposed the George W. Bush administration's invasion of Iraq. As a result, there was a diplomatic distance between the two countries that lasted just over a year. It is likely that this stance towards Bush had a major influence on his re-election in 2002.

In foreign policy, Schröder promoted Germany's relations with Arab countries, making official visits to promote trade in the Persian Gulf and Libya. In the same line of trips of a commercial nature, he established the custom of making an annual visit to China.

In May 2005, faced with the serious defeat suffered by the Social Democratic Party in the regional elections in North Rhine-Westphalia, he decided to call the federal elections early, in anticipation of a possible electoral failure throughout the country. Finally, in the federal elections that were held in September of that year, he returned to overcome some unfavorable polls when everyone thought he was a loser. However, he had to give up the chancellorship in favor of Angela Merkel, Schröder winning four fewer seats than the conservative candidate. He is currently retired from politics and has resumed his work as a lawyer.