Johannes Rau (; 16 January 193127 January 2006) was a German politician ( SPD). He was the president of Germany from 1 July 1999 until 30 June 2004 and the minister president of North Rhine-Westphalia from 20 September 1978 to 9 June 1998. In the latter role, he also served as president of the Bundesrat in 1982/83 and in 1994/95.

Education and work

Rau was born in the

Barmen Barmen is a former industrial metropolis of the region of Bergisches Land, Germany, which merged with four other towns in 1929 to form the city of Wuppertal. Barmen, together with the neighbouring town of Elberfeld founded the first electric ...

part of Wuppertal,

Rhine Province The Rhine Province (german: Rheinprovinz), also known as Rhenish Prussia () or synonymous with the Rhineland (), was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822 to 1946. It ...

, as the third of five children. His family was strongly Protestant. As a schoolboy, Rau was active in the Confessing Church, which resisted Nazism. Rau left school in 1949 and worked as a publisher, especially with the Protestant Youth Publishing House.

Political career

Rau was a member of the All-German People's Party (GVP), which was founded by Gustav Heinemann. The party was known for proposing German reunification from 1952 until it was disbanded in 1957. In 1958, the pacifist Rau and his political mentor, Gustav Heinemann, joined the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the ...

(SPD), where he was active in the Wuppertal chapter. He served as deputy chairman of the SPD party of Wuppertal and was elected later on to the City Council (1964–1978), where he served as chairman of the SPD Group (1964–1967) and later as Mayor (1969–1970). In 1958, Rau was elected for the first time as member of the ''Landtag'' (state parliament) of North Rhine-Westphalia. In 1967, he became chairman of the SPD fraction in the Landtag, and in 1970, he was Minister of Science and Education in the cabinet of Minister President

Heinz Kühn Heinz Kühn (18 February 1912 – 12 March 1992) was a German Social Democratic Party (SPD) politician and the 5th Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia between 8 December 1966 and 20 September 1978. He was born and died in Cologne ...

. He soon gained a reputation as a reformer. As part of the mass education campaign of the 1970s, he founded five universities, each at different sites, in North Rhine-Westphalia and initiated Germany's first distance learning university at

Hagen Hagen () is the Largest cities in Germany, 41st-largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany. The municipality is located in the States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the south eastern edge of the R ...

(modelled on the British '' Open University''). In 1977, Rau became Chairman of the North Rhine-Westphalia SPD and, in 1978, Minister President of the state, which he remained until 1998, with four successful elections for the SPD, which became strongest party in the Landtag each time and gained an absolute majority three times, in 1980, 1985, 1990 and finally 1995. From 1995 onwards, Rau led an SPD-

Greens Greens may refer to: *Leaf vegetables such as collard greens, mustard greens, spring greens, winter greens, spinach, etc. Politics Supranational * Green politics * Green party, political parties adhering to Green politics * Global Greens * Europ ...

coalition in North Rhine-Westphalia. Rau twice served as President of the Bundesrat in 1982/83 and 1994/95. In 1987, Rau was his party's candidate to become chancellor of Germany for the SPD, but he lost the elections against Helmut Kohl’s Christian Democrats (CDU). In 1994, Rau was a candidate to become President of Germany but lost to Roman Herzog. In 1998, Rau stepped down from his positions as SPD chairman and Minister President, and on 23 May 1999, he was elected President of Germany by the

Federal Assembly of Germany The Federal Convention, also known as the Federal Assembly (german: Bundesversammlung), is, together with the Joint Committee, one of two non-standing constitutional bodies in the federal institutional system of the Federal Republic of Germany ...

to succeed Roman Herzog (CDU). On 1 July 2004, he was succeeded by Horst Köhler. In common with all other Federal presidents Rau was honored by a Großer Zapfenstreich. At his request the hymn "Jesus bleibet meine Freude" (literally "that Jesus remain my Joy", but commonly Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring) was included. During 2000, Rau became the first German head of state to address the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in German. The controversial step prompted some Israeli delegates to walk out. However, Israeli President Moshe Katsav supported and praised him for bridging the gap between the two states. Rau had a deep and lifelong commitment to bringing reconciliation between Germany and its past.

Death

Rau had a long history of heart disease and died 11 days after his 75th birthday on 27 January 2006. The funeral took place on 7 February following a funeral act of state on the Dorotheenstadt cemetery in Berlin in the closest of family and friends.

Motto and maxim

The maxim of Rau was "to reconcile, not divide". As his personal motto, Rau adopted the Confessing Church dictum "teneo, quia teneor" (I hold because I am held). In his acceptance speech after his election, Rau claimed "I never want to be a nationalist but rather a patriot. A patriot is someone who loves his fatherland. A nationalist is someone who condems the fatherland of others." The quote can be attributed to the French writer Romain Gary.

Prizes and medals

Rau was awarded 15 honorary doctorates. In 2001, he received the

Leo Baeck Medal The Leo Baeck Medal has been awarded since 1978 by the Leo Baeck Institute of New York City, an international research institute devoted to the study of the history and culture of German-speaking Jewry. It is the highest recognition the Institute b ...

for his humanitarian work promoting tolerance and social justice.

Private life

Rau was known as a practising Christian (sometimes known as , "Brother John", in ridicule of his intense Christian position; however, he sometimes used this term himself). He held lay positions in and was a member of the

Synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

of the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland, a member church of the Evangelical Church in Germany. On 9 August 1982, Rau married the political scientist Christina Delius (born 1956). Christina Rau is a granddaughter of her husband's mentor, Gustav Heinemann, former President of Germany. The couple had three children: Anna Christina, born 1983, Philip Immanuel, born 1985 and Laura Helene, born 1986. On 18 August 2004, Rau had to undergo serious heart surgery, in which an artificial heart valve was inserted. Only two months later (19 October 2004), a

hematoma A hematoma, also spelled haematoma, or blood suffusion is a localized bleeding outside of blood vessels, due to either disease or trauma including injury or surgery and may involve blood continuing to seep from broken capillary, capillaries. A he ...

in the

abdominal cavity The abdominal cavity is a large body cavity in humans and many other animals that contains many organs. It is a part of the abdominopelvic cavity. It is located below the thoracic cavity, and above the pelvic cavity. Its dome-shaped roof is the th ...

was surgically removed. After leaving office, Rau lived with his family in the federal capital, Berlin. However, they also kept a house in Wuppertal.

Honours

* : Grand Cross Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

Foreign honours

* : Grand Star of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (2004) * : Collar of the Order of the White Lion * : Knight of the

Order of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant ( da, Elefantordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional ...

(2002) * : Collar of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana * : Knight Grand Cross with Collar Order of Merit of the Italian Republic * : Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the Falcon (2003) * : 2nd Class, then, 1st Class with Chain of the Order of the Three Stars * : Honorary Companions of Honour with Collar of the

National Order of Merit An order of merit is conferred by a state, government or royal family on an individual in recognition of military or civil merit. Order of merit may also refer to: * FIFA Order of Merit, for significant contribution to association football * PDC O ...

* : Grand Cross of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II ...

* : Knight of the Order of the White Eagle * : Grand Cross (or 1st Class) of the Order of the White Double Cross (2001) * : Collar of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (2002) * : Knight of the Royal Order of the Seraphim * : First Class of the

Order of the State of Republic of Turkey The Order of the State of Republic of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet Nişanı) is the highest state order awarded to foreign nationals by the President of the Republic of Turkey. The Order of the State is conferred by the President, ...

(2000) * : Collar of the Order of Pope Pius IX * Olympic Order (2004) *

(1996)

References

External links

*
www.bundespraesident.de: Johannes Rau
��Official biography *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rau, Johannes 1931 births 2006 deaths 20th-century presidents of Germany 21st-century presidents of Germany All-German People's Party politicians Presidents of the German Bundesrat Members of the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia German Lutherans Lutheran pacifists German Christian socialists People from the Rhine Province Politicians from Wuppertal Presidents of Germany Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians Collars of the Order of the White Lion Recipients of the Collar of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana Recipients of the Grand Star of the Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria Recipients of the Olympic Order Collars of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Lutheran socialists Ministers-President of North Rhine-Westphalia Grand Crosses Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Burials at the Dorotheenstadt Cemetery Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)