Rita Süssmuth (
''née'' Kickuth; ; born 17 February 1937) is a German politician of the
Christian Democratic Union (CDU). She served as the tenth
president of the Bundestag.
From 1985 to 1988, she served as Federal Minister for Youth, Family and Health (from 1986 youth, family, ''women'' and health) and from 1988 to 1998 as President of the German Bundestag. With close to 10 years, her tenure was the third longest in the history of the Bundestag. Only
Eugen Gerstenmaier and
Norbert Lammert held the position longer.
In addition to her political work, Süssmuth was President of the
European Movement Germany (1994–1998) and member of the Advisory Board and Board of Trustees of the
Bertelsmann Foundation (1997–2007).
Early life and education
Süssmuth was born and spent her childhood in
Wadersloh. After graduating from high school (
Emsland-Gymnasium) in Rheine in 1956, she completed a degree in
Romance studies and history in
Münster
Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...
,
Tübingen and
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, which she finished on 20 July 1961 with the first state examination (
Staatsexamen) for teaching. This was followed by postgraduate studies in
educational science,
sociology
Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...
and
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
.
In 1964, she then received her Ph.D. phil. at the
University of Münster. Her dissertation was titled ''"Studies on the Anthropology of the Child in contemporary French literature"'' ("''Studien zur Anthropologie des Kindes in der französischen Literatur der Gegenwart").''
Süssmuth graduated as a Doctor of Philosophy from the
University of Münster in 1964. From 1966 until 1982, she was a faculty member in education at
TU Dortmund University,
Ruhr University, and their predecessor institutions.
Career
Early career
From 1963 to 1966, Süssmuth worked as a scientific assistant at the universities of
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
and
Osnabrück and from 1966 as a lecturer at the
Pädagogische Hochschule Ruhr. From 1969 to 1982, she had a teaching assignment at the
Ruhr-Universität Bochum for International
Comparative Education.
In 1971, Süssmuth was appointed
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...
of
Educational Science at the Pädagogische Hochschule Ruhr. In 1973, she accepted the call of the
TU Dortmund University. In 1971, she also began working on the scientific advisory board of the
Federal Ministry of Family Affairs.
From 1982 to 1985, Süssmuth was the director of the ''Institut Frau und Gesellschaft'' in
Hanover
Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
. During her time as an active politician, she gave block seminars at the
University of Göttingen.
Political career
From 1985 to 1988, Süssmuth was
Federal Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth under Chancellor
Helmut Kohl
Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as chancellor of Germany and governed the ''Federal Republic'' from 1982 to 1998. He was leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to ...
. Confronted with the AIDS crisis during her tenure, she advocated for increased medical education and preventative measures. She propagated the use of condoms for the prevention of infections against resistance within her own party, the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and the Catholic Church. In 1987, she supported the foundation of the National AIDS Foundation and increased federal funding for AIDS research.
In late 1989, she joined forces with
Lothar Späth,
Heiner Geißler,
Kurt Biedenkopf and others in an unsuccessful effort to oust Kohl as CDU chairman.
Süssmuth was a member of the German
Bundestag
The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...
from 1987 to 2002. In the federal elections in 1987, 1990 and 1994 she was elected for the constituency of Göttingen. For the 1998 election, she was elected via the CDU state list in Lower Saxony.
After the resignation of
Philipp Jenninger in 1988 Süssmuth became the 10th
President of the Bundestag. She held the post until 1998, when the
SPD became the strongest group in parliament.
Her tenure saw the
German reunification
German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...
.
In December 1989, Süssmuth advocated a joint declaration by both German states on the recognition of the Polish western border.
From 1986 to 2001, Süssmuth served as president of the ''
Frauen Union'' (the organization of the female members of the CDU) and therefore had a strong influence in her party.
Political positions
Süssmuth is a supporter of the
Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly, an organisation which advocates for democratic reformation of the United Nations.
Ahead of the Christian Democrats’
leadership election in 2021, Süssmuth publicly endorsed
Armin Laschet to succeed
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer as the party’s chair.
Life after politics
In September 2000,
Federal Minister of the Interior Otto Schily appointed Süssmuth as head of a high-profile bipartisan commission to overhaul Germany's immigration policies. The commission's task was to develop an overall concept for new immigration legislature. The results of the committee were presented in July 2001, in the form of a 323-paged report titled ''"Crafting Immigration - Promoting Integration" ("Zuwanderung gestalten - Integration fördern")''.
In 2002, Süssmuth became a member of the
Limbach Kommission, which acts as a mediator in questions of
Nazi looted art.
On 6 September 2005, Süssmuth was appointed as the new President of the state-approved Berlin OTA Private University (''OTA Hochschule''), today
SRH Hochschule Berlin. She was succeeded by
Peter Eichhorn in January 2010.
After leaving politics, Süssmuth has als been involved in a number of philanthropic and business activities, including the following:
*
UNAIDS High Level Commission on HIV Prevention, Co-Chair (since 2010)
*
Technische Universität Berlin, Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees (since 2010)
*
European Policy Centre (EPC), Member of the Strategic Council
* Global Commission on International Migration, Member (2003–2005)
*
Migration Policy Institute (MPI), Member of the Board of Trustees
* Heinz Galinski Foundation, Member of the Board of Trustees
* Deutsche Initiative für den Nahen Osten (DINO), Member of the Board of Trustees
* ''
Gegen Vergessen – Für Demokratie'', Chairwoman of the Advisory Board
* Genshagener Kreis, Member of the Board of Trustees
*
German Foundation for World Population (DSW), Member of the Advisory Board
*
Til Schweiger Foundation, Member of the Advisory Board
* ''Total E-Quality'' initiative, Member of the Board of Trustees
* United Nations Association of Germany (DGVN), Member of the Presidium
*
Bertelsmann Foundation, Member of the Board of Trustees (1997–2015)
*
EnBW, Member of the Advisory Board (2004–2009)
*
German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), Honorary Member
* TDU-Hochschulkonsortium, President
Süssmuth is also Member of the
European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation established in 2008 to monitor
tolerance in Europe and prepare recommendations to European governments and
IGOs on fighting
xenophobia
Xenophobia (from (), 'strange, foreign, or alien', and (), 'fear') is the fear or dislike of anything that is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression that is based on the perception that a conflict exists between an in-gr ...
and
antisemitism
Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
.
In 2018 Süssmuth was awarded the Mercator Visiting Professorship for Political Management at the
Universität Essen-Duisburg's
NRW School of Governance.
Awards and recognitions
* 1988 – Selected as ''
Frau des Jahres 1987'' by
Deutscher Staatsbürgerinnen-Verband
* 1988 –
Bambi
* 1989 –
Leibniz-Medaille der Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur Mainz
* 1990 – Großkreuz des
Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
* 1997 – Avicenna-Gold-Medaille der
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
* 1997 –
Frankfurter Walter-Dirks-Preis
* 2004 – Kompassnadel des Schwulen Netzwerks NRW (für ihren Einsatz für die AIDS-Prävention bes. im Schwulen Bereich)
* 2006 –
Magnus Hirschfeld Medal for Sexual Reform (2006)
* 2007 –
Theodor-Heuss-Preis (zusammen mit
Mustafa Cerić)
* 2007 –
Niedersächsische Landesmedaille
* 2007 –
Goldenes Lot, Ehrung des Verbandes Deutscher Vermessungsingenieure
* 2007 –
Reminders Day Award (2007) for her great commitment to the fight against AIDS
* 2008 –
Viadrina-Preis der
Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder)
* 2010 – Ehrensiegel der Gemeinde
Wadersloh
* 2011 –
Verdienstorden des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen
* 2012 –
Adam-Mickiewicz-Preis für Verdienste um die deutsch-französisch-polnische Zusammenarbeit (
Weimarer Dreieck)
* 2013 –
Edith-Stein-Preis
* 2014 –
Leibniz-Ring-Hannover
* 2015 –
Reinhard-Mohn-Preis
* 2015 –
Winfried-Preis
* 2016 – Ehrenmitgliedschaft der
Deutsche AIDS-Hilfe
* 2016 –
Verdienstorden des Landes Brandenburg
* 2016 – Dorothea-Schlözer-Medaille der
Universität Göttingen
* 2018 –
Humanismus-Preis
* 2019 – Ehrensenatorin der
Technischen Universität Berlin
* 2019 – Ehrenmitgliedschaft der
LSU
Honorary doctorate degrees
* 1988 – Hochschule
Hildesheim
Hildesheim (; or ; ) is a city in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim (district), Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of t ...
* 1990 – Ruhr-Universität
Bochum
* 1994 – Universität
Veliko Tarnovo,
Bulgarien
* 1995 – Universität
Temesvar,
Rumänien
* 1996 –
Universität Sorbonne Nouvelle-Paris III,
Frankreich
* 1998 –
Johns-Hopkins-Universität Baltimore
Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
,
Vereinigte Staaten
* 1998 –
Ben-Gurion-Universität des Negev Be’er Scheva,
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
* 2002 –
Universität Augsburg
* 2018 –
Universität Rzeszów,
Polen
Personal life
Süssmuth was married to university professor
Hans Süssmuth from 1964 until his death in 2020. They have one daughter.
Bibliography
* 1964 ''Studien zur Anthropologie des Kindes in der französischen Literatur der Gegenwart unter besonderer Berücksichtigung François Mauriacs'' (
Dissertation)
* 1980 ''Zur Anthropologie des Kindes. Untersuchungen und Interpretationen''
* 1985 ''Frauen – der Resignation keine Chance''
* 1987 ''Aids: Wege aus der Angst''
* 1987 ''Frauenlexikon: Traditionen, Fakten, Perspektiven'' zusammen mit
Anneliese Lissner und
Karin Walter
* 1989 ''
Emma'' Co-Autorin
* 1992 ''Die planlosen Eliten'' zusammen mit
Peter Glotz (SPD) und
Konrad Seitz (Botschafter)
* 1997 ''Eine deutsche Zwischenbilanz: Standpunkte zum Umgang mit unserer Vergangenheit''
* 2000 ''Wer nicht kämpft hat schon verloren''
*
[Third Gerd Bucerius Lecture, 5 May 2003.]
* 2006 ''Migration und Integration: Testfall für unsere Gesellschaft''
* 2007 ''Dennoch: Der Mensch geht vor. Für eine Umkehr in Politik und Gesellschaft''
* 2007 ''Bildung als globale Herausforderung. Zwei Statements – ein Gespräch'' with Hermann Glaser, in:
Robertson-von Trotha, Caroline Y. (ed.): Kultur und Gerechtigkeit (= Kulturwissenschaft interdisziplinär/Interdisciplinary Studies on Culture and Society, Vol. 2), Baden-Baden 2007,
* 2015 ''Das Gift des Politischen. Gedanken und Erinnerungen.'' Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, München
Rezensionin der
Annotierten Bibliografie der Politikwissenschaft)
References
Sources
*
Michael F. Feldkamp (ed.), ''Der
Bundestagspräsident. Amt – Funktion – Person.'' 16. Wahlperiode, München 2007,
* Steffen Kaudelka: "Rita Süssmuth," in: ''Biographisches Handbuch der Mitglieder des Deutschen Bundestages 1949 - 2002'', edited by Rudolf Vierhaus and Ludolf Herbst. München 2002.
* Irene Gerlach: "Rita Süssmuth," in: ''Kanzler und Minister 1949 - 1998. Biographisches Handbuch der Mitglieder der deutschen Bundesregierungen'', edited by Udo Kempf and Hans Georg Merz. Wiesbaden 2001.
External links
*
Official biography at Bundestag.de (German, from 2002)* Interview "Education is a human right" by ERSTE Stiftung (2011
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sussmuth, Rita
1937 births
Living people
Politicians from Wuppertal
Politicians from the Rhine Province
Ministers for children, young people and families
Health ministers of Germany
Women presidents of the Bundestag
University of Münster alumni
Academic staff of the Technical University of Dortmund
Women federal government ministers of Germany
Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
20th-century German women politicians
Members of the Bundestag for Lower Saxony
Members of the Bundestag 2002–2005
Members of the Bundestag 1998–2002
Members of the Bundestag 1994–1998
Members of the Bundestag 1990–1994
Members of the Bundestag 1987–1990
Members of the Bundestag for the Christian Democratic Union of Germany
21st-century German women politicians