Rita Süssmuth
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Rita Süssmuth ( ''née'' Kickuth; ; born 17 February 1937) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). She served as the 10th
President of the Bundestag The president of the Bundestag (german: Präsident des Deutschen Bundestages or ) presides over the sessions of the Bundestag, the federal parliament of Germany, with functions similar to that of a speaker in other countries. In the German order ...
. 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 Eugen Karl Albrecht Gerstenmaier (25 August 1906 – 13 March 1986, in Oberwinter) was a German Evangelical theologian, resistance fighter in the Third Reich, and a CDU politician. From 1954 to 1969, he served as President of the Bundestag. With ...
and
Norbert Lammert Norbert Lammert (born 16 November 1948) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He served as the 12th President of the Bundestag from 2005 to 2017. Early life and education The son of a baker, Lammert attended gymnasium ...
held the position longer. In addition to her political work, Süssmuth was President of the
European Movement Germany European Movement Germany (EM Germany) is a non-partisan network of interest groups in the field of EU politics in Germany. It cooperates closely with all EU stakeholders on a national and European level, most particularly with the German Federal ...
(1994–1998) and member of the Advisory Board and Board of Trustees of the
Bertelsmann Foundation The Bertelsmann Stiftung is an independent foundation under private law, based in Gütersloh, Germany. It was founded in 1977 by Reinhard Mohn as the result of social, corporate and fiscal considerations. As the Bertelsmann Stiftung itself h ...
(1997–2007).


Early life and education

Süssmuth was born and spent her childhood in
Wadersloh Wadersloh () is a municipality in the district of Warendorf, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe ...
. After graduating from high school ( Emsland-Gymnasium) in Rheine in 1956, she completed a degree in
Romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...
studies and history in
Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an 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 state distr ...
,
Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in thr ...
and
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, which she finished on 20 July 1961 with the first state examination (
Staatsexamen The ("state examination" or "exam by state"; pl.: ''Staatsexamina'') is a German government licensing examination that future physicians, dentists, teachers, pharmacists, food chemists, psychotherapists and jurists (i.e., lawyers, judges, public ...
) for teaching. This was followed by postgraduate studies in
educational science Education sciences or education theory (traditionally often called ''pedagogy'') seek to describe, understand, and prescribe education policy and practice. Education sciences include many topics, such as pedagogy, andragogy, curriculum, learning, ...
,
sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...
and
psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
. In 1964, she then received her Ph.D. phil. at the
University of Münster The University of Münster (german: Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, WWU) is a public university, public research university located in the city of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. With more than 43,000 students and over ...
. 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 The University of Münster (german: Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, WWU) is a public university, public research university located in the city of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. With more than 43,000 students and over ...
in 1964. From 1966 until 1982, she was a faculty member in education at
University of Dortmund TU Dortmund University (german: Technische Universität Dortmund) is a technical university in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany with over 35,000 students, and over 6,000 staff including 300 professors, offering around 80 Bachelor's and ...
,
Ruhr University The Ruhr University Bochum (, ) is a public research university located in the southern hills of the central Ruhr area, Bochum, Germany. It was founded in 1962 as the first new public university in Germany after World War II. Instruction began in ...
, and their predecessor institutions.


Career


Early career

From 1963 to 1966, Süssmuth worked as a scientific assistant at the universities of
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
and
Osnabrück Osnabrück (; wep, Ossenbrügge; archaic ''Osnaburg'') is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population ...
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 The Ruhr University Bochum (, ) is a public research university located in the southern hills of the central Ruhr area, Bochum, Germany. It was founded in 1962 as the first new public university in Germany after World War II. Instruction began in ...
for International
Comparative Education Comparative education is a discipline in the social sciences which entails the scrutiny and evaluation of different educational systems, such as those in various countries. Professionals in this area of endeavor are absorbed in advancing evocativ ...
. In 1971, Süssmuth was appointed
professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
of
Educational Science Education sciences or education theory (traditionally often called ''pedagogy'') seek to describe, understand, and prescribe education policy and practice. Education sciences include many topics, such as pedagogy, andragogy, curriculum, learning, ...
at the Pädagogische Hochschule Ruhr. In 1973, she accepted the call of the
University of Dortmund TU Dortmund University (german: Technische Universität Dortmund) is a technical university in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany with over 35,000 students, and over 6,000 staff including 300 professors, offering around 80 Bachelor's and ...
. 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 (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
. During her time as an active politician, she gave block seminars at the
University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...
.


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 from 1982 to 1998 and Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to 1998. Kohl's 16-year tenure is the longes ...
. In late 1989, she joined forces with
Lothar Späth Lothar Späth (16 November 1937 – 18 March 2016) was a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (Germany), CDU. Life Späth was born in Sigmaringen. From 30 August 1978 to 13 January 1991 Späth was the 5th Minister President of ...
,
Heiner Geißler Heiner Geißler (3 March 1930 – 12 September 2017) was a German politician with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party and a federal minister from 1982 to 1985. Career Born Heinrichjosef Georg Geißler in Gleisweiler, he studied law a ...
,
Kurt Biedenkopf Kurt Hans Biedenkopf (; 28 January 1930 – 12 August 2021) was a German jurist, academic teacher and politician of the Christian-Democratic Union (CDU). He was rector of the Ruhr University Bochum. Biedenkopf made a political career firs ...
and others in an unsuccessful effort to oust Kohl as CDU chairman. Süssmuth was a member of the German
Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...
from 1987 to 2002. In the federal elections in 1987, 1990 and 1994 she won the direct mandate in the constituency of Göttingen and in 1998, she moved into parliament via the state list of the CDU Lower Saxony. After the resignation of Philipp Jenninger in 1988 Süssmuth became the 10th
President of the Bundestag The president of the Bundestag (german: Präsident des Deutschen Bundestages or ) presides over the sessions of the Bundestag, the federal parliament of Germany, with functions similar to that of a speaker in other countries. In the German order ...
. She held the post until 1998, when the
SPD 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 t ...
became the strongest group in parliament. Her tenure saw the
German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...
. 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 Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme *Bli ...
, an organisation which advocates for democratic reformation of the United Nations. Ahead of the Christian Democrats’
leadership election A leadership election is a political contest held in various countries by which the members of a political party determine who will be the leader of their party. Generally, any political party can determine its own rules governing how and when a l ...
in 2021, Süssmuth publicly endorsed
Armin Laschet Armin Laschet (; born 18 February 1961) is a German politician who served as Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia from 27 June 2017 to 26 October 2021. He served as Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 22 January 2021 to 3 ...
to succeed
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (; Kramp; born 9 August 1962), sometimes referred to by her initials of AKK, is a retired German politician who served as Minister of Defence from 2019 to 2021 and as Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from ...
as the party’s chair.


Life after politics

In September 2000, Federal Minister of the Interior
Otto Schily Otto Georg Schily (born 20 July 1932) is a former Federal Minister of the Interior of Germany, his tenure was from 1998 to 2005, in the cabinet of Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Earl ...
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) *
Technical University of Berlin The Technical University of Berlin (official name both in English and german: link=no, Technische Universität Berlin, also known as TU Berlin and Berlin Institute of Technology) is a public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was ...
, Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees (since 2010) *
European Policy Centre The European Policy Centre (EPC) is a Brussels-based not-for-profit think tank on European Union affairs, founded in 1997. Activities Under the guidance of Herman Van Rompuy, the EPC's Chief Executive is Fabian Zuleeg, a German economist. Its ...
(EPC), Member of the Strategic Council * Global Commission on International Migration, Member (2003–2005) *
Migration Policy Institute The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) is a non-partisan think tank established in 2001 by Kathleen Newland and Demetrios G. Papademetriou. The Migration Policy Institute is supportive of Liberalism, liberal immigration policies. About The Migrati ...
(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 Gegen Vergessen – Für Demokratie (Against Oblivion – For Democracy) is a German organization promoting diversity, tolerance and democratic participation, and opposing racism, prejudice and right-wing and left-wing extremism. It focuses in ...
'', Chairwoman of the Advisory Board * Genshagener Kreis, Member of the Board of Trustees *
German Foundation for World Population DSW (german: Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung) is an international non-governmental organisation addressing Sexual & Reproductive Health (SRH) and population dynamics. DSW funds its project and advocacy work from private donations and the finan ...
(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 The Bertelsmann Stiftung is an independent foundation under private law, based in Gütersloh, Germany. It was founded in 1977 by Reinhard Mohn as the result of social, corporate and fiscal considerations. As the Bertelsmann Stiftung itself h ...
, Member of the Board of Trustees (1997–2015) *
EnBW EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG, or simply EnBW, is a publicly-traded energy company headquartered in Karlsruhe, Germany. As its name indicates, EnBW is based in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. History Foundation and development EnB ...
, Member of the Advisory Board (2004–2009) *
German Council on Foreign Relations The German Council on Foreign Relations (german: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik e. V. (DGAP)) is Germany's national foreign policy network and policy research institute. As an independent, private, non-partisan and non-profit org ...
(DGAP), Honorary Member * TDU-Hochschulkonsortium, President Süssmuth is also Member of the
European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation The European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation (also ''ECTR'') is a non-governmental organization that was established in Paris, France on 7 October 2008 to monitor tolerance in Europe. The Chairman of the council is former British Prime M ...
established in 2008 to monitor tolerance in Europe and prepare recommendations to European governments and IGOs on fighting
xenophobia Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...
and
anti-semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
. In 2018 Süssmuth was awarded the Mercator Visiting Professorship for Political Management at the Universität Essen-Duisburg's
NRW School of Governance The NRW School of Governance is a central institution within the '' Institute for Political science'' at the University Duisburg-Essen and was founded in 2006 under the direction of Karl-Rudolf Korte. It aims, through research and teaching, to ...
.


Awards and recognitions

* 1988 – Selected as '' Frau des Jahres 1987'' by Deutscher Staatsbürgerinnen-Verband * 1988 –
Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American animated drama film directed by David Hand (supervising a team of sequence directors), produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1923 book ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' by Austrian author and hunter Felix Salten ...
* 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 is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
* 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 The Magnus Hirschfeld Medal is awarded by the German Society for Social-Scientific Sexuality Research (DGSS) for outstanding service to sexual science, granted in the categories "Sexual Research" and "Sexual Reform". It is named in honour of Germa ...
for Sexual Reform (2006) * 2007 – Theodor-Heuss-Preis (zusammen mit
Mustafa Cerić Mustafa Cerić (, born 5 February 1952) is a Bosnian imam who served as the Grand Mufti (''Reis-ul-Ulema'') of Bosnia and Herzegovina and is currently president of the World Bosniak Congress. He was also a candidate for a List of Bosniak members ...
) * 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 Wadersloh () is a municipality in the district of Warendorf, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe ...
* 2011 –
Verdienstorden des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen The Order of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Verdienstorden des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen) is a civil order of merit, of the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia. The Order of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia was founded on 11 March 1 ...
* 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 Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...


Honorary doctorate degrees

* 1988 – Hochschule
Hildesheim Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the Lei ...
* 1990 – Ruhr-Universität
Bochum Bochum ( , also , ; wep, Baukem) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 364,920 (2016), is the sixth largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) of the most populous Germany, German federal state o ...
* 1994 – Universität
Veliko Tarnovo Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...
, Bulgarien * 1995 – Universität Temesvar, Rumänien * 1996 – Universität Sorbonne Nouvelle-Paris III, Frankreich * 1998 – Johns-Hopkins-Universität
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, Vereinigte Staaten * 1998 – Ben-Gurion-Universität des Negev Be’er Scheva,
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
* 2002 –
Universität Augsburg The University of Augsburg (german: Universität Augsburg) is a university located in the Universitätsviertel section of Augsburg, Germany. It was founded in 1970 and is organized in 8 Faculties. The University of Augsburg is a relatively you ...
* 2018 – Universität Rzeszów, Polen


Personal life

Since 1964, Süssmuth was married to university professor Hans Süssmuth. 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 Peter Glotz (6 March 1939 – 25 August 2005) was a German social democratic politician ( Social Democratic Party) and social scientist. Peter Glotz was born in Cheb, Czechoslovakia, to a German father and a Czech mother. His father, an insuranc ...
(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. Caroline Y. Robertson-von Trotha (born 22 February 1951 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a Scottish sociologist and cultural scientist, working in Germany. Biography and career After the unexpected death of her father Robertson-von Trotha left Oba ...
(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
Rezension
in der Annotierten Bibliografie der Politikwissenschaft)


References


Sources

* Michael F. Feldkamp (ed.), ''Der Bundestagspräsident. Amt – Funktion – Person.'' 16. Wahlperiode, München 2007,


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 German Roman Catholics People from the Rhine Province Ministers for children, young people and families Health ministers of Germany Women Presidents of the Bundestag University of Münster alumni Technical University of Dortmund faculty 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