Veronica Carstens (born Prior; 18 June 1923 – 25 January 2012) was the wife of the German President

Karl Carstens Karl Carstens (, 14 December 1914 – 30 May 1992) was a German politician. He served as the president of West Germany from 1979 to 1984. Early life and education Carstens was born in the City of Bremen, the son of a commercial school teacher, ...

.Was macht eigentlich Veronica Carstens?
' Stern,'' 21 April 2005 (German) She began medical studies in 1941, which she interrupted during the war to work as a nurse. In 1944 she married at Berlin-Tegel Karl Carstens, whom she had met the year before. Temporarily she was a housewife. In 1956 she continued her medical studies, graduating in 1960. From 1960 to 1968 she worked as a medical assistant and in 1968 she opened her medical practice in

Meckenheim Meckenheim (; ksh, Meckem) is a town in the Rhein-Sieg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approximately 15 km south-west of Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in t ...

near

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

. Carstens was by profession a doctor of medicine, and she maintained her practice throughout her husband's tenure as president. She was a strong advocate of

naturopathy Naturopathy, or naturopathic medicine, is a form of alternative medicine. A wide array of pseudoscientific practices branded as "natural", "non-invasive", or promoting "self-healing" are employed by its practitioners, who are known as natur ...

and homeopathy, and in 1982 the Carstens established the Carstens-Foundation (Carstens-Stiftung) – a major funder of alternative medicine research in Europe. She was an honorary member of the Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg).Obituary (by Albrecht von Cossel) for "Frau Dr. Veronica Carstens" in ''Johanniterorden'' for March 2012, page 18. The Order, unlike the parallel

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

and Anglican organizations, maintains the tradition of its mediaeval origin in admitting only men as full members. She was widowed in 1992. After she had retired from public life in 2009, she lived in a sanitarium in Bonn.

References

External links

Carstens-Stiftung
official website (German) 1923 births 2012 deaths Spouses of presidents of Germany German general practitioners Physicians from Bielefeld German women physicians {{Germany-med-bio-stub