Gerhard Schröder
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Gerhard Fritz Kurt "Gerd" Schröder (; born 7 April 1944) is a German lobbyist and former politician, who served as the
chancellor of Germany The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,; often shortened to ''Bundeskanzler''/''Bundeskanzlerin'', / is the head of the federal government of Germany and the commander in chief of the Ge ...
from 1998 to 2005. From 1999 to 2004, he was also the
Leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany The Leader of the Social Democratic Party (''Vorsitzender der Sozialdemokratischen Partei Deutschlands'') is the most senior political figure within the Social Democratic Party of Germany. Since December 2019, the office has been held jointly by ...
(SPD). As chancellor, he led a
coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
of 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 ...
and
Alliance 90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (german: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, ), often simply referred to as the Greens ( ), is a Green politics, green List of political parties in Germany, political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens ...
. Since leaving public office, Schröder has worked for Russian state-owned energy companies, including
Nord Stream AG Nord Stream AG is a consortium for construction and operation of the Nord Stream 1 submarine pipeline between Vyborg in Russia and Greifswald in Germany. The consortium was incorporated in Zug, Switzerland, on 30 November 2005. The original name ...
,
Rosneft PJSC Rosneft Oil Company ( stylized as ROSNEFT) is a Russian Vertical integration, integrated energy company headquartered in Moscow. Rosneft specializes in the exploration, Extraction of petroleum, extraction, production, refining, Petroleum t ...
, and
Gazprom PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐzˈprom) is a Russian majority state-owned multinational energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. As of 2019, with sales over $120 billion, it was ranked as the larges ...
. Schröder was a lawyer before becoming a full-time politician, and he served as
Minister President of Lower Saxony The Minister-President of Lower Saxony (german: Ministerpräsident des Landes Niedersachsen), also referred to as Premier or Prime Minister, is the head of government of the German state of Lower Saxony. The position was created in 1946, when the ...
(1990–1998) before becoming chancellor. Following the 2005 federal election, which his party lost, and after three weeks of negotiations, he stood down as chancellor in favour of
Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Oppo ...
of the rival Christian Democratic Union. He is the chairman of the board of
Nord Stream AG Nord Stream AG is a consortium for construction and operation of the Nord Stream 1 submarine pipeline between Vyborg in Russia and Greifswald in Germany. The consortium was incorporated in Zug, Switzerland, on 30 November 2005. The original name ...
and of
Rosneft PJSC Rosneft Oil Company ( stylized as ROSNEFT) is a Russian Vertical integration, integrated energy company headquartered in Moscow. Rosneft specializes in the exploration, Extraction of petroleum, extraction, production, refining, Petroleum t ...
, after having been hired as a global manager by investment bank
Rothschild Rothschild () is a name derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "with the red sign", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by sign ...
, and also the chairman of the board of football club
Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), Hannover, HSV or simply 96, is a German professional football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years betwe ...
. After the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
, Schröder was criticized for his policies towards
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
's government, his work for Russian state-owned companies, and his lobbyism on behalf of Russia. On 1 March 2022, Schröder's entire staff including long-time office manager Albrecht Funk resigned due to Schröder's alliances with Russia and Putin directly. On 8 March 2022 the Public Prosecutor General initiated proceedings related to accusations against Schröder of complicity in
crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...
due to his role in Russian state-owned corporations. On the same day his party initiated proceedings to expel him. The
CDU/CSU CDU/CSU, unofficially the Union parties (german: Unionsparteien, ) or the Union, is a centre-right Christian-democratic political alliance of two political parties in Germany: the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) and the Christian Soc ...
group demanded that Schröder be included in the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
sanctions against individuals with ties to the Putin regime.


Early life and education

Schröder was born in Blomberg,
Lippe Lippe () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe. The d ...
, in
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. His father, Fritz Schröder, a lance corporal in the
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...
, was killed in action in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
in Romania on 4 October 1944, almost six months after Gerhard's birth. His mother, Erika (née Vosseler), worked as an agricultural labourer to support herself and her two sons. After the war, the area where Schröder lived became part of West Germany. He completed an apprenticeship in retail sales in a
Lemgo Lemgo (; nds, Lemge, Lemje) is a small university town in the Lippe district of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated between the Teutoburg Forest and the Weser Uplands, 25 km east of Bielefeld and 70 km west of Hannover. T ...
hardware shop from 1958 to 1961 and subsequently worked in a Lage retail shop and after that as an unskilled construction worker and a sales clerk in
Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...
while studying at night school for a general qualification for university entrance (
Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...
). He did not have to do military service because his father had died in the war. In 1966, Schröder secured entrance to a university, passing the
Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...
exam at Westfalen-Kolleg,
Bielefeld Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Detmold and the ...
. From 1966 to 1971 he studied law 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 ...
. In 1976, he passed his second law examination, and he subsequently worked as a lawyer until 1990.Nadine Chmura, Regina Haunhorst:
Biografie Gerhard Schröder.
' In: ''LeMO-Biografien'', Lebendiges Museum Online, Stiftung Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, retrieved 7 December 2019.
Among his more controversial cases, Schröder helped
Horst Mahler Horst Mahler (born 23 January 1936) is a German former lawyer and political activist. He once was a far-left militant and a founding member of the Red Army Faction who later became a Maoist, before switching to neo-Nazism. Between 2000 and 200 ...
, a founding member of the
Baader-Meinhof The Red Army Faction (RAF, ; , ),See the section "#Name, Name" also known as the Baader–Meinhof Group or Baader–Meinhof Gang (, , active 1970–1998), was a West German Far-left politics, far-left Marxism-Leninism, Marxist-Leninist Urb ...
terrorist group, to secure both an early release from prison and permission to practice law again in Germany.


Early political career

Schröder joined the Social Democratic Party in 1963. In 1978 he became the federal chairman of the Young Socialists, the youth organisation of the SPD. He spoke for the dissident
Rudolf Bahro Rudolf Bahro (18 November 1935 – 5 December 1997) was a dissident from East Germany who, since his death, has been recognised as a philosopher, political figure and author. Bahro was a leader of the West German party The Greens, but became dis ...
, as did President
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
,
Herbert Marcuse Herbert Marcuse (; ; July 19, 1898 – July 29, 1979) was a German-American philosopher, social critic, and political theorist, associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory. Born in Berlin, Marcuse studied at the Humboldt University ...
, and
Wolf Biermann Karl Wolf Biermann (; born 15 November 1936) is a German singer-songwriter, poet, and former East German dissident. He is perhaps best known for the 1968 song "Ermutigung" and his expatriation from East Germany in 1976. Early life Biermann was b ...
.


Member of the German Bundestag, 1980–1986

In 1980, Schröder was elected to 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 ...
(federal parliament), where he wore a sweater instead of the traditional suit. Under the leadership of successive chairmen
Herbert Wehner Herbert Richard Wehner (11 July 1906 – 19 January 1990) was a German politician. A former member of the Communist Party, he joined the Social Democrats (SPD) after World War II. He served as Federal Minister of Intra-German Relations from 1966 ...
(1980–83) and
Hans-Jochen Vogel Hans-Jochen Vogel (3 February 192626 July 2020) was a German lawyer and a politician for the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He served as Mayor of Munich from 1960 to 1972, winning the 1972 Summer Olympics for the city and Governing Mayor of W ...
(1983–86), he served in the SPD parliamentary group. He also became chairman of the SPD
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 ...
district. Considered ambitious from early on in his political career, it was widely reported and never denied, that in 1982, a drunken Schröder stood outside the
West German West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
federal chancellery yelling: "I want to get in." That same year, he wrote an article on the idea of a red/green coalition for a book at Olle & Wolter, Berlin; this appeared later in ''
Die Zeit ''Die Zeit'' (, "The Time") is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The ...
''. Chancellor
Willy Brandt Willy Brandt (; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German politician and statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and served as the chancellor of West Ge ...
, the SPD and SI chairman, who reviewed Olle & Wolter at that time, had just asked for more books on the subject. In 1985, Schröder met the GDR leader
Erich Honecker Erich Ernst Paul Honecker (; 25 August 1912 – 29 May 1994) was a German communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1971 until shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. He held the posts ...
during a visit to
East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...
. In 1986, Schröder was elected to the parliament of
Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
and became leader of the SPD group.


Minister-President of Lower Saxony, 1990–1998

After the SPD won the state elections in June 1990, Schröder became
Minister-President of Lower Saxony The Minister-President of Lower Saxony (german: Ministerpräsident des Landes Niedersachsen), also referred to as Premier or Prime Minister, is the head of government of the German state of Lower Saxony. The position was created in 1946, when the ...
as head of an SPD- Greens coalition; in this position, he also won the 1994 and 1998 state elections. He was subsequently also appointed to the
supervisory board In corporate governance, a governance board also known as council of delegates are chosen by the stockholders of a company to promote their interests through the governance of the company and to hire and fire the board of directors. In civil s ...
of
Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...
, the largest company in Lower Saxony and of which the state of Lower Saxony is a major stockholder. Following his election as Minister-President in 1990, Schröder also became a member of the board of the federal SPD. In 1997 and 1998, he served as
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
of the Bundesrat. Between 1994 and 1998, he was also chairman of Lower Saxonian SPD. During Schröder's time in office, first in coalition with the environmentalist Green Party, then with a clear majority, Lower Saxony became one of the most deficit-ridden of Germany's 16 federal states and unemployment rose higher than the national average of 12 percent. Ahead of the 1994 elections, SPD chairman
Rudolf Scharping Rudolf Albert Scharping (born 2 December 1947) is a German lawyer and politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He was from 1991 to 1994 the 6th Minister President of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate and from 1998 to 2002 Federal Minis ...
included Schröder in his shadow cabinet for the party's campaign to unseat incumbent
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 ...
as chancellor. During the campaign, Schröder served as shadow minister of economic affairs, energy and transport. In 1996, Schröder caused controversy by taking a free ride on the Volkswagen corporate jet to attend the
Vienna Opera Ball The Vienna Opera Ball (German: ''Wiener Opernball'') is an annual Austrian society event which takes place in the building of the Vienna State Opera in Vienna, Austria on the Thursday preceding Ash Wednesday (a religious holiday). Together with ...
, along with Volkswagen CEO
Ferdinand Piëch Ferdinand Karl Piëch (; 17 April 1937 – 25 August 2019) was an Austrian business magnate, engineer and executive who was the chairman of the executive board (''Vorstandsvorsitzender'') of Volkswagen Group in 1993–2002 and the chairman of th ...
. The following year, he nationalized a big steel mill in Lower Saxony to preserve jobs. In the 1998 state elections, Schöder's Social Democrats increased their share of the vote by about four percentage points over the 44.3 percent they recorded in the previous elections in 1994 – a postwar record for the party in Lower Saxony that reversed a string of Social Democrat reversals in state elections elsewhere.


Chancellor of Germany, 1998–2005

First term, 1998–2002 Following the 1998 national elections, Schröder became chancellor as head of an SPD-Green coalition. Throughout his campaign for chancellor, he portrayed himself as a pragmatic ''new'' Social Democrat who would promote economic growth while strengthening Germany's generous social welfare system. After the resignation of
Oskar Lafontaine Oskar Lafontaine (; born 16 September 1943) is a German politician. He served as Minister-President of the state of Saarland from 1985 to 1998, and was federal leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) from 1995 to 1999. He was the lead candid ...
as
Leader of the Social Democratic Party The Leader of the Social Democratic Party (''Vorsitzender der Sozialdemokratischen Partei Deutschlands'') is the most senior political figure within the Social Democratic Party of Germany. Since December 2019, the office has been held jointly by ...
in March 1999, in protest at Schröder's adoption of a number of what Lafontaine considered "
neo-liberal Neoliberalism (also neo-liberalism) is a term used to signify the late 20th century political reappearance of 19th-century ideas associated with free-market capitalism after it fell into decline following the Second World War. A prominent fa ...
" policies, Schröder took over his rival's office as well. In April 1999, in Germany's first session in the restored Reichstag, to applause he quoted Albanian writer
Ismail Kadare Ismail Kadare (; spelled Ismaïl Kadaré in French; born on 28 January 1936) is an Albanian novelist, poet, essayist, screenwriter, and playwright. He is a leading international literary figure and intellectual. He focused on poetry until the pu ...
, saying: "The Balkans is the yard of the European house, and in no house can peace prevail so long as people kill each other in its yard." In a move meant to signal a deepening alliance between Schröder and Prime Minister
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
of the United Kingdom, the two leaders issued an eighteen-page manifesto for economic reform in June 1999. Titled "Europe: The Third Way", or "Die Neue Mitte" in German, it called on Europe's centre-left governments to cut taxes, pursue labour and welfare reforms and encourage entrepreneurship. The joint paper said European governments needed to adopt a "supply-side agenda" to respond to globalisation, the demands of capital markets and technological change. Schröder's efforts backfired within his own party, where its left-wing rejected the Schröder–Blair call for cutbacks to the welfare state and pro-business policies. Instead, the paper took part of the blame for a succession of six German state election losses in 1999 for the Social Democratic Party. Only by 2000, Schröder managed to capitalise on the donations scandal of his Christian Democratic opposition to push through a landmark tax reform bill and re-establish his dominance of the German political scene. Schröder's tenure oversaw the seat of government move from
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-Ruhr r ...
to
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
. In May 2001, Schröder moved to his new official residence, the Federal Chancellery in Berlin, almost two years after the city became the seat of the German Government. He had previously been working out of the building in eastern Berlin used by the former leaders of
East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
. Second term, 2002–2005 Throughout the build-up to the 2002 German election, the Social Democrats and the Green Party trailed the centre-right candidate
Edmund Stoiber Edmund Rüdiger Stoiber (born 28 September 1941) is a German politician who served as the 16th Minister President of the States of Germany, state of Bavaria between 1993 and 2007 and chairman of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria, Christian So ...
until the catastrophe caused by rising floodwater in Germany led to an improvement in his polling numbers. Furthermore, his popular opposition to a war in
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
dominated campaigning in the run-up to the polls. At 22 September 2002 vote, he secured another four-year term, with a narrow nine-seat majority down from 21. In February 2004, Schröder resigned as chairman of the SPD amid growing criticism from across his own party of his reform agenda;
Franz Müntefering Franz Müntefering (; born 16 January 1940) is a German politician. He was Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) from 2004 to 2005 and again from 18 October 2008 to 13 November 2009. He served as the minister of Labour and Social Affairs, ...
succeeded him as chairman. On 22 May 2005, after the SPD lost to the
Christian Democrats __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social ...
(CDU) in
North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...
, Gerhard Schröder announced he would call federal elections "as soon as possible". A motion of confidence was subsequently defeated in the
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 ...
on 1 July 2005 by 151 to 296 (with 148 abstaining), after Schröder urged members not to vote for his government in order to trigger new elections. In response, a grouping of left-wing SPD dissidents and the Party of Democratic Socialism agreed to run on a joint ticket in the general election, with Schröder's rival
Oskar Lafontaine Oskar Lafontaine (; born 16 September 1943) is a German politician. He served as Minister-President of the state of Saarland from 1985 to 1998, and was federal leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) from 1995 to 1999. He was the lead candid ...
leading the new group. The 2005 German federal elections were held on 18 September. After the elections, neither Schröder's SPD-Green coalition nor the alliance between CDU/CSU and the FDP led by
Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Oppo ...
achieved a majority in parliament, but the CDU/CSU had a stronger popular electoral lead by one percentage point. On election night, both Schröder and Merkel claimed victory and chancellorship, but after initially ruling out a grand coalition with Merkel, Schröder and Müntefering entered negotiations with her and the CSU's
Edmund Stoiber Edmund Rüdiger Stoiber (born 28 September 1941) is a German politician who served as the 16th Minister President of the States of Germany, state of Bavaria between 1993 and 2007 and chairman of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria, Christian So ...
. On 10 October, it was announced that the parties had agreed to form a grand coalition. Schröder agreed to cede the chancellorship to Merkel, but the SPD would hold the majority of government posts and retain considerable control of government policy. Merkel was elected chancellor on 22 November. On 11 October 2005, Schröder announced that he would not take a post in the new cabinet and, in November, he confirmed that he would leave politics as soon as Merkel took office. On 23 November 2005, he resigned his
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 ...
seat. On 14 November 2005, at a SPD conference in
Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
, Schröder urged members of the SPD to support the proposed coalition, saying it "carries unmistakably, perhaps primarily, the imprint of the Social Democrats". Many SPD members had previously indicated that they supported the coalition, which would have continued the policies of Schröder's government, but had objected to
Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Oppo ...
replacing him as chancellor. The conference voted overwhelmingly to approve the deal.


Domestic policies

In his first term, Schröder's government decided to phase out
nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...
, fund
renewable energies Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...
, institute civil unions for same-sex partners, and liberalise the
naturalization Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...
law. During Schröder's time in office, economic growth slowed to only 0.2% in 2002 and Gross Domestic Product shrank in 2003, while German unemployment was over the 10% mark. Most voters soon associated Schröder with the
Agenda 2010 The Agenda 2010 is a series of reforms planned and executed by the German government in the early 2000s, a Social-Democrats/ Greens coalition at that time, which aimed to reform the German welfare system and labour relations. The declared objectiv ...
reform program, which included cuts in the
social welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet Basic needs, basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refe ...
system ( national health insurance, unemployment payments, pensions), lower taxes, and reformed regulations on employment and payment. He also eliminated capital gains tax on the sale of corporate stocks and thereby made the country more attractive to foreign investors. After the 2002 election, the SPD steadily lost support in opinion polls. Many increasingly perceived Schröder's
Third Way The Third Way is a centrist political position that attempts to reconcile right-wing and left-wing politics by advocating a varying synthesis of centre-right economic policies with centre-left social policies. The Third Way was born from a ...
program to be a dismantling of the German
welfare state A welfare state is a form of government in which the state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equitabl ...
. Moreover, Germany's high unemployment rate remained a serious problem for the government. Schröder's tax policies were also unpopular; when the satirical radio show ''
The Gerd Show ''Die Gerd-Show'' (English language, en: ''The Gerd Show'') was a German satire, satirical radio show broadcast by Eins Live (Westdeutscher Rundfunk, WDR). Reaching over nine million listeners at its peak, it generated several Top 20 hits in the m ...
'' released "Der Steuersong", featuring Schröder's voice (by impressionist
Elmar Brandt Elmar Brandt (born 20 September 1971) is a German impressionist, best known for his imitations of politicians. He was born in Düsseldorf. His most famous series is ''The Gerd Show'', in which actual events are lampooned using an imitation of f ...
) lampooning Germany's
indirect taxation An indirect tax (such as sales tax, per unit tax, value added tax (VAT), or goods and services tax (GST), excise, consumption tax, tariff) is a tax that is levied upon goods and services before they reach the customer who ultimately pays the ...
, it became Germany's 2002 Christmas #1 hit and sold over a million copies. The fact that Schröder served on the
Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...
board (a position that came with his position as
minister-president A minister-president or minister president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments with a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government where they preside over the council of ministers. It ...
of Lower Saxony) and tended to prefer pro-car policies led to him being nicknamed the "Auto-Kanzler" (car chancellor).


European integration

In 1997, Schröder joined the ministers-president of two other German states,
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
Edmund Stoiber Edmund Rüdiger Stoiber (born 28 September 1941) is a German politician who served as the 16th Minister President of the States of Germany, state of Bavaria between 1993 and 2007 and chairman of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria, Christian So ...
, in making the case for a five-year delay in Europe's currency union. After taking office, he made his first official trip overseas to France for meetings with President
Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as Ma ...
and Prime Minister
Lionel Jospin Lionel Robert Jospin (; born 12 July 1937) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002. Jospin was First Secretary of the Socialist Party from 1995 to 1997 and the party's candidate for President of France in ...
in October 1998. A 2001 meeting held by both leaders in
Blaesheim Blaesheim (; german: Bläsheim; gsw-FR, Blaase) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Population Blaesheim process A meeting held in Blaesheim, January 2001, between Jacques Chirac and Gerhard Schröder ...
later gave the name to a regular series of informal meetings between the French President, the German Chancellor, and their foreign ministers. The meetings were held alternately in France and Germany. At the fortieth anniversary of the Elysée Treaty, both sides agreed that rather than summits being held twice a year, there would now be regular meetings of a council of French and German ministers overseen by their respective foreign affairs ministers. In an unprecedented move, Chirac formally agreed to represent Schröder in his absence at a European Council meeting in October 2003. In his first months in office, Schröder vigorously demanded that Germany's net annual contribution of about $12,000,000,000 to the
budget of the European Union The Budget of the European Union (EU budget) is used to finance EU funding programmes (such as the European Regional Development Fund, the Cohesion Fund, Horizon Europe, or Erasmus+) and other expenditure at the European level. The EU budget ...
be cut, saying his country was paying most for European "waste." He later moderated his views when his government held the rotating
Presidency of the Council of the European Union The presidency of the Council of the European Union is responsible for the functioning of the Council of the European Union, which is the co-legislator of the EU legislature alongside the European Parliament. It rotates among the member state ...
in 1999. In 2003, Schröder and Chirac agreed to share power in the
institutions of the European Union The institutions of the European Union are the seven principal decision-making bodies of the European Union and the Euratom. They are, as listed in Article 13 of the Treaty on European Union: * the European Parliament, * the European Counci ...
between a
President of the European Commission The president of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The President of the Commission leads a Cabinet of Commissioners, referred to as the College, collectively account ...
, elected by the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
, and a full-time
President of the European Council The president of the European Council is the person presiding over and driving forward the work of the European Council on the world stage. This institution comprises the college of heads of state or government of EU member states as well as t ...
, chosen by heads of state and government; their agreement later formed the basis of discussions at the
Convention on the Future of Europe The Convention on the Future of the European Union, also known as the European Convention, was a body established by the European Council in December 2001 as a result of the Laeken Declaration. Inspired by the Philadelphia Convention that led to ...
and became law with the entry into force of the
Treaty of Lisbon The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is an international agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by the EU member sta ...
. Ahead of the French referendum on a European Constitution, Schröder joined Chirac in urging French voters to back the new treaty, which would have enshrined new rules for the expanded EU of 25 member states and widened the areas of collective action. Also in 2003, both Schröder and Chirac forced a suspension of sanctions both faced for breaching the European Union's fiscal rules that underpin the
euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
– the
Stability and Growth Pact The Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) is an agreement, among all of the 27 member states of the European Union, to facilitate and maintain the stability of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Based primarily on Articles 121 and 126 of the Trea ...
– for three years in a row. Schröder later called for a revision of the
Lisbon Strategy The Lisbon Strategy, also known as the Lisbon Agenda or Lisbon Process, was an action and development plan devised in 2000, for the economy of the European Union between 2000 and 2010. A pivotal role in its formulation was played by the Portuguese ...
and thereby a retreat from Europe's goal of overtaking the United States as the world's most competitive economy by 2010. Instead, he urged the EU to reform the Pact to encourage growth, and to seek the reorientation of the €100,000,000,000 annual
EU budget The Budget of the European Union (EU budget) is used to finance EU funding programmes (such as the European Regional Development Fund, the Cohesion Fund, Horizon Europe, or Erasmus+) and other expenditure at the European level. The EU budget ...
towards research and innovation. By 2005, he had successfully pushed for an agreement on sweeping plans to rewrite the Pact, which now allowed EU members with deficits above the original 3% of GDP limit to cite the costs of "the reunification of Europe" as a mitigating factor. Schröder was regarded a strong ally of Prime Minister
Leszek Miller Leszek Cezary Miller (Polish pronunciation: ; born 3 July 1946) is a Polish politician. He has served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since July 2019. From 1989 to 1990 was a member of the Politburo of the Polish United Workers' P ...
of
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
and supporter of the
2004 enlargement of the European Union The largest expansion of the European Union (EU), in terms of territory, number of states, and population took place on 1 May 2004. The simultaneous accessions concerned the following countries (sometimes referred to as the "A10" countries): ...
. On 1 August 2004, the sixtieth anniversary of the 1944
Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occ ...
, he apologised to Poland for "the immeasurable suffering" of its people during the conflict; he was the first German Chancellor to be invited to an anniversary of the uprising. Both Schröder and Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer also supported the
accession of Turkey to the European Union Turkey is negotiating its accession to the European Union (EU) as a member state, following its application to become a full member of the European Economic Community (EEC), the predecessor of the EU, on 14 April 1987. After the ten founding ...
.


Foreign policy

Marking a clear break with the caution of German foreign policy since World War II, Schröder laid out in 1999 his vision of the country's international role, describing Germany as "a
great power A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power inf ...
in Europe" that would not hesitate to pursue its national interests. Schröder also continued the established Social Democratic political tradition of
Wandel durch Handel Wandel durch Handel (WdH, German for "Change through trade"), also known as ''Wandel durch Annäherung'', is a term referring to a political and economic notion, mostly associated with German foreign policy, of increasing trade with authoritarian ...
. Schröder also began seeking a resolution ways to compensate Nazi-era slave labourers almost as soon as he was elected chancellor. Reversing the hard-line stance of his predecessor,
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 ...
, he agreed to the government contributing alongside industry to a
fund Fund may refer to: * Funding is the act of providing resources, usually in form of money, or other values such as effort or time, for a project, a person, a business, or any other private or public institution ** The process of soliciting and gathe ...
that would compensate people forced to work in German factories by the Nazi regime and appointed
Otto Graf Lambsdorff Otto Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von der Wenge Graf Lambsdorff, known as Otto Graf Lambsdorff (20 December 1926 – 5 December 2009), was a German politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP). Early life and education Lambsdorff was bo ...
to represent German industry in the negotiations with survivors' organisations, American lawyers and the US government. Schröder sent forces to
Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
and to
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
as part of
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
operations. Until Schröder's chancellorship, German troops had not taken part in combat actions since
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. At the beginning of the
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
crisis, Schröder declared in March 2002 that Germany would not take part in the Iraq war without a UN mandate. In the summer of 2002, during the federal election campaign, he proclaimed the "German Way" as an alternative to the "American warmongering" in Iraq and presented Germany as a peace power. In May 2019 at WORLD.MINDS in Belgrade, 20 years to the day after the bombing of Belgrade by
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
troops, Schröder stated unequivocally that in retrospect, if he had to make the decision again, he would authorize the aerial bombardment of the former Yugoslavia again. Schröder said that "the easiest solution would be to first accept Serbia into the European Union and then within, as an integral part the EU, find a solution o the Kosovo issue" With Germany having a long experience with
terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
itself, Schröder declared solidarity with the United States after the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
in 2001. When Schröder left office, Germany had 2,000 troops in Afghanistan, the largest contingent from any nation other than the United States, UK, France, Canada and after two years Afghanistan. Relations with the Middle East During their time in government, both Schröder and his foreign minister
Joschka Fischer Joseph Martin "Joschka" Fischer (born 12 April 1948) is a German retired politician of the Alliance 90/The Greens. He served as the foreign minister and as the vice-chancellor of Germany in the cabinet of Gerhard Schröder from 1998 to 2005. Fis ...
were widely considered sincerely, if not uncritically, pro-Israel. Schröder represented the German government at the funeral service for
King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
Hussein of Jordan Hussein bin Talal ( ar, الحسين بن طلال, ''Al-Ḥusayn ibn Ṭalāl''; 14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 11 August 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of ...
in
Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...
on 9 February 1999. When British planes joined United States forces bombing
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
without consulting the
United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...
in December 1998, Schröder pledged "unlimited solidarity". But, long with French President
Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as Ma ...
and many other world leaders, Schröder later spoke out strongly against the
2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...
and refused any military assistance in that enterprise. Schröder's stance caused political friction between the US and Germany, in particular because he used this topic for his 2002 election campaign. Schröder's stance set the stage for alleged anti-American statements by members of the SPD. The parliamentary leader of the SPD,
Ludwig Stiegler Ludwig Stiegler (born 9 April 1944 in Parsberg) is a German politician. He was chairman of the SPD's group in the Bundestag in 2002
, compared US President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
to
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
while Schröder's Minister of Justice,
Herta Däubler-Gmelin Herta Däubler-Gmelin (; born 12 August 1943) is a German lawyer, academic and politician of the Social Democratic Party. She served as Federal Minister of Justice from 1998 to 2002, and as a Member of the Bundestag from 1972 to 2009. She curre ...
, likened Bush's foreign policy to that of
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
. Schröder's critics accused him of enhancing, and campaigning on, anti-American sentiments in Germany. After his 2002 re-election, Schröder and Bush rarely met and their animosity was seen as a widening political gap between the US and Europe. Bush stated in his memoirs that Schröder initially promised to support the Iraq war but changed his mind with the upcoming German elections and public opinion strongly against the invasion, to which Schröder responded saying that Bush was "not telling the truth". When asked in March 2003 if he were at all self-critical about his position on Iraq, Schröder replied, "I very much regret there were excessive statements" from himself and former members of his government (which capitalised on the war's unpopularity). Relations with Russia On his first official trip to Russia in late 1998, Schröder suggested that Germany was not likely to come up with more aid for the country. He also sought to detach himself from the close personal relationship that his predecessor,
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 ...
, had with Russian President
Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...
, saying that German-Russian relations should "develop independently of concrete political figures." Soon after, however, he cultivated close ties with Yeltsin's successor, President
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
, in an attempt to strengthen the "strategic partnership" between Berlin and Moscow, including the opening of a gas pipeline from ''Russian Dan Marino-Pipelines'' over the Baltic Sea exclusively between Russia and Germany (see "Gazprom controversy" below). During his time in office, he visited the country five times. Schröder was criticised in the media, and subsequently by Angela Merkel, for calling Putin a "flawless democrat" on 22 November 2004, only days before Putin prematurely congratulated
Viktor Yanukovich Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych ( uk, Віктор Федорович Янукович, ; ; born 9 July 1950) is a former politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 until he was removed from office in the Revolution of Di ...
during the
Orange Revolution The Orange Revolution ( uk, Помаранчева революція, translit=Pomarancheva revoliutsiia) was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate afterm ...
. In 2005, Schröder suggested at the ceremonial introduction of the
Airbus A380 The Airbus A380 is a large wide-body airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and only full-length double-deck jet airliner. Airbus studies started in 1988, and the project was annou ...
in Toulouse that there was still "room in the boat" of
EADS Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: '' ...
for Russia. Only a few days after his chancellorship, Schröder joined the board of directors of the Nord Stream joint venture, thus bringing about new speculations about his prior objectivity. In his memoirs ''Decisions: My Life in Politics'', Schröder still defends his friend and political ally, and states that "it would be wrong to place excessive demands on Russia when it comes to the rate of domestic political reform and democratic development, or to judge it solely on the basis of the Chechnya conflict." Schröder's continued close connection to Vladimir Putin and his government after his chancellorship has been widely criticized in Germany. Relations with China During his time in office, Schröder visited China six times. He was the first Western politician to travel to Beijing and apologise after NATO jets had mistakenly bombed the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade in 1999. In 2004, he and Chinese Prime Minister
Wen Jiabao Wen Jiabao (born 15 September 1942) is a retired Chinese politician who served as the Premier of the State Council from 2003 to 2013. In his capacity as head of government, Wen was regarded as the leading figure behind China's economic policy ...
established a secure, direct telephone line. He also pressed for the lifting of the EU
arms embargo An arms embargo is a restriction or a set of sanctions that applies either solely to weaponry or also to "dual-use technology." An arms embargo may serve one or more purposes: * to signal disapproval of the behavior of a certain actor * to maintain ...
on China.


After chancellorship


Representative role

After leaving public office, Schröder represented Germany at the funeral services for
Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...
in Moscow (jointly with
Horst Köhler Horst Köhler (; born 22 February 1943) is a German politician who served as President of Germany from 2004 to 2010. As the candidate of the two Christian Democratic sister parties, the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, CDU (of which he is ...
and
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 ...
, 2007) and
Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...
in
Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains t ...
(jointly with
Egon Krenz Egon Rudi Ernst Krenz (; born 19 March 1937) is a German former politician who was the last Communist leader of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) during the Revolutions of 1989. He succeeded Erich Honecker as the General Secretary ...
, 2016). Schröder and
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 ...
served as mediators in a conflict over privatization plans at German railway operator
Deutsche Bahn The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder. describes itself as the se ...
; the plans eventually fell through. In 2016, he was appointed by Vice-Chancellor
Sigmar Gabriel Sigmar Hartmut Gabriel (born 12 September 1959) is a German politician who was the Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2017 to 2018 and the vice-chancellor of Germany from 2013 to 2018. He was Leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germa ...
to mediate (alongside economist Bert Rürup) in a dispute between two of Germany's leading retailers,
Edeka The Edeka Group is the largest German supermarket corporation , holding a market share of 20.3%. Founded in 1907, it consists today of several co-operatives of independent supermarkets all operating under the umbrella organisation ''Edeka Zentr ...
and REWE Group, over the takeover of supermarket chain Kaiser's Tengelmann. Following the release of German activist Peter Steudtner from a Turkish prison in October 2017, German media reported that Schröder had acted as mediator in the conflict and, on the request of Gabriel, met with President
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the List of presidents of Turkey, 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as Lis ...
to secure the release. After the
2018 elections in Turkey Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the shor ...
, he represented the German government at Erdoğan's swearing-in ceremony in
Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...
.


Business activities

Schröder's plans after leaving office as chancellor and resigning his Bundestag seat included resuming his law practice in Berlin, writing a book, and implementing plans for twin pipelines for Gazprom, Russia's leading energy company. He was subsequently retained by the Swiss publisher
Ringier Ringier AG is a media group in Switzerland, founded in 1833 in Zofingen and based in Zürich. The current strategy is based not only on media but also on e-commerce and entertainment. It has a yearly income of approximately 1000 million CHF and ...
AG as a consultant. Other board memberships include the following: *
Nord Stream 1 Nord Stream (German-English mixed expression; german: Nord and en, Stream, literally 'North Stream'; russian: Северный поток, ''Severny potok'') is a pair of offshore natural gas pipelines in Europe that run under the Baltic Sea ...
, chairman of the Shareholders' Committee (since 2006) *
CargoBeamer Cargobeamer is an intermodal transport system. It involves specially designed pallets which can be carried on a road trailer; the pallets are fitted on top of flatcars but can slide sideways to allow trucks to drive on and off smoothly at inte ...
, member of the advisory board *
China Investment Corporation China Investment Corporation (CIC) (Chinese: 中国投资有限责任公司; pinyin: ''zhōngguó tóuzī yǒuxiàn zérèn gōngsī'') is a sovereign wealth fund that manages part of the People's Republic of China's foreign exchange reserves. C ...
(CIC), member of the international advisory board *
N M Rothschild & Sons Rothschild & Co is a multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company, and the flagship of the Rothschild banking group controlled by the French and British branches of the Rothschild family. The banking business o ...
, member of the European Advisory Council (since 2006) *
Herrenknecht Herrenknecht AG is a German company that manufactures tunnel boring machines, headquartered in Allmannsweier, Schwanau, Baden-Württemberg. It is the worldwide market leader for heavy tunnel boring machines. Roughly two-thirds of its 5,000 employ ...
, deputy chairman of the supervisory board (2017–2022) *
Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), Hannover, HSV or simply 96, is a German professional football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years betwe ...
, chairman of the supervisory board (2016–2019) *
TNK-BP TNK-BP (Tyumenskaya Neftyanaya Kompaniya, Tyumen Oil Company) was a major vertically integrated Russian oil company headquartered in Moscow. It was Russia's third-largest oil producer and among the ten largest private oil companies in the world. ...
, member of the international advisory board (2009)


Other activities

In addition, Schröder has held several other paid and unpaid positions since his retirement from German politics, including: *
Berggruen Institute The Berggruen Institute is a Los Angeles-based think tank founded by Nicolas Berggruen. History In 2010, Nicolas Berggruen and Nathan Gardels sat down with a group of academics, business leaders, and political veterans in California to discus ...
, member of the Council for the Future of Europe and the 21st Century Council. *
Bundesliga Foundation , logo = DFL Stiftung logo CMYK pos.svg , type = Rechtsfähige Stiftung(nonprofit foundation) , founded = , hq_location_city = Frankfurt , hq_location_country = Germany , area_served = Germany , key_people = Stefan Kiefer''(Chairman of t ...
, member of the board of trustees *
German Cancer Research Center The German Cancer Research Center (known as the Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum or simply DKFZ in German) is a national cancer research center based in Heidelberg, Germany. It is a member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres, ...
(DKFZ), member of the advisory council *
Dresden Frauenkirche The Dresden Frauenkirche (german: Dresdner Frauenkirche, , ''Church of Our Lady'') is a Evangelical Church in Germany, Lutheran church in Dresden, the capital of the German state of Saxony. Destroyed during the Allied Bombing of Dresden in Wo ...
, member of the board of trustees *
Friedrich Ebert Foundation The Friedrich Ebert Foundation (''German: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung e.V.; Abbreviation: FES'') is a German political party foundation associated with, but independent from, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Established in 1925 as the ...
(FES), Member *
Mädchenchor Hannover Der Mädchenchor Hannover is a girls' choir of girls and young women, based in Hannover, the state capital of Lower Saxony, Germany. Girls and young woman between ages 14 and 20 perform a wide range of repertoire from Renaissance to contemporary m ...
Foundation, member of the board of trustees * Museum Berggruen, member of the international council * German Near and Middle East Association (NUMOV), honorary chairman of the board *
Wilhelm Busch Museum The Wilhelm Busch Museum (german: Wilhelm Busch - Deutsches Museum für Karikatur und Zeichenkunst, links=no, "Wilhelm Busch - German Museum of Caricature and Drawings") is a museum in Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany. It features the world's larges ...
, chairman of the board of trustees (since 2013) *
InterAction Council of Former Heads of State and Government The InterAction Council is an independent non-profit organization that brings together former world leaders to mobilize their energy, experience and international contacts in an effort to develop recommendations and foster co-operation and positive ...
, Member * International Willy Brandt Prize, member of the jury


Criticism and controversies


Relationship with Russian companies

As chancellor, Gerhard Schröder was a strong advocate of the
Nord Stream 1 Nord Stream (German-English mixed expression; german: Nord and en, Stream, literally 'North Stream'; russian: Северный поток, ''Severny potok'') is a pair of offshore natural gas pipelines in Europe that run under the Baltic Sea ...
pipeline project, which planned to supply Russian gas directly to Germany, thereby bypassing transit countries. At the time of the German parliamentary election, according to Rick Noak of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'': On 24 October 2005, just a few weeks before Schröder stepped down as chancellor, the German government guaranteed to cover 1 billion euros of the Nord Stream project cost, should
Gazprom PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐzˈprom) is a Russian majority state-owned multinational energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. As of 2019, with sales over $120 billion, it was ranked as the larges ...
default on a loan. However, this guarantee had never been used. Soon after stepping down as chancellor, Schröder accepted Gazprom's nomination for the post of the head of the shareholders' committee of
Nord Stream AG Nord Stream AG is a consortium for construction and operation of the Nord Stream 1 submarine pipeline between Vyborg in Russia and Greifswald in Germany. The consortium was incorporated in Zug, Switzerland, on 30 November 2005. The original name ...
, raising questions about a potential conflict of interest. German opposition parties expressed concern over the issue, as did the governments of countries over whose territory gas is currently pumped. In an editorial entitled ''Gerhard Schroeder's Sellout'', the American newspaper ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' also expressed sharp criticism, reflecting widening international ramifications of Schröder's new post. Democrat
Tom Lantos Thomas Peter Lantos (born Tamás Péter Lantos; February 1, 1928 – February 11, 2008) was a Holocaust survivor and American politician who served as a U.S. representative from California from 1981 until his death in 2008. A member of the Demo ...
, chairman of the
United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs The United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, also known as the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is a standing committee of the U.S. House of Representatives with jurisdiction over bills and investigations concerning the foreign affairs o ...
, likened Schröder to a "political prostitute" for his recent behaviour. In January 2009, the ''Wall Street Journal'' reported that Schröder would join the board of the oil company
TNK-BP TNK-BP (Tyumenskaya Neftyanaya Kompaniya, Tyumen Oil Company) was a major vertically integrated Russian oil company headquartered in Moscow. It was Russia's third-largest oil producer and among the ten largest private oil companies in the world. ...
, a joint venture between oil major BP and Russian partners. In 2016, Schröder switched to become manager of
Nord Stream 2 Nord Stream 2 (German-English mixed expression; german: Nord and en, Stream 2, literally 'North Stream2'; russian: Северный поток — 2) is a natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany running through the Baltic Sea, financed by ...
, an expansion of the original pipeline in which Gazprom is sole shareholder. In 2017, Russia nominated Schröder to also serve as an independent director of the board of its biggest oil producer
Rosneft PJSC Rosneft Oil Company ( stylized as ROSNEFT) is a Russian Vertical integration, integrated energy company headquartered in Moscow. Rosneft specializes in the exploration, Extraction of petroleum, extraction, production, refining, Petroleum t ...
.Maria Kiselyova (12 August 2017)
Russia nominates German ex-chancellor Schroeder to Rosneft board
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...
.
At the time, Rosneft was under Western sanctions over Russia's role in the Ukraine crisis. Schröder told ''
Blick ''Blick'' is a Swiss German-language daily newspaper, and online news website covering current affairs, entertainment, sports and lifestyle. History and profile ''Blick'' was established in 1959. The newspaper was the first Swiss tabloid public ...
'' that he would be paid about $350,000 annually for the part-time post. His decision caused an outcry in Germany and abroad, especially in a climate of fear about any potential Russian interference in the 2017 German elections. German
Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Oppo ...
criticized her predecessor, saying "I do not think what Mr Schröder is doing is okay". In 2022, Schröder was nominated to the board of directors of Gazprom. Especially as tensions between Russia and NATO mounted before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Schröder's stance as a " Putin understander" was criticized. Schröder criticized the behaviour of the western countries as "saber rattling". ARD journalist Georg Schwarte stated that Schröder would no longer be "a former chancellor. At best", he would be an "ex-chancellor with a sense of money." The current chancellor
Olaf Scholz Olaf Scholz (; born ) is a German politician who has served as the chancellor of Germany since 8 December 2021. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party (SPD), he previously served as Vice Chancellor of German ...
(SPD) said "I don't want his advice." In 2022, it was reported that Schroeder was paid nearly $1 million per year by Russian energy companies.


2002 defamation lawsuit

In April 2002, Schröder sued the DDP press agency for publishing an opinion of
public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...
consultant Sabine Schwind saying that he "would be more credible if he didn't dye his gray hair". The court decided to ban the media from suggesting that he colours his hair. The Chancellor's spokesman said: "This is not a frivolous action taken over whether he does or doesn't dye his hair, but is a serious issue regarding his word." The agency's lawyer said that they could not accept a verdict which "does not coincide with freedom of the press".


2007 dispute over Estonian war memorial

During a heated dispute between Russia and
Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
in May 2007 over the removal of a Soviet-era war memorial from the centre of the Estonian capital
Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...
to a military cemetery, Schröder defended the Kremlin's reaction. He remarked that Estonia had contradicted "every form of civilised behaviour". Consequently, the Estonian government cancelled a planned visit by Schröder in his function as chairman of
Nord Stream 1 Nord Stream (German-English mixed expression; german: Nord and en, Stream, literally 'North Stream'; russian: Северный поток, ''Severny potok'') is a pair of offshore natural gas pipelines in Europe that run under the Baltic Sea ...
AG, which promotes the petroleum pipeline from Russia to Germany.


2008 comments on Kosovo independence

Schröder has criticised some European countries' swift decision to recognise Kosovo as an independent state after it declared independence in February 2008. He believes the decision was taken under heavy pressure from the US government and has caused more problems, including the weakening of the so-called pro-EU forces in Serbia.


Comments on South Ossetia and Crimean crisis

In August 2008, Schröder laid the blame for the
2008 South Ossetia war The 2008 Russo-Georgian WarThe war is known by a variety of other names, including Five-Day War, August War and Russian invasion of Georgia. was a war between Georgia, on one side, and Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of Sou ...
squarely on Mikhail Saakashvili and "the West", hinting at American foreknowledge and refusing to criticize any aspect of Russian policy which had thus far come to light. In March 2014, Schröder likened Russia's intervention in Crimea with
NATO bombing of Yugoslavia The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombings continued until an a ...
, citing both cases as violations of
international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...
and the
UN Charter The Charter of the United Nations (UN) is the foundational treaty of the UN, an intergovernmental organization. It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the UN system, including its six principal organs: the ...
. He further stated that there had been "unhappy developments" on the outskirts of the former Soviet Union since the end of the Cold War, leading Putin to develop justifiable "fears about being encircled". On 13 March 2014, an attempt by the German Green Party to ban Schröder from speaking in public about Ukraine was narrowly defeated in the European parliament. His decision to celebrate his 70th birthday party with Putin in
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
's Yusupov Palace in late April elicited further criticism from several members of Merkel's grand coalition, including human rights spokesperson .


Paradise Papers

In November 2017, an investigation conducted by the
International Consortium of Investigative Journalism The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Inc. (ICIJ), is an independent global network of 280 investigative journalists and over 140 media organizations spanning more than 100 countries. It is based in Washington, D.C. with ...
cited his name in the list of politicians named in "
Paradise Papers The Paradise Papers are a set of over 13.4 million confidential electronic documents relating to offshore investments that were leaked to the German reporters Frederik Obermaier and Bastian Obermayer, from the newspaper'' Süddeutsch ...
" allegations.


2022 suit against German Parliament

In 2022, Schröder filed a suit with the Berlin administrative court against the
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 ...
that seeks to reinstate his privileges as former chancellor, appealing the decision to close his office and reallocate its remaining staff.


Filmography


Television


Personal life

Schröder has been married five times: * Eva Schubach (married 1968, divorced 1972); * Anne Taschenmacher (married 1972, divorced 1984); * Hiltrud "Hillu" Hampel (married 1984, divorced 1997); * Doris Köpf (married 1997, divorced 2018); * (married 2018) Doris Köpf had a daughter from a previous relationship with a television journalist. She lived with the couple. In July 2004, Schröder and Köpf adopted a child from
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
. In 2006, they adopted another child from Saint Petersburg. Schröder rents an apartment in Berlin while retaining his primary residence in Hanover. As a former chancellor, he is entitled to a permanent office, also situated in Berlin. In late 2005, he spent time in the UK improving his English language skills. In 2013, Schröder and Köpf purchased another home in
Gümüşlük Gümüşlük is a seaside village and fishing port in Bodrum, Muğla Province, southwestern Turkey. Location In the Aegean Region, it is situated on the remains of the ancient city of Myndos. The remains of the foundations of buildings can be ...
,
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, in a real estate project developed by
Nicolas Berggruen Nicolas Berggruen (; born 10 August 1961) is a US-based billionaire investor and philanthropist. Born in Paris, France, he is a dual American and German citizen.Jeremy Kahn (October 25, 2011)''Bloomberg'' He is the founder and president of Berggru ...
. Schröder's fourth marriage earned him the nickname "Audi Man", a reference to the four-ring symbol of
Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. Th ...
motorcars. Another nickname is "The Lord of the Rings". Schröder married for the fifth time in 2018. His wife is the Korean economist and interpreter
Kim Kim or KIM may refer to: Names * Kim (given name) * Kim (surname) ** Kim (Korean surname) *** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties **** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948 ** Kim, Vietnamese f ...
So-Yeon. Schröder's fifth marriage has earned him the nickname "Olympic Man", a reference to the five-ring symbol of the
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
. Schröder identifies himself as a member of the
Evangelical Church in Germany The Evangelical Church in Germany (german: Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, abbreviated EKD) is a federation of twenty Lutheranism, Lutheran, Continental Reformed church, Reformed (Calvinism, Calvinist) and united and uniting churches, United ( ...
, but does not appear to be religious. He did not add the optional phrase ''So wahr mir Gott helfe'' ("so help me God") when sworn in as chancellor for his first term in 1998. Schröder is known to be an avid art collector. He chose his friend
Jörg Immendorff Jörg Immendorff (14 June 1945 – 28 May 2007) was a German painter, sculptor, stage designer and art professor. He was a member of the art movement ''Neue Wilde''. Early life and education Immendorff was born in Bleckede, Lower Saxony, n ...
to paint his official portrait for the
German Chancellery The German Chancellery (german: Bundeskanzleramt, , more faithfully translated as ''Federal Chancellery'' or ''Office of the Federal Chancellor'') is an agency serving the executive office of the chancellor of Germany, the head of the federal gov ...
. The portrait, which was completed by Immendorff's assistants, was revealed to the public in January 2007; the massive work has ironic character, showing the former chancellor in stern heroic pose, in the colors of the German flag, painted in the style of an
icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...
, surrounded by little monkeys. These "painter monkeys" were a recurring theme in Immendorff's work, serving as an ironic commentary on the artist's practice. On 14 June 2007, Schröder gave a eulogy at a memorial service for Immendorf at the
Alte Nationalgalerie The Alte Nationalgalerie ( ''Old National Gallery'') is a listed building on the Museum Island in the Mitte (locality), historic centre of Berlin, Germany. The gallery was built from 1862 to 1876 by the order of King Frederick William IV of Prussi ...
in Berlin.


Awards and honours


Honours


National honours

* : Grand Cross 1st Class of the
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...
(1999)


Foreign honours

* :
Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage ...
(2000) * : Order of the White Eagle (2002) * : Grand Cross of the
Order of the Star of Romania The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the defunct Order of Michael the Brave. It is awarded by the President of Romania. It has five r ...
(2004) * : Knight Grand Cross of the
Grand Order of Queen Jelena The Grand Order of Queen Jelena ( hr, Velered kraljice Jelene), or more fully the Grand Order of Queen Jelena with Sash and Morning Star (''Velered kraljice Jelene s lentom i Danicom''), is an order of the Republic of Croatia. It was established ...
, "for exceptional merit in the recognition of Croatia and the support of Croatia on the road to the EU". (2007) * :
Order of the White Lion The Order of the White Lion ( cs, Řád Bílého lva) is the highest order of the Czech Republic. It continues a Czechoslovak order of the same name created in 1922 as an award for foreigners (Czechoslovakia had no civilian decoration for its ...
(2017)


Other honours

* In 2000, Schröder receive the Deutscher Medienpreis in
Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...
, Baden-Württemberg. * In 2007, Schröder receive the Quadriga Prize in Berlin. * On 28 May 2008, Schöder was elected as corresponding member of the Department of Social Sciences of the
Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...


Honorary degrees

* On 30 December 2002, Schröder was awarded an honorary doctorate from the
Tongji University Tongji University () is a comprehensive public research university located in Shanghai. Established in 1907 by the German government together with German physicians in Shanghai, Tongji is one of the longest-standing, most selective, and most pr ...
in Shanghai. * In June 2003, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the
St. Petersburg University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter t ...
. * On 4 April 2005, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the
Marmara University Marmara University ( Turkish: ''Marmara Üniversitesi'') is a public university in Istanbul, Turkey. The university is named after the Sea of Marmara and was founded as a university in 1982. However, it was created in 1883 under the name of ''H ...
in
Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
. * On 14 June 2005, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from 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 ...
in
Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...
, Lower Saxony. * On 17 June 2007, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the
University of Damascus The University of Damascus ( ar, جَامِعَةُ دِمَشْقَ, ''Jāmi‘atu Dimashq'') is the largest and oldest university in Syria, located in the capital Damascus and has campuses in other Syrian cities. It was founded in 1923 through ...
in
Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...
, Syria. * In 2007, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the
University of Urbino The University of Urbino "Carlo Bo" ( it, Università degli Studi di Urbino "Carlo Bo", ''UniUrb'') is an Italian university located in Urbino, a walled hill-town in the region of Marche, located in the north-eastern part of central Italy. The ...
in
Urbino Urbino ( ; ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of ...
, Italy.


Rescinded honours

* On 24 February 2006, Schröder became an honorary citizen of his hometown of
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 ...
. In March 2022, in response to his collusion with Russia and
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
, the city council of Hanover initiated proceedings to strip Schröder of his honorary citizenship. Shortly before the formal vote to strip him of the honorary citizenship, Schröder countered by writing the mayor that he relinquished the honorary citizenship "for eternity."


Bibliography

* Gerhard Schröder and
Ulrich Wickert Ulrich Wickert (born 2 December 1942) is a German journalist. He is one of the best-known broadcasters in Germany. Early life Born in Tokyo, Japan, Wickert grew up in Heidelberg and Paris as a result of his father Erwin Wickert being employe ...
: ''Deutschland wird selbstbewusster''. Hohenheim-Verlag, 2000, .


See also

*
Politics of Germany Germany is a democratic and federal parliamentary republic, where federal legislative power is vested in the (the parliament of Germany) and the (the representative body of the , Germany's regional states). The federal system has, since 194 ...


References


Further reading

* Béla Anda, Rolf Kleine: ''Gerhard Schröder. Eine Biographie''. Ullstein, Berlin 1996, (updated 2nd edition Ullstein, 2002, ). * Jürgen Hogrefe: ''Gerhard Schröder: Ein Porträt''. Siedler Verlag, Berlin 2002, . * Reinhard Urschel: ''Gerhard Schröder''. DVA, 2002, . * Gregor Schöllgen: ''Gerhard Schröder. Die Biographie''. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 2015, .


External links


Official homepage of Gerhard Schröder

Gerhard Schröder on Facebook
*



''
Deutsche Welle Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave" in English), abbreviated to DW, is a German public, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the German federal tax budget. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite television service con ...
'', July 2005
Profile: Gerhard Schroeder
''BBC News'', July 2005

''
Der Spiegel ''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
Online'', 14 October 2005
Gerhard Schröder: The Man Who Rescued the German Economy
by Raymond Zhong,
Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
, 7 July 2012 * , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Schroder, Gerhard 1944 births Living people 20th-century Chancellors of Germany 21st-century Chancellors of Germany People from Blomberg, North Rhine-Westphalia People from the Free State of Lippe German Lutherans Presidents of the German Bundesrat Chancellors of Germany Members of the Bundestag for Lower Saxony Members of the Bundestag 2002–2005 Members of the Bundestag 1998–2002 Ministers-President of Lower Saxony N M Rothschild & Sons people Foreign Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences University of Göttingen alumni Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 1st Class Recipients of the Order of the White Lion Grand Crosses of the Order of the Star of Romania Members of the Bundestag for the Social Democratic Party of Germany Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) People named in the Paradise Papers Politicians affected by a party expulsion process