Gerhard Schröder

:This article discusses the Social Democratic German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. For the 1950s/1960s CDU politician with the same name, see Gerhard Schröder (CDU).

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. In 1980 he was elected to the German Bundestag, and stood out provocatively as a young parliamentarian who wore a sweater to work instead of the traditional suit-and-tie. He became chairman of the SPD Hanover district.

Related Topics:
1963 - 1978 - Young Socialists - 1980 - Bundestag

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Political success in Lower Saxony

1986 saw his election to the regional parliament of Lower Saxony as leader of the SPD faction. After the SPD's win of the regional elections in Lower Saxony on June 21 1990, he became minister-president of Lower-Saxony as head of a SPD/Greens coalition; in this position, he also won the 1994 (March 13, from there on absolute majority of the SPD itself, SPD-only government) and the 1998 (March 1) regional elections there.

Related Topics:
1986 - Lower Saxony - June 21 - 1990 - Minister-president - 1994 - March 13 - 1998 - March 1

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Political career in Germany's federal politics

Following his start as minister-president, he became a member of the board of the federal SPD. In Germany's 1994 federal elections (October 16), he was the SPD's candidate for the foreign minister under the SPD's chancellor candidate Rudolf Scharping, but the SPD did not become the federal government after this election. On the evening of the 1998 Lower Saxony elections, he was announced to become chancellor candidate of the SPD. He became Chancellor of Germany on October 27 as head of a SPD/Green coalition, after these parties had gained the majority in the German Bundestag in the federal elections on September 27, 1998. In the general elections on September 22, 2002, he secured another four-year term, thanks to the victory of his governing Red-Green coalition, despite a loss of several seats in the Bundestag maintaining only a 9 seat majority down from 21 previously.

Related Topics:
October 16 - Rudolf Scharping - SPD - Chancellor of Germany - October 27 - Bundestag - September 27 - 1998 - General elections - September 22 - 2002 - Green - Coalition

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His political opponent conservative rival, Edmund Stoiber, was quoted in the Associated Press at the time as saying Schroeder's majority in the Bundestag would not hold long. "I predict that this Schroeder government will rule for only a very short time. What I criticize above all is that (Schroeder) opened the floodgates for anti-American tones," Stoiber said on German television, calling the crisis with the United States "the most devastating of the last 50 years." http://groups.google.com/group/alt.society.liberalism/browse_thread/thread/7805bd87fb6a22cf/585107f95dbd6e4e?lnk=st&q=Schroeder+Bush+Iraq+election&rnum=4&hl=en#585107f95dbd6e4e

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Schröder as chairman of the SPD (1999-2004)

After the resignation of Oskar Lafontaine from his office as SPD chairman in March, 1999, in protest at Schröder's adoption of a number of neo-liberal policies, Schröder held that office as well. In February, 2004, he resigned as chairman of the SPD to concentrate, as Chancellor, on German reform processes. Franz Müntefering succeeded him as chairman.

Related Topics:
Oskar Lafontaine - 1999 - Neo-liberal - 2004 - Franz Müntefering

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The 2005 elections

On May 22, 2005 after the SPD had just taken a devastating election defeat to the Christian Democrats (CDU) in its former heartland North Rhine-Westphalia, Gerhard Schröder announced he would pave the way for new federal elections in Germany "as soon as possible". A motion of confidence was subsequently defeated in the Bundestag on July 1, 2005 by 151 to 296 (with 148 neutral votes), after Schröder urged members not to vote for his government in order to trigger new elections. The elections were held on September 18, 2005, leaving Germany in a situation where neither Schröder's red-green government coalition nor the alliance between CDU/CSU and the FDP led by Angela Merkel has a majority in parliament. Merkel's CDU/CSU garnered a plurality of 459,000 more votes than Schröder's SPD. Despite this, both Schröder and Merkel have claimed victory and chancellorship.

Related Topics:
May 22 - 2005 - Christian Democrats - North Rhine-Westphalia - Motion of confidence - Bundestag - July 1 - Elections - September 18 - Angela Merkel

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