Parliamentary constituencies

Member of the Bundestag for Lower Saxony
In office 26 October 1998 – 24 November 2005
Preceded by	multi-member district
Succeeded by	Clemens Bollen
Constituency	Social Democratic Party List
In office 29 March 1983 – 1 July 1986
Preceded by	multi-member district
Succeeded by	Helmuth Möhring
Constituency	Social Democratic Party List
In office 4 November 1980 – 29 March 1983
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Dietmar Kansy
Constituency	Hannover-Land I
Member of the Landtag of Lower Saxony for Lehrte
In office 9 July 1986 – 26 October 1998
Preceded by	Hans-Jürgen Mellentin
Succeeded by	Bernadette Schuster-Barkau

Personal details

Born

Gerhard Fritz Kurt Schröder

7 April 1944 (age 81)
Blomberg, Germany

Political party

Social Democratic
(since 1963)

Spouses

Eva Schubach

(m. 1968; div. 1972)
Anne Taschenmacher

(m. 1972; div. 1984)
Hiltrud Schwetje [de]

(m. 1984; div. 1997)
Doris Köpf

(m. 1997; div. 2018)
So-yeon Schröder-Kim [de]

(m. 2018)

Children

Residences

Zoo, Hanover-Mitte

Alma mater

University of Göttingen

Awards

Order of Merit

Signature

Gerhard Fritz Kurt "Gerd" Schröder (born 7 April 1944) is a German former politician. He served as the Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. From 1999 to 2004, he was also the leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). As chancellor, he led a government made up of the SPD and Alliance 90/The Greens. After leaving office, Schröder worked for Russian state-owned energy companies. These included Nord Stream AG, Rosneft, and Gazprom.

Before becoming a full-time politician, Schröder was a lawyer. He was the Minister President of Lower Saxony from 1990 to 1998. After his party lost the 2005 federal election, he stepped down as chancellor. Angela Merkel from the Christian Democratic Union took his place. Schröder was chairman of the board for Nord Stream AG and Rosneft. He resigned from Rosneft in 2022. He also chose not to join the board of Gazprom. He also worked as a global manager for the investment bank Rothschild. He was also chairman of the board for the football club Hannover 96.

After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, many people criticized Schröder. This was because of his past policies towards Vladimir Putin's government. They also criticized his work for Russian state companies. In March 2023, his party ruled that he had not broken any party rules. He remains a member of the SPD.

Early Life and Education

Gerhard Schröder was born in Blomberg, Germany, on April 7, 1944. His father, Fritz Schröder, was a soldier who died in World War II in October 1944. This was about six months after Gerhard was born. His mother, Erika, worked hard as a farm laborer. She supported herself and her two sons.

After the war, Schröder lived in West Germany. From 1958 to 1961, he worked in a hardware shop. He later worked as a construction worker and sales clerk. He studied at night school to get his university entrance qualification. In 1966, he started studying law at the University of Göttingen. He finished his law exams in 1976. After that, he worked as a lawyer until 1990. He handled some well-known cases during this time.

Beginning His Political Journey

Schröder joined the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in 1963. In 1978, he became the national leader of the Young Socialists. This was the youth group of the SPD.

Joining the German Parliament (Bundestag)

In 1980, Schröder was elected to the German Bundestag. This is Germany's federal parliament. He was known for wearing a sweater instead of a suit. He served in the SPD group in parliament. He also became the chairman of the SPD in the Hanover district.

In 1985, Schröder met with Erich Honecker, the leader of East Germany. This happened during a visit to East Berlin. In 1986, Schröder was elected to the Landtag of Lower Saxony. He became the leader of the SPD group there.

Leading Lower Saxony State Government

After the SPD won the state elections in June 1990, Schröder became the Minister-President of Lower Saxony. He led a government with the SPD and the Green Party. He also won the state elections in 1994 and 1998. During this time, he joined the board of Volkswagen. The state of Lower Saxony is a major owner of Volkswagen.

From 1997 to 1998, he was the President of the Bundesrat. This is another important part of Germany's government.

Chancellor of Germany: 1998–2005

First Term as Chancellor (1998–2002)

After the 1998 national elections, Schröder became chancellor. He led a government made up of the SPD and the Green Party. During his election campaign, he promised to help the economy grow. He also wanted to keep Germany's social welfare system strong.

In March 1999, Oskar Lafontaine resigned as leader of the SPD. Schröder then took over this role as well. In June 1999, Schröder and British Prime Minister Tony Blair released a plan for economic reform. It was called "Europe: The Third Way." It suggested that European governments should cut taxes and reform welfare.

Schröder's ideas were not popular with everyone in his own party. Some thought he was moving too far from traditional SPD policies. However, by 2000, he managed to pass a big tax reform law. This helped him regain control of the German political scene. During his time in office, the German government moved its main offices from Bonn to Berlin.

Second Term as Chancellor (2002–2005)

Before the 2002 German election, Schröder's party was behind in the polls. But then, major floods hit Germany in 2002. Schröder's strong response to the floods helped his popularity. He also spoke out against the war in Iraq. This was a popular stance in Germany. On September 22, 2002, he won another four-year term. His party had a small majority.

"SPD – Trust in Germany": Schröder in Esslingen.

In February 2004, Schröder resigned as chairman of the SPD. This was due to growing criticism of his reform plans. Franz Müntefering took over as chairman. In May 2005, after his party lost an important state election, Schröder announced he would call new federal elections. He wanted to get a fresh start.

The 2005 German federal elections were held on September 18. Neither Schröder's SPD-Green government nor Angela Merkel's party won a clear majority. After negotiations, it was announced that a "grand coalition" would be formed. This meant the two largest parties would work together. Schröder agreed to let Merkel become chancellor. However, the SPD would hold most of the government positions. On November 22, Merkel was elected chancellor. Schröder then announced he would leave politics. He resigned from his seat in the Bundestag on November 23, 2005.

Domestic Policies in Germany

During his first term, Schröder's government made several important decisions. They decided to stop using nuclear power. They also supported renewable energies. They allowed civil unions for same-sex couples. They also made it easier for people to become German citizens.

Germany's economy faced challenges during Schröder's time as chancellor. Economic growth was slow, and unemployment was high. Schröder introduced a reform program called "Agenda 2010." This program included changes to the social welfare system. It also lowered taxes and reformed rules for jobs. He also removed a tax on selling company stocks. This was to attract more foreign investors.

Many people felt that Schröder's reforms were weakening Germany's welfare state. This caused his party to lose support in opinion polls. Schröder was also known as the "car chancellor" (Auto-Kanzler). This was because he served on the Volkswagen board and supported policies that helped the car industry.

Working with Europe

Schröder wanted Germany to play a strong role in Europe. In 1998, he visited France to meet with President Jacques Chirac. They later started regular informal meetings between French and German leaders. In 2003, Schröder and Chirac agreed on how the institutions of the European Union should be led. This agreement helped shape the Treaty of Lisbon.

Schröder also pushed for changes to the European Union's budget rules. He wanted the EU to focus more on research and new ideas. He was a strong supporter of Poland joining the EU in 2004. He also supported Turkey joining the EU.

Foreign Policy and Global Relations

Schröder changed Germany's foreign policy. He said Germany was a "great power in Europe." He sent German troops to Kosovo and Afghanistan as part of NATO operations. Before this, German troops had not taken part in combat since World War II.

Gerhard Schröder with Polish President Aleksander Kwaśniewski on 6 December 2000

In 2002, Schröder stated that Germany would not join the Iraq war without approval from the United Nations. He called this the "German Way." This stance caused some tension between Germany and the United States.

Gerhard Schröder with US President George W. Bush in Washington on 9 October 2001

After the September 11 attacks in 2001, Schröder showed support for the United States. When he left office, Germany had 2,000 troops in Afghanistan. This was one of the largest groups of troops from any country there.

Relations with Russia

Schröder developed a close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. They worked to strengthen the "strategic partnership" between Germany and Russia. This included plans for a gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea.

Schröder with his friend Russian President Vladimir Putin at a dinner in Weimar, Germany, on 9 April 2002

Schröder was criticized for calling Putin a "flawless democrat" in 2004. In his last days as chancellor in 2005, he signed a deal with Russian state-owned Gazprom. This deal was to build the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. Soon after leaving office, he joined the pipeline company's board. This led to questions about his fairness while in office.

Schröder at Putin's inauguration with Dmitry Medvedev and Patriarch Kirill on 7 May 2018

Schröder's continued close ties to Vladimir Putin after his chancellorship have been widely criticized in Germany.

After Being Chancellor

After leaving public office, Schröder continued to represent Germany at some events. He attended the funerals of Boris Yeltsin in Moscow and Fidel Castro in Cuba.

He also worked as a mediator in some business disputes. For example, he helped resolve a conflict about privatization plans for the German railway company Deutsche Bahn. In 2017, he reportedly helped secure the release of a German activist from a Turkish prison.

Business Activities

After leaving office, Schröder became involved in various business activities. He joined the board of directors for several companies. These include:

Nord Stream 1, where he became chairman of the Shareholders' Committee in 2006.
N M Rothschild & Sons, joining its European Advisory Council in 2006.
Herrenknecht, serving as deputy chairman of the supervisory board from 2017 to 2022.
Hannover 96, where he was chairman of the supervisory board from 2016 to 2019.

Other Activities

Schröder has also held other roles, both paid and unpaid. He is a member of the Council for the Future of Europe at the Berggruen Institute. He is also on the board of trustees for the Bundesliga Foundation. He is an honorary chairman of the German Near and Middle East Association (NUMOV).

Personal Life

Kim So-Yeon [de] and Gerhard Schröder, 2018

Gerhard Schröder has been married five times:

Eva Schubach (1968–1972)
Anne Taschenmacher (1972–1984)
Hiltrud "Hillu" Hampel (1984–1997)
Doris Köpf (1997–2018)
So-yeon Schröder-Kim [de] (2018)

Doris Köpf had a daughter from a previous relationship. She lived with Schröder and Köpf. In 2004 and 2006, Schröder and Köpf adopted two children from Saint Petersburg.

Schröder has an apartment in Berlin but lives mainly in Hanover. As a former chancellor, he has a permanent office in Berlin. He is a Lutheran-Protestant. When he became chancellor in 1998, he chose not to add "so help me God" to his oath.

Schröder enjoys collecting art. His official portrait for the German Chancellery was painted by his friend Jörg Immendorff. The portrait shows Schröder in a serious pose, surrounded by small monkeys. These "painter monkeys" were a common theme in Immendorff's art.

Awards and Recognition

Honours Received

National Honours

Germany: Grand Cross 1st Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1999)

International Honours

Georgia: Order of the Golden Fleece (2000)
Poland: Order of the White Eagle (2002)
Romania: Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Romania (2004)
Croatia: Knight Grand Cross of the Grand Order of Queen Jelena (2007)
Czech Republic: Order of the White Lion (2017)

Other Awards

In 2000, Schröder received the Deutscher Medienpreis.
In 2007, he received the Quadriga Prize.
In 2008, he was elected as a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Honorary Degrees

Schröder has received several honorary doctorates from universities around the world:

Tongji University in Shanghai (2002)
St. Petersburg University (2003)
Marmara University in Istanbul (2005)
University of Göttingen (2005)
University of Damascus (2007)
University of Urbino in Urbino, Italy (2007)

Honours That Were Given Back

In 2006, Schröder became an honorary citizen of his hometown, Hanover. In March 2022, the city council started a process to take away this honour. This was because of his connections to Russia and Vladimir Putin. Before the city could vote, Schröder gave up his honorary citizenship himself.

Images for kids

Gerhard Schröder's signature

Gerhard Schröder facts for kids

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