Heide Simonis facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Heide Simonis
Simonis in 2009
Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein
In office 19 March 1993 – 27 April 2005
Deputy	Claus Möller (1993–1996), Rainder Steenblock (1996–2000), Annemarie Lütkes (2000–2005)
Preceded by	Björn Engholm
Succeeded by	Peter Harry Carstensen
Deputy Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein
In office 10 March 1993 – 19 March 1993
Appointed by	Björn Engholm
Preceded by	Günther Jansen
Succeeded by	Claus Möller
Schleswig-Holstein Minister of Finance
In office 5 May 1988 – 19 March 1993
Appointed by	Björn Engholm
Preceded by	Roger Asmussen
Succeeded by	Claus Möller
Member of the Bundestag
In office 3 October 1976 – 8 June 1988
Member of the Kiel Municipal Council
In office 1971–1976
Personal details
Born	Heide Steinhardt (1943-07-04)4 July 1943 Bonn, Germany
Died	12 July 2023(2023-07-12) (aged 80) Kiel, Germany
Nationality	Germany
Political party	Social Democratic Party (SPD)
Alma mater	University of Kiel, University of Erlangen–Nuremberg

Heide Simonis ( 4 July 1943 – 12 July 2023) was a German politician and author. She was a member of the SPD. From 1993 to 2005 she served as the minister-president of Schleswig-Holstein. She was the first woman to serve as head of a state government in German history and the only woman to do so in the 20th century.

Education

Simonis earned her high school degree (Abitur) in 1962 in Nürnberg. She then studied Economics and Sociology at the Universities of Erlangen-Nürnberg and Kiel, graduating with a degree in economics in 1967. She worked in different positions after 1967.

Career

Simonis in 1970

Simonis joined the SPD in 1969. She was elected to the German Bundestag in 1976. In 1992, she became a member of the legislature of Schleswig-Holstein. On 19 May 1993, she was elected minister-president of Schleswig-Holstein after her predecessor Björn Engholm resigned due to a scandal. She was the first woman in Germany to rise to this level in politics.

The state election in 1996 saw the SPD representation drop to 39.8% from 46.2% in 1992, but Simonis was able to form a coalition with the Grüne (Greens). In February 2000, at the height of a CDU party financing scandal, the SPD was able to increase its share to 43.1%. Despite basing its 2005 election campaign on Simonis' popularity, the SPD suffered a heavy defeat due to the bad economic situation and dropped to 38.7% (for the first time in almost twenty years behind the CDU).

On 17 March 2005 Simonis failed to be re-elected as minister-president of Schleswig-Holstein in four consecutive ballots by the Schleswig-Holstein Landtag. In the first ballot she received 34 votes and Peter Harry Carstensen (CDU) received 33, while two deputies cast empty votes. Neither Simonis nor Carstensen got the absolute majority (35 votes). In the second and third ballot the candidates received 34 votes each, while one deputy of the alliance of SPD, Greens, and SSW abstained. An unprecedented fourth ballot brought the same result and Simonis stepped down as minister-president of Schleswig-Holstein.

UNICEF

From 2005 until February 2008 Simonis served as chief of the German UNICEF. She resigned from this position due to a scandal related to donations to the organisation that arose during her term.

Personal life

In 1967, Simonis married university professor Udo E. Simonis. Simonis fell ill with Parkinson's disease and died on 12 July 2023 at her home in Kiel.

Awards

• 2014 Honorary citizen of Schleswig-Holstein
• 2018 Willy Brandt Medal

• List of Minister-Presidents of Schleswig-Holstein

See also

In Spanish: Heide Simonis para niños