Parliamentary constituencies

Member of the Bundestag for Volkskammer
In office 3 October 1990 – 4 October 1990
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Vera Lengsfeld
Member of the Volkskammer for Rostock
In office 5 April 1990 – 2 October 1990
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished

Personal details

Born

24 January 1940 (age 85)
Rostock, Gau Mecklenburg, Nazi Germany

Political party

Independent (since 1990)

Other political
affiliations

New Forum/Alliance 90 (1989–1990)

Spouse

Gerhild Radtke

(m. 1959; separated 1991)

Domestic partner

Daniela Schadt (since 2000)

Children

Signature

Website

Official website: https://www.joachim-gauck.de/

Joachim Gauck (born January 24, 1940) is a German politician. He was the President of Germany from 2012 to 2017. Before that, he was a Lutheran pastor and a brave activist who fought against communism in East Germany.

During the Peaceful Revolution in 1989, Gauck helped start the New Forum movement. This group worked to bring down the communist government in East Germany. Later, he joined other groups to form Alliance 90.

In 1990, he was a member of East Germany's first freely elected parliament, the People's Chamber. After German reunification, he became the first Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Records. He held this job from 1990 to 2000. He was known for exposing the crimes of the Stasi, the communist secret police. People called him a "Stasi hunter" and a "tireless supporter of democracy."

In 2010, he ran for president but did not win. However, many people liked him. Der Spiegel magazine called him "the better President." The Bild newspaper called him "the president of hearts." When the president stepped down in 2012, Gauck was elected with many votes. He was a candidate supported by most major political parties.

Gauck's family had a tough time under a totalitarian government. His father was sent to a Soviet prison camp called a Gulag. This experience shaped Gauck's political views. He has spoken out against communist crimes in Europe. He believes it is important to remember the bad things that happened during the communist era.

As president, he promoted "enlightened anti-communism." He stressed that communist rule in East Germany was wrong. He has written several books, including The Black Book of Communism. His 2012 book Freedom: A Plea talks about defending freedom and human rights worldwide. Former Chancellor Angela Merkel called him a "true teacher of democracy." The Wall Street Journal said he was "the last of a breed" of protest leaders who later led their countries. He has received many awards, like the 1997 Hannah Arendt Prize.

Early Life in East Germany (1940–1989)
Fighting for Freedom: The Peaceful Revolution of 1989
Running for President in 2010
Becoming President of Germany
- Presidential Visits to Other Countries
- Hosting State Officials
Personal Life
Selected Books by Joachim Gauck
Honours and Awards
See also

Early Life in East Germany (1940–1989)

Joachim Gauck was born in Rostock, a city in Germany. His father was a ship's captain. After World War II, the Soviet Union took control of East Germany. The communist party, called the Socialist Unity Party, came to power.

When Gauck was eleven, in 1951, his father was arrested by Soviet soldiers. He was accused of spying and having a Western magazine. He was sent to a Gulag in Siberia, a harsh prison camp. For almost three years, Gauck's family did not know if his father was alive. In 1955, his father was freed after German leader Konrad Adenauer visited Moscow.

Gauck finished school in Rostock. He said his father's experience made him strongly against communism. Even in school, he did not hide his anti-communist views. He refused to join the communist youth group. He wanted to study German and become a journalist. But because he was not part of the ruling party, he was not allowed.

Instead, he chose to study theology and become a pastor in the Protestant church. He felt this was one of the few places in East Germany where communist ideas were not everywhere. He eventually became a pastor. His work was hard because the communist government did not like the church. The secret police, the Stasi, watched him all the time. The Stasi called him an "incorrigible anti-communist." Gauck said that by age nine, he knew "socialism was an unjust system."

In his memories, Gauck wrote that his father's fate taught him a lot. It made him very loyal to his family. It also made him unwilling to cooperate with the communist system.

Fighting for Freedom: The Peaceful Revolution of 1989

Gauck in 1990

During the Peaceful Revolution of 1989, Gauck joined the New Forum. This was a movement that wanted democracy. He became a spokesperson for the group. He also took part in big protests against the communist government.

In 1990, East Germany held its first free election. Gauck was elected to the People's Chamber, East Germany's parliament. He represented the Alliance 90 group. He served until East Germany ceased to exist in October 1990.

Gauck as a member of the East German People's Chamber in 1990

On October 2, 1990, the day before East Germany dissolved, the People's Chamber chose him for an important job. He became the Special Representative for the Stasi Records. After Germany reunited, he was put in charge of the Stasi archives. His job was to investigate crimes committed by the communists. In 1992, his office became known as the Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Records. He worked in this role until 2000.

Gauck was also a member of the Bundestag, Germany's parliament, for just one day. This was from October 3 to 4, 1990. He was one of the members from the East German People's Chamber who joined the Bundestag during reunification. He stepped down to take on the role of Special Representative for the Stasi Records. This made him the shortest-serving member of the Bundestag ever.

Gauck was offered other important jobs but turned them down. He became chairman of the "Against Forgetting – For Democracy" association in 2003. He also worked for the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia.

Running for President in 2010

"Citizens for Gauck," a demonstration in support of Gauck in front of the Brandenburger Tor in 2010

Joachim Gauck photographed by Oliver Mark, Berlin 2010

In June 2010, Joachim Gauck was nominated to be President of Germany. The SPD and the Greens parties supported him. Gauck was not a member of either party. He said he would have accepted a nomination from other parties too. He described himself as a "leftist, liberal conservative." He famously said, "I'm neither red nor green, I'm Joachim Gauck."

Gauck was respected by many politicians from different parties. They admired his strong moral character. They also respected his work as a "Stasi hunter." His main opponent, Christian Wulff, also said he respected Gauck.

The only major party that did not support Gauck was Die Linke. This party is seen as the successor to the East German Communist party. They did not like Gauck because he investigated communist injustices. The SPD chairman, Sigmar Gabriel, called Die Linke's position "bizarre and embarrassing." He said he was "shocked" that they saw Gauck as their main enemy.

In the election on June 30, 2010, Gauck lost to Christian Wulff.

Becoming President of Germany

Gauck in 2012

After President Wulff resigned in February 2012, Gauck was again nominated for president. This time, he was supported by almost all major parties. These included the CDU, CSU, FDP, SPD, and the Greens. Only Die Linke did not support him.

A poll showed that most Germans approved of Gauck's nomination. Overall, 69% of people supported him. The German media also welcomed his candidacy with excitement. Some individual politicians criticized him for minor reasons. But the main reason Die Linke opposed him was their "sympathy for the German Democratic Republic."

On March 18, 2012, Gauck was elected President of Germany. He received 991 out of 1,228 votes. He became president right away. He took his oath of office on March 23, 2012. In June 2016, Gauck announced he would not run for re-election in 2017. He said his age was the reason.

Presidential Visits to Other Countries

As president, Gauck visited many countries. In 2014, he chose not to attend the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. He did this to protest against human rights violations in Russia. On August 3, 2014, Gauck and French President François Hollande marked the start of World War I. They laid a stone for a memorial in France for soldiers killed in the war.

Hosting State Officials

Gauck with Queen Elizabeth II at Römer, Frankfurt, during the 2015 royal visit to Germany

Gauck often welcomed leaders from other countries to Germany. On September 18, 2014, he welcomed heads of state from German-speaking countries. These included Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein. They met in his home region of Mecklenburg. They talked about challenges like Europe's aging population. They also remembered the Peaceful Revolution of 1989.

Personal Life

Joachim Gauck married Gerhild "Hansi" Radtke, his childhood sweetheart, in 1959. They have four children: Christian, Martin, Gesine, and Katharina. They separated in 1991. Christian, Martin, and Gesine were able to leave East Germany and move to West Germany in the late 1980s. Katharina stayed with her parents. The communist government made it hard for his children to get an education because their father was a pastor. His son Christian became a doctor in West Germany.

Since 2000, his partner has been Daniela Schadt, a journalist. Gauck is a member of the Protestant Church in Germany. He served as a pastor for the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg.

Selected Books by Joachim Gauck

Joachim Gauck has written and co-written several books. These include:

1991: Die Stasi-Akten. Das unheimliche Erbe der DDR. (The Stasi Files. The Eerie Legacy of the GDR.)
1998: Das Schwarzbuch des Kommunismus – Unterdrückung, Verbrechen und Terror (The Black Book of Communism – Oppression, Crimes and Terror) – he wrote a chapter on political oppression in East Germany.
2009: Winter im Sommer, Frühling im Herbst. Erinnerungen. (Winter in Summer, Spring in Autumn. Memoirs.)
2012: Freiheit. Ein Plädoyer (Freedom. A Plea)

Honours and Awards

Joachim Gauck has received many awards and honors from Germany and other countries.

German Honours

Grand Cross Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (2012)

International Honours

Belgium: Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold (2016)
Chile: Collar of the Order of Merit (2016)
Czech Republic: Collar of the Order of the White Lion (2014)
Estonia: Collar of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana (2013)
France: Grand Cross of the National Order of the Legion of Honour (2013)
Iceland: Grand cross with Collar of the Order of the Falcon (2013)
Italy: Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (2013)
Latvia: Commander Grand Cross with Chain of the Order of the Three Stars (2013)
Lithuania: Grand Cross with Golden Chain of the Order of Vytautas the Great (2013)
Luxembourg: Knight of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau (2012)
Malta: Honorary Companion of Honour of the National Order of Merit (2015)
Monaco: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint-Charles (2012)
Netherlands: Knight Grand Cross in the Order of the Netherlands Lion (2017)
Norway: Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav (2014)
Romania: Collar of the Order of the Star of Romania (2016)
United Kingdom: Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (2015)
Slovakia: First Class of the Order of the White Double Cross (2018)
Slovenia: Member of the Order for Exceptional Merits (2015)
Sweden: Knight of the Order of the Seraphim (2016)