Olaf Scholz facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Olaf Scholz
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Scholz in 2024
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| Chancellor of Germany | |
| Assumed office 8 December 2021 |
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| President | Frank-Walter Steinmeier |
| Vice Chancellor | Robert Habeck |
| Preceded by | Angela Merkel |
| Vice Chancellor of Germany | |
| In office 14 March 2018 – 8 December 2021 |
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| Chancellor | Angela Merkel |
| Preceded by | Sigmar Gabriel |
| Succeeded by | Robert Habeck |
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office 14 March 2018 – 8 December 2021 |
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| Chancellor | Angela Merkel |
| Preceded by | Peter Altmaier (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Christian Lindner |
| First Mayor of Hamburg | |
| In office 7 March 2011 – 13 March 2018 |
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| Second Mayor | Dorothee Stapelfeldt Katharina Fegebank |
| Preceded by | Christoph Ahlhaus |
| Succeeded by | Peter Tschentscher |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 14 June 1958 Osnabrück, West Germany |
| Political party | Social Democratic (since 1975) |
| Spouse |
Britta Ernst
(m. 1998) |
| Residences | Old Market Square, Potsdam |
| Alma mater | University of Hamburg |
| Signature |  |
Olaf Scholz (born 14 June 1958) is a German politician. He has been the Chancellor of Germany since 2021. Before that, he was the Vice Chancellor of Germany and the Minister of Finance from 2018 to 2021.
He also served as the First Mayor of Hamburg from 2011 to 2018. From 2007 to 2009, he was the Federal Minister for Labour and Social Affairs.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Olaf Scholz was born on 14 June 1958, in Osnabrück, Germany. He grew up in the city of Hamburg. His parents worked in the textile industry.
Scholz went to elementary school and then high school, graduating in 1977. In 1978, he started studying law at the University of Hamburg. After finishing his studies, he became a lawyer. He focused on laws about work and jobs.
Scholz joined the Social Democratic Party (SPD) when he was 17 years old. His family was traditionally Lutheran, but he later left the church.
Political Career
Scholz started his career as a lawyer. He became a member of the SPD in the 1970s. From 1998 to 2011, he was a member of the Bundestag, which is Germany's parliament.
In 2001, Scholz worked in the Hamburg government. In 2002, he became the General Secretary of the SPD party. He worked closely with the Chancellor at the time, Gerhard Schröder.
Later, he became the Chief Whip for his party in the Bundestag. In 2007, he joined the government as the Federal Minister for Labour and Social Affairs.
After the 2009 election, the SPD was no longer in the government. Scholz then led the SPD in Hamburg. He was elected Deputy Leader of the SPD. In 2011, he led his party to win the Hamburg state election. He became the First Mayor of Hamburg and held this job until 2018.
In 2018, the Social Democratic Party joined the government again. Scholz was chosen to be both the Minister of Finance and the Vice Chancellor of Germany.
In 2020, he was chosen as the SPD's candidate for Chancellor in the 2021 election. His party won the most seats in the Bundestag. They formed a government with two other parties, the Greens and the Free Democratic Party.
On 8 December 2021, Olaf Scholz was elected and sworn in as Chancellor. He took over from Angela Merkel.
Chancellor of Germany (2021–2025)
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Scholz became Chancellor on 8 December 2021. He was 63 years old, making him one of the oldest people to become Chancellor.
In December 2021, Scholz visited Poland. He talked with the Polish Prime Minister about a gas pipeline called Nord Stream 2. They also discussed Poland's disagreements with the European Union. Scholz supported Poland's efforts to control migrants at its border.
Scholz continued a ban on selling weapons to Saudi Arabia. This was because Saudi Arabia was involved in a conflict in Yemen. However, in September 2022, he visited Saudi Arabia and other countries to find new energy sources. After this, his government approved some new weapon sales to Saudi Arabia.
Scholz believes the United States is "Europe's closest and most important partner." He met with President Joe Biden soon after becoming Chancellor.
In February 2022, Scholz stopped the approval of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. This was a response to Russia's actions in Ukraine. He also spoke against cutting Russia off from the SWIFT banking system.
On 27 February, Scholz gave an important speech called the "Zeitenwende speech." He announced big changes to Germany's military and foreign policy. This included sending weapons to Ukraine and increasing Germany's defense budget by 100 billion euros.
In June 2022, Scholz confirmed that Germany would continue to stop using nuclear power. This plan was started by former Chancellor Angela Merkel after the Fukushima disaster.
During the Israel–Hamas war, Scholz supported Israel. He approved military and medical aid. He also strongly spoke out against the actions of Hamas.
In the 2025 German federal election, Scholz won his local area. He plans to continue serving in the Bundestag. However, his party, the SPD, had their worst election result in history.
Personal Life
Olaf Scholz is married to Britta Ernst, who is also a politician from the SPD party. They used to live in Hamburg but moved to Potsdam in 2018.
Scholz was raised in the Protestant Church but later left it. When he became Chancellor, he did not include a reference to God in his oath. He is the first German Chancellor who is not a member of a church.
In September 2023, Scholz had a jogging accident. He announced that he would be wearing an eyepatch for a while.
Images for kids
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Scholz speaking at the Global Citizen Festival 2017 in Hamburg
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Scholz (SPD), Angela Merkel (CDU) and Horst Seehofer (CSU) presenting the 2018 coalition agreement
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Scholz and US Secretary of the Treasury Mnuchin in 2018
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Scholz at an election campaign event
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Scholz with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brasília, Brazil on 30 January 2023
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Scholz with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, India on 25 February 2023
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Scholz with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv, 17 October 2023
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Scholz at the NATO Summit in Vilnius on 12 July 2023
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Scholz and Macron visit Kyiv on 16 June 2022
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Scholz and Polish Prime Minister Morawiecki in 2021
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Scholz and Putin in Moscow on 15 February 2022
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See also
In Spanish: Olaf Scholz para niños
