Oskar Lafontaine facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Oskar Lafontaine
Lafontaine in 2017
Leader of the Social Democratic Party
In office 16 November 1995 – 12 March 1999
General Secretary	Franz Müntefering Ottmar Schreiner
Preceded by	Rudolf Scharping
Succeeded by	Gerhard Schröder
Leader of The Left
In office 16 June 2007 – 15 May 2010 Serving with Lothar Bisky
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Klaus Ernst
Minister of Finance
In office 27 October 1998 – 18 March 1999
Chancellor	Gerhard Schröder
Preceded by	Theodor Waigel
Succeeded by	Hans Eichel
Minister-President of the Saarland
In office 9 April 1985 – 9 November 1998
Preceded by	Werner Zeyer
Succeeded by	Reinhard Klimmt
President of the Bundesrat
In office 1 November 1992 – 31 October 1993
First Vice President	Berndt Seite
Preceded by	Berndt Seite
Succeeded by	Klaus Wedemeier
Lord Mayor of Saarbrücken
In office 22 January 1976 – 9 April 1985
Preceded by	Fritz Schuster
Succeeded by	Hans-Jürgen Koebnick
Parliamentary constituencies Member of the Landtag of Saarland for Saarlouis In office 23 September 2009 – 25 April 2022 Preceded by multi-member district Succeeded by multi-member district Member of the Bundestag for Saarland (North Rhine-Westphalia; 2005–2009) In office 18 October 2005 – 1 February 2010 Preceded by multi-member district Succeeded by Yvonne Ploetz Member of the Bundestag for Saarbrücken I In office 26 October 1998 – 16 March 1999 Preceded by himself (1994) Succeeded by Gudrun Roos In office 15 November 1994 – 17 November 1994 Preceded by himself (1990) Succeeded by Elke Ferner Member of the Landtag of Saarland for Saarbrücken In office 9 April 1985 – 9 November 1998 Preceded by multi-member district Succeeded by Karin Lawall In office 13 July 1970 – 14 July 1975 Preceded by multi-member district Succeeded by multi-member district
Personal details
Born	(1943-09-16) 16 September 1943 (age 81) Saarlautern, Saarland, Nazi Germany (now Saarlouis, Germany)
Political party	BSW (2023–present)
Other political affiliations	SPD (1966–2005) WASG (2005–2007) The Left (2007–2022) Independent (2022–2023)
Spouses	Ingrid Bachert ​ ​ (m. 1967; div. 1982)​ Margret Müller ​ ​ (m. 1982; div. 1988)​ Christa Müller ​ ​ (m. 1993; div. 2013)​ Sahra Wagenknecht ​ ​ (m. 2014)​
Children	2
Residence	Merzig-Silwingen
Alma mater	Saarland University (Diplom)
Occupation	Politician Publicist Physicist

Oskar Lafontaine (born 16 September 1943) is a German politician. He has held many important roles in German politics. He was the leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) from 1995 to 1999. Before that, he served as the top leader of the state of Saarland, called the Minister-President, from 1985 to 1998.

After the SPD won the election in 1998, he became the Minister of Finance under Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. However, he resigned from this role and from parliament less than six months later. Later, he helped start a new left-wing party called Labour and Social Justice – The Electoral Alternative. This party later joined with another to form The Left party, where he became a co-leader.

In 2022, he left The Left party. In 2024, he joined a new party called Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW).

Early Life and Education

Oskar Lafontaine was born in Saarlautern (which is now Saarlouis) in 1943. His family worked in crafts. His father, Hans Lafontaine, was a baker and died during World War II. Oskar grew up with his mother, Katharina, and his twin brother, Hans. They lived in Dillingen.

He went to a Catholic boarding school and then to a public school. In 1962, he received a scholarship to study physics at the universities of Bonn and Saarland. He finished his studies in 1969. After university, he worked for a company in Saarbrücken until 1974.

Lafontaine has been married four times and has two sons. His current wife is fellow politician Sahra Wagenknecht, whom he married in 2014.

Start of His Political Career

Lafontaine first became well-known as the mayor of Saarbrücken. He also gained attention for disagreeing with Chancellor Helmut Schmidt's plan to place certain missiles in Germany.

From 1985 to 1998, he was the Minister-President of the Saarland. This meant he was the head of the state government. In this job, he worked hard to protect the factories and mines in Saarland, which were very important for the state's economy. He also served as the President of the Bundesrat (a part of Germany's parliament) in 1992 and 1993.

Running for Chancellor and an Attack

Lafontaine election poster from 1990

In 1990, Lafontaine was the candidate for Chancellor for the SPD. This was a very difficult election for him. It happened just two months after Germany became one country again. The government led by Helmut Kohl was very popular at that time.

During his election campaign, he was attacked by a mentally unwell woman with a knife after a speech in Cologne. He was seriously injured and needed several days to recover.

Return to National Politics

In 1995, Lafontaine was surprisingly chosen as the chairman of the SPD. He took over from Rudolf Scharping. He played a big role in making the SPD strongly oppose Chancellor Kohl and his party, the CDU. He believed that helping Kohl would only keep him in power longer.

After the SPD won the election in September 1998, Lafontaine became the Federal Minister of Finance in the new government led by Gerhard Schröder.

Time as Finance Minister

During his time as Finance Minister, Lafontaine was often criticized by some groups, especially in the UK. This was partly because he wanted to make taxes more similar across the European Union. This would have meant higher taxes in the UK. Some newspapers even called him "Europe's most dangerous man."

On 11 March 1999, he resigned from all his government and party jobs. He said that there was "lack of cooperation" within the government, which made his work too difficult. After leaving, he often criticized the Schröder government in the newspaper Bild-Zeitung.

Leaving the SPD and Forming The Left Party

On 24 May 2005, Lafontaine left the SPD. A few weeks later, on 10 June, it was announced that he would be the main candidate for a new party called The Left. This party was a mix of two smaller parties: the Labor and Social Justice Party (WASG) and the Left Party.PDS.

Lafontaine joined the WASG on 18 June 2005. He was chosen to lead their list of candidates for the 2005 national election in North Rhine-Westphalia. He also ran in his old voting district of Saarbrücken, but he did not win that specific seat. However, The Left party did very well in Saarland, better than in any other western German state.

In 2007, when the two parties officially merged to form "The Left Party," he became a co-chairman alongside Lothar Bisky.

In May 2009, he said that "Financial capitalism has failed." He believed that people should have more say in how companies are run.

In 2022, he published a book called Ami, it's time to go. In this book, he criticizes NATO and the influence of the United States in German politics. He argues that Germany has become too dependent on America. The book became very popular.

In 2024, Lafontaine announced that he had joined the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) party. He spoke at the party's first meeting on 27 January 2024.

See also

In Spanish: Oskar Lafontaine para niños