Christina Rau

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Christina Rau
Christina Delius on occasion of the visit of the Russian president Vladimir Putin
Spouse of the President of Germany
In role 1 July 1999 – 30 June 2004
President	Johannes Rau
Preceded by	Christiane Herzog
Succeeded by	Eva Köhler
Personal details
Born	Christina Delius (1956-10-30) 30 October 1956 (age 64) Bielefeld, West Germany
Political party	Social Democratic Party of Germany
Spouse(s)	Johannes Rau
Relations	Uta Ranke-Heinemann (aunt)
Children	Philip Immanuel Rau Anna Christina Rau Laura Helene Rau
Alma mater	University College of Wales King's College London

Christina Rau (born Christina Delius; 30 October 1956 in Bielefeld) is the widow of Johannes Rau, President of Germany from 1999–2004.

Early life[]

Rau is the maternal granddaughter of former President Gustav Heinemann. Her father was Eduard Delius, part in a long line of entrepreneurs in the textile industry of the Westphalian city of Bielefeld while her mother was Christa Heinemann, a daughter of the former President. Through her mother, Rau is the niece of theologian Uta Ranke-Heinemann. She attended boarding school in Switzerland (Hochalpines Institut Ftan) and the United Kingdom (Gordonstoun in Scotland, where Prince Andrew was a contemporary). Subsequently, she studied political science, economics and history at the University College of Wales and at King's College London.

Wedding[]

On 9 August 1982, she married Johannes Rau, 25 years her senior and a long-time friend of the Heinemann family, who was at that time the Prime Minister of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Activities[]

She was the patron of :

• UNICEF Germany,
• the Müttergenesungswerk,
• the Bundesverband der Organtransplantierten,
• the Deutsche Kinder- und Jugendstiftung
• the Red Cross Youth of Germany.

Honours[]

Foreign Honours[]

•  Austria:
  • Grand Cross of the Order of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria^[1]
•  Estonia:
  • Grand Cross of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana^[2]
•  Iceland:
  • Grand Cross of the Order of the Falcon^[3]
•  Latvia:
  • Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Three Stars
•  Spain:
  • Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic^[4]

References[]

External links[]

• Björn Engholm: Die First Lady, Spiegel Special 5/1999]
• "Anne Will: Die Gäste im Studio, Sendung vom 17.01.2010, 21.45 Uhr: Christina Rau, Kindernothilfe-Botschafterin" (in German). Bayerischer Rundfunk. Archived from the original on 29 March 2010. Retrieved 19 October 2010.