Heide Simonis

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Heide Simonis

Heide Simonis (German pronunciation: [ˈhaɪdə ziˈmoːnɪs]; born 4 July 1943 in Bonn as Heide Steinhardt) is a German politician. She is 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.

Life[]

Simonis earned her high school degree (Abitur) in 1962 in Nürnberg.[1] She then studied economics and sociology at the Universities of Erlangen-Nürnberg and Kiel, graduating with a degree in economics in 1967.[2][3] She worked in different positions after 1967.

Simonis has been married to university professor Udo Simonis.[2]

Political career[]

Simonis joined the SPD in 1969.[2] 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 said state, after her predecessor Björn Engholm resigned from that position due to a scandal.[2] She was the first woman in Germany to rise to this level in politics.

The state election in 1996 saw the SPD drop down to 39.8% (from 46.2% in 1992), but Simonis was able to form a coalition with the Greens. In February 2000, at the height of a CDU party financing scandal,[4] the SPD was able to enlarge 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 down to 38.7% (for the first time in almost twenty years behind the CDU).[5]

On 17 March 2005 Simonis failed to be re-elected as Minister President of Schleswig-Holstein in 4 consecutive ballots by the Landtag (parliament) of Schleswig-Holstein.[6] In the 1st ballot she received 34 votes and Peter Harry Carstensen (CDU) received 33 while 2 deputies cast empty votes.[6] Neither Simonis nor Carstensen got the absolute majority (35 votes). In the 2nd and 3rd ballot the candidates received 34 votes each.[6] Obviously one deputy of the alliance of SPD, Grüne (Greens) and SSW abstained. An unprecedented 4th ballot brought the same result.[6] Simonis has since 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.[7][8]

References[]

  1. ^ "Wintergast: Heide Simonis". taz.de. 31 January 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Heed, Levke (3 January 2020). "1993: Heide Simonis wird erste Ministerpräsidentin". NDR.de (in German). Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  3. ^ "Ehemalige Ministerpräsidentin Schleswig-Holstein: Simonis, Heide". BR.de (in German). 8 July 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  4. ^ "BBC News – EUROPE – CDU fails election test". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  5. ^ "Landtagswahlen". SPD Geschichtswerkstatt (in German). 25 July 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "17. März 2005: Ein Unbekannter stürzt Heide Simonis". NDR.de (in German). 6 January 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  7. ^ "Heide Simonis tritt zurück". stern.de (in German). 2 February 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  8. ^ Nitschmann, Johannes (17 May 2010). "Das ist schon heftig". Retrieved 31 May 2017 – via Sueddeutsche.de.

External links[]

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