Rita Süssmuth

Rita Süssmuth
President of the Bundestag
In office 25 November 1988 – 26 October 1998
Preceded by	Philipp Jenninger
Succeeded by	Wolfgang Thierse
Federal Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth
In office 26 September 1985 – 25 November 1988
Chancellor	Helmut Kohl
Preceded by	Heiner Geißler
Succeeded by	Ursula Lehr
Personal details
Born	17 February 1937 Wuppertal, Germany
Political party	CDU
Alma mater	University of Münster

Rita Süssmuth (born 17 February 1937) is a German politician and a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

Early life and education

Süssmuth graduated as a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Münster in 1964. From 1966 until 1982, she was a faculty member in education at University of Dortmund, Ruhr University, and their predecessor institutions.

Political career

From 1985 to 1988, Süssmuth was Federal Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth under Chancellor Helmut Kohl. She was a member of the German Bundestag from 1987 to 2002. After the resignation of Philipp Jenninger in 1988 she became the 10th President of the Bundestag. She held the post until 1998, when the SPD became the strongest group in parliament.

From 1986 to 2001, Süssmuth was president of the Frauenunion (the organization of the female members of the CDU) and therefore had a strong influence in her party.

Life after politics

In September 2000, Federal Minister of the Interior Otto Schily appointed Süssmuth as head of a high-profile bipartisan commission to overhaul Germany’s immigration policies.^[1] Since 2005, she has been president of the OTA Hochschule, a private university in Berlin.

After leaving politics, Süssmuth has been involved in a number of philanthropic and business activities, including the following:

• UNAIDS High Level Commission on HIV Prevention, Co-Chair (since 2010)^[2]
• Technical University of Berlin, Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees (since 2010)
• European Policy Centre, Member of the Strategic Council
• Global Commission on International Migration, Member (2003-2005)^[3]
• Heinz Galinski Foundation, Member of the Board of Trustees^[4]
• Deutsche Initiative für den Nahen Osten (DINO), Member of the Board of Trustees^[5]
• German Foundation for World Population (DSW), Member of the Advisory Board
• Total E-Quality initiative, Member of the Board of Trustees^[6]
• United Nations Association of Germany (DGVN), Member of the Presidium^[7]
• Bertelsmann Foundation, Member of the Board of Trustees (1997-2015)
• EnBW, Member of the Advisory Board (2004-2009)^[8]

Süssmuth is also Member of the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation established in 2008 to monitor tolerance in Europe and prepare recommendations to European governments and IGOs on fighting xenophobia and anti-semitism.

Recognition

In 2006 Süssmuth was awarded the Magnus Hirschfeld Medal for Sexual Reform for her courageous and far-sighted HIV/AIDS politics whilst federal minister.

Selected works

• Bildung als globale Herausforderung. Zwei Statements – ein Gespräch with Hermann Glaser, in: Robertson-von Trotha, Caroline Y. (ed.): Kultur und Gerechtigkeit (= Kulturwissenschaft interdisziplinär/Interdisciplinary Studies on Culture and Society, Vol. 2), Baden-Baden 2007, ISBN 978-3-8329-2604-5

References

1. Germany's Need for Immigrants New York Times, July 30, 2001.
2. Eminent world personalities call for an HIV Prevention Revolution UNAIDS, press release of 1 December 2010.
3. Global Commission on International Migration International Organization for Migration.
4. Board of Trustees Heinz Galinski Foundation.
5. Board of Trustees Deutsche Initiative für den Nahen Osten (DINO).
6. Board of Trustees Total E-Quality.
7. Presidium United Nations Association of Germany (DGVN).
8. 2009 Annual Report EnBW.

Sources

• Michael F. Feldkamp (ed.), Der Bundestagspräsident. Amt - Funktion - Person. 16. Wahlperiode, München 2007, ISBN 978-3-7892-8201-0

External links

• Media related to Rita Süssmuth at Wikimedia Commons
• Official biography at Bundestag.de (German, from 2002)
• Interview “Education is a human right” by ERSTE Stiftung (2011)