Gerhard Schröder

Gerhard Fritz Kurt "Gerd" Schröder (born 7 April 1944) is a German lobbyist and former politician, who was the chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005.

His father, Fritz Schröder, a lance corporal in the Wehrmacht, was killed in action in World War II in Romania on 4 October 1944, almost six months after Gerhard's birth.

His mother, Erika (née Vosseler), worked as an agricultural labourer to support herself and her two sons.

After the war, the area where Schröder lived became part of West Germany.

He completed an apprenticeship in retail sales in a Lemgo hardware shop from 1958 to 1961 and subsequently worked in a Lage retail shop and after that as an unskilled construction worker and a sales clerk in Göttingen while studying at night school for a general qualification for university entrance (Abitur).

He did not have to do military service because his father had died in the war.

Schröder joined the Social Democratic Party in 1963.

In 1966, Schröder secured entrance to a university, passing the Abitur exam at Westfalen-Kolleg, Bielefeld.

From 1966 to 1971 he studied law at the University of Göttingen.

In 1976, he passed his second law examination, and he subsequently worked as a lawyer until 1990.

Among his more controversial cases, Schröder helped Horst Mahler, a founding member of the Baader-Meinhof terrorist group, to secure both an early release from prison and permission to practice law again in Germany.

In 1978 he became the federal chairman of the Young Socialists, the youth organisation of the SPD.

He spoke for the dissident Rudolf Bahro, as did President Jimmy Carter, Herbert Marcuse, and Wolf Biermann.

In 1980, Schröder was elected to the German Bundestag (federal parliament), where he wore a sweater instead of the traditional suit.

Under the leadership of successive chairmen Herbert Wehner (1980–83) and Hans-Jochen Vogel (1983–86), he served in the SPD parliamentary group.

He also became chairman of the SPD Hanover district.

Considered ambitious from early on in his political career, it was widely reported and never denied, that in 1982, a drunken Schröder stood outside the West German federal chancellery yelling: "I want to get in."

That same year, he wrote an article on the idea of a red/green coalition for a book at Olle & Wolter, Berlin; this appeared later in Die Zeit.

Chancellor Willy Brandt, the SPD and SI chairman, who reviewed Olle & Wolter at that time, had just asked for more books on the subject.

In 1985, Schröder met the GDR leader Erich Honecker during a visit to East Berlin.

In 1986, Schröder was elected to the parliament of Lower Saxony and became leader of the SPD group.

Schröder was a lawyer before becoming a full-time politician, and he was Minister President of Lower Saxony (1990–1998) before becoming chancellor.

After the SPD won the state elections in June 1990, Schröder became Minister-President of Lower Saxony as head of an SPD-Greens coalition; in this position, he also won the 1994 and 1998 state elections.

He was subsequently also appointed to the supervisory board of Volkswagen, the largest company in Lower Saxony and of which the state of Lower Saxony is a major stockholder.

Following his election as Minister-President in 1990, Schröder also became a member of the board of the federal SPD.

Between 1994 and 1998, he was also chairman of Lower Saxonian SPD.

In 1997 and 1998, he served as President of the Bundesrat.

From 1999 to 2004, he was also the Leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).

As chancellor, he led a coalition government of the SPD and Alliance 90/The Greens.

Since leaving public office, Schröder has worked for Russian state-owned energy companies, including Nord Stream AG, Rosneft, and Gazprom.

Following the 2005 federal election, which his party lost, and after three weeks of negotiations, he stood down as chancellor in favour of Angela Merkel of the rival Christian Democratic Union.

He was chairman of the board of Nord Stream AG and of Rosneft but in 2022 resigned from the latter and opted not to join the board of Russian state-run gas company Gazprom.

He also had roles as a global manager for investment bank Rothschild, and as chairman of the board of football club Hannover 96.

After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Schröder was criticized for his policies towards Vladimir Putin's government, his work for Russian state-owned companies, and his lobbying on behalf of Russia.

On 1 March 2022, Schröder's entire staff including long-time office manager Albrecht Funk resigned due to Schröder's alliances with Russia and Putin directly.

On 8 March 2022 the Public Prosecutor General initiated proceedings related to accusations against Schröder of complicity in crimes against humanity due to his role in Russian state-owned corporations.

The CDU/CSU group demanded that Schröder be included in the European Union sanctions against individuals with ties to the Russian government.

On 9 March 2022, the SPD initiated proceedings to expel Schröder by early 2023.

A party arbitration committee ruled that he had not violated any party rules and would remain a member of the party.

Schröder was born in Blomberg, Lippe, in Nazi Germany.