One of the most famous politicians in Germany beganXXI century - Gerhard Schroeder (Gerhard Fritz Kurt Schroeder - that is his full name). His fate can not be called simple and easy. All that he managed to achieve in life, is entirely his merit.
The beginning of the life path
Родился Герхард в Моссенберге, что в Нижней Saxony (now it is the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia). The Schröder family was among the poorest people. As Gerhard himself once said, they were "asocial elements."
Parents had no education.Before the beginning of World War II, Fritz’s father worked as a day laborer and received very little. There was always not enough money, because children grew up in a family. Three girls (Gunhild, Hajderöse and Ilsa) and the boy Lothar were constantly in need. But this income also ceased after a man was drafted into the war in 1940. Once Fritz managed to escape home for a short stay. It was at the end of 1943. After this visit, another hungry mouth appeared in the family - Gerhard was born on April 7, 1944. The wife informed the soldier of the birth of his son in a letter he received in the summer. Father failed to see his son, a few months after his birth (October 4, 1944), the elder Schröder was killed in Transylvania near the small village of Cheana Mare (Romania).
Gerhard Erik's mother worked on the farm.To feed the children, I took on any extra work: washing the floors, washing clothes. After the war, remarried. Stepfather was sick with tuberculosis. In moments of relief I liked to drink hard. Handouts to good neighbors, social payments and grandmother’s pension helped me not to die of hunger.
School years
To study at school Gerhard Schroeder could not long.We had to somehow make a living. Classmates often offended the weak and the little boy. Gerhard learned to use his strengths to soften the cons. There was no power, but there were abilities. The boy studied my mother well. He put his knowledge to his service: he let the most powerful classmates write off in exchange for protection.
More boldly Gerhard Schroeder felt withteachers. Being confident in his convictions, he could spend hours arguing with them, proving his case. Noticing his oratorical skills, even then the teachers predicted a great fate for him.
From the age of fourteen the boy began to combine his studies andwork In 1958, he transferred to the evening department and began to earn money in a hardware store. Selling a variety of metal items (nails, screws, staples, hinges, hooks, snaps, and all the small things needed for repair) did not bring much income. Receiving 150 marks a month, the persistent student sought to obtain a certificate. To spend all his life among construction materials was not the limit of his dreams. He decided for himself and promised his mother that he would definitely become a lawyer.
On the way to a dream
To fulfill his dream Gerhard Schroeder could onlyat 22 years old. At this age, he enrolls at the University of Gottingen Law School. Among students from wealthy families of doctors, lawyers and entrepreneurs, he was the only one who was forced to combine study with work. It did not affect the performance, he studied almost perfectly.
Even before entering the University of Göttingen (in 1963), Schröder became a member of the SPD. Work, study, political activity - everything was done by a purposeful student.
Professional activity
Having received a long-awaited diploma in 1971, the futureGerman politician stays in his native university. He works in the law department. In 1978 he began to engage in private law practice. A new place of life and work - the capital of Lower Saxony, the city of Hanover. Here he lingered until 1990. He began his lawyer career in defending the rights of his clients in the simplest labor disputes. Gradually grown to participate in criminal cases. He became a famous lawyer in and around Hanover.
This city marked the beginning of politicalcareer talented lawyer. Almost simultaneously with the formation of himself in the profession, he becomes the head of the "Young Socialists". This is the name of the youth movement of the SPD party.
Career in politics
Work on the legal path soon became close.In 1980, Gerhard Schroeder was elected to the Bundestag for the first time. Human biography from this time is closely connected with the history of Germany. Already in 1986, he became head of the Social Democratic Party of Germany in Lower Saxony. Three years later, he takes the place of a member of the presidium of the SPD.
June 21, 1990 is a significant date in the life of a politician. Schröder Gerhard is elected prime minister of Lower Saxony.
Mid-nineties brought a loss of votesvoters for the SPD. Although Schröder Gerhard was nominated for the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs as a party candidate, he did not succeed. The party did not get the required percentage of votes and did not participate in the formation of the government.
At the head of Germany
The 1998 elections showed results andthe correctness of the conclusions made after the defeat in the previous elections. Having concluded an alliance with the Green Party, the Social Democrats came to power. Coalition led by Gerhard Schroeder. His promises to put an end to unemployment, to start the economic development of the country, the electorate believed. Moreover, the Federal Chancellor of Germany promised to modernize the economy, providing support to entrepreneurs and keeping the social protection system intact.
The first term at the head of Germany became a teststrength of beliefs policy. Schroeder was forced to choose between two possible ways of development of the country. Neoliberals proposed structural changes with a reduction in social programs for the population. The left-wing Social Democrats insisted on increasing taxes for the richest segments of the population. It was on the first version that Schroeder Gerhard stopped; Minister of Economy Oscar Lafontaine followed the second path. This led to their rupture and the fall of party authority among the population.
In September 2000, Helmut Kohl resigns after sixteen years of rule. Schröder holds the post of German Chancellor.
The next election in 2002 nearly endednew defeat. Unfulfilled promises led to discontent with Schroeder’s policies. Only persistent opposition to the invasion of Americans in Iraq helped to get a minimal advantage over the CDU. The flood in East Germany, effective government assistance to the victims also played a role in the victory of the SPD. Although this policy led to stagnation in the relations between Germany and the United States, the formation of a Germany-Russia-France alliance appeared on the horizon.
The following year was the start of the Agenda program.2010 ("Agenda 2010"). The main goal of the program was the liberalization of labor legislation. To reduce unemployment, a policy of encouraging job creation has been pursued, spending on pension and social benefits has decreased, and payments for health care have been limited. The chancellor fulfilled his election promise to combat unemployment: by the middle of 2007, the number of unemployed had decreased to 8.8% of the total working-age population, which was about 3.7 million people.
Federal Chancellor policy that does not take into accountthe wishes of the left social democrats led to their withdrawal from the party. In 2005, the Left Party was created, consisting of the communists of the former GDR and the radicals who emerged from the SPD. A year before this event, Schröder Gerhard, the German chancellor, handed over the reins of the party to his successor, Franz Müntefering.
In May 2005, the SPD suffered a defeat onlocal elections. 37.1% of the votes cast showed dissatisfaction with the party’s policies. And although the party has ruled in this land for the past thirty-nine years, the CDU (44.8%) turned out to be the majority of the votes. This arrangement led to the loss of the majority of the SPD in the Bundesrat, which passed to the CDU-CSU alliance. Therefore, Schröder took the initiative to hold early elections in September 2005, a year before the expiration of his term.
Elections were scheduled for September 18th.Nobody could predict their result. The Social Democratic Party and the CDU-CSU coalition won an almost equal number of votes. Neither of these blocs gained the right to create a one-party government. The parties agreed to negotiate and agreed to create a “big coalition” of the SPD-CDU-CSU. Angela Merkel became the German Chancellor on October 10, 2005.
The SPD was able to achieve eight portfolios.The key ministries under the leadership of the Social Democrats were the following ministries: finance, justice, foreign affairs, economic cooperation and development, labor, health, environmental protection, and transport. The former chancellor rejected a proposal to take any position in the government of the Federal Republic of Germany, said he had refused the mandate in the Bundestag.
Life after politics
Schröder Gerhard (German Chancellor 1998-2005years) walked away from politics and plunged into the business. According to him, the age of sixty-one cannot be the cause of his suspension. Sitting at home, unnerving his wife and raising children, he does not intend to. Therefore, after the resignation, he occupies the most important posts in international projects.
Schroeder took charge of the shareholder committeethe operator of the construction of the North European gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea. Every year, only Gazprom pays him a quarter of a million euros. Since 2006, he has been working as an advisor in the advisory board of the European Investment Banking Group Rothschild Croup.
Family: consistency in unpredictability
Gerhard Schröder tried to create his own family four times. This fact alone speaks of its unpredictability. Gerhard himself considers this a consistency.
The first marriage was the shortest, just four years.Student love went quickly, in 1972, Eva Shubakh filed for divorce. Soon Gerhard remarried. The second wife, Anne Taschenmacher, survived family life with Schroeder for twelve years. In 1984, the family falls apart to create the conditions for a third attempt. The marriage with Hiltrud Hanzen ended after thirteen years.
Now Schröder is married to Doris Köpf.This young journalist is younger than nine years old. From her first marriage, she has a daughter, Clara. Schroeder has no children. Spouses decided to adopt two children. Both children are from a Russian orphanage in St. Petersburg. Thus, in 2004, a three-year-old Victoria appeared in their family, and in 2006 a little orphan boy, Gregor.
Big family is keen on tennis.My father tries to instill in everyone a desire to master foreign languages, primarily English, which is the language of business communication. Gerhard loves jazz, so even the youngest member of the Gregor family is familiar with him.
Gerhard did not know his father, but worship beforehis ancestors are highly developed. On the desktop of politics is always a photograph of Fritz Schroeder in the form of a Wehrmacht soldier. In 2004, Gerhard first visited the mass grave in Cheana Mare, where his father was buried. This happened when he was older than his father (at that time he was 60 years old).
An illiterate mother who once did not believe in her son's words does not understand his life. He always tried to do everything for his mother.
Schroeder's Criticism
The presence of dissatisfaction with the results of the policy of the politician speaks of him as an accomplished actor. Gerhard Schröder, whose politics is full of contradictions, is no exception.
First of all, many country leaders remained inperplexed after the signing of the NEGP (North European Gas Pipeline under the Baltic Sea) agreement between Russia and Germany. Alexander Lukashenko even called this project “the most foolish” on the part of Russia. The head of one of the German parties, Guido Westerwelle, suspected the former Chancellor of corruption. True, such an accusation was appealed by Schroeder in court, by whose decision the ex-chancellor cannot be accused of personal interest in the NEGP.
The second policy direction that causedresentment, was the failure of the Schröder government in 2004 to support the United States during their invasion of Iraq. Congressman Tom Lantos at the opening of a memorial dedicated to the victims of communism in Washington in 2007 called Schroeder’s actions “political prostitution”.
Избиратели стали выражать недовольство после publications in Bild. Addiction to expensive wine from France, love for Cuban cigars (about fifty euros apiece), the worship of chic Italian costumes for twenty thousand euros pushed the electorate from the once beloved politician.
Elections of 2005 to win Schröder definitely could not. It would seem that it does not matter, but the voters reacted negatively to the fact that the politician dyes his hair.
Results of the seven-year rule
The results of the Schroeder’s rule were mixedlaws. It was during his time that prostitution was included in the list of occupations, same-sex marriages became legal. At the same time, women won the right to serve in the Bundeswehr. And the famous law of Hartz IV in general caused bewilderment. Such an antisocial law could be expected from anyone, but not from a person who has known extreme poverty in childhood.
Positively, the inhabitants of the country reacted to the boldconfrontation with the United States when they, through the mouth of the federal chancellor, refused to take part in the war in Iraq. The slogan “Make the world stable” is being implemented systematically. Germany coordinates all its foreign policy steps with common European interests. Being a binding element of the EU, the country does not present itself outside the European context.
The ex-chancellor himself does not hide the positive assessment of his life path. From a half-starved fatherless father to the head of united Germany - this is the result of his political career.
