Rita Süssmuth Explained

Rita Süssmuth
Office1:President of the Bundestag
Term Start1:25 November 1988
Term End1:26 October 1998
Predecessor1:Philipp Jenninger
Successor1:Wolfgang Thierse
Office2:Federal Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth
Term Start2:26 September 1985
Term End2:25 November 1988
Chancellor2:Helmut Kohl
Predecessor2:Heiner Geißler
Successor2:Ursula Lehr
Birth Date:1937 2, df=yes
Birth Place:Wuppertal, Germany
Party:CDU
Alma Mater:University of Münster

Rita Süssmuth (née Kickuth; pronounced as /de/; born 17 February 1937) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). She served as the tenth president of the Bundestag.

From 1985 to 1988, she served as Federal Minister for Youth, Family and Health (from 1986 youth, family, women and health) and from 1988 to 1998 as President of the German Bundestag. With close to 10 years, her tenure was the third longest in the history of the Bundestag. Only Eugen Gerstenmaier and Norbert Lammert held the position longer.

In addition to her political work, Süssmuth was President of the European Movement Germany (1994–1998) and member of the Advisory Board and Board of Trustees of the Bertelsmann Foundation (1997–2007).

Early life and education

Süssmuth was born and spent her childhood in Wadersloh. After graduating from high school (Emsland-Gymnasium) in Rheine in 1956, she completed a degree in Romance studies and history in Münster, Tübingen and Paris, which she finished on 20 July 1961 with the first state examination (Staatsexamen) for teaching. This was followed by postgraduate studies in educational science, sociology and psychology.

In 1964, she then received her Ph.D. phil. at the University of Münster. Her dissertation was titled "Studies on the Anthropology of the Child in contemporary French literature" ("Studien zur Anthropologie des Kindes in der französischen Literatur der Gegenwart").

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 TU Dortmund University, Ruhr University, and their predecessor institutions.

Career

Early career

From 1963 to 1966, Süssmuth worked as a scientific assistant at the universities of Stuttgart and Osnabrück and from 1966 as a lecturer at the Pädagogische Hochschule Ruhr. From 1969 to 1982, she had a teaching assignment at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum for International Comparative Education.

In 1971, Süssmuth was appointed professor of Educational Science at the Pädagogische Hochschule Ruhr. In 1973, she accepted the call of the TU Dortmund University. In 1971, she also began working on the scientific advisory board of the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs.

From 1982 to 1985, Süssmuth was the director of the Institut Frau und Gesellschaft in Hanover. During her time as an active politician, she gave block seminars at the University of Göttingen.

Political career

From 1985 to 1988, Süssmuth was Federal Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth under Chancellor Helmut Kohl. In late 1989, she joined forces with Lothar Späth, Heiner Geißler, Kurt Biedenkopf and others in an unsuccessful effort to oust Kohl as CDU chairman.[1]

Süssmuth was a member of the German Bundestag from 1987 to 2002. In the federal elections in 1987, 1990 and 1994 she was elected for the constituency of Göttingen. For the 1998 election, she was elected via the CDU state list in Lower Saxony.

After the resignation of Philipp Jenninger in 1988 Süssmuth became the 10th President of the Bundestag. She held the post until 1998, when the SPD became the strongest group in parliament.

Her tenure saw the German reunification.

In December 1989, Süssmuth advocated a joint declaration by both German states on the recognition of the Polish western border.

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

Political positions

Süssmuth is a supporter of the Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly, an organisation which advocates for democratic reformation of the United Nations.[2]

Ahead of the Christian Democrats’ leadership election in 2021, Süssmuth publicly endorsed Armin Laschet to succeed Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer as the party’s chair.[3]

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.[4] The commission's task was to develop an overall concept for new immigration legislature. The results of the committee were presented in July 2001, in the form of a 323-paged report titled "Crafting Immigration - Promoting Integration" ("Zuwanderung gestalten - Integration fördern").[5]

In 2002, Süssmuth became a member of the Limbach Kommission, which acts as a mediator in questions of Nazi looted art.[6]

On 6 September 2005, Süssmuth was appointed as the new President of the state-approved Berlin OTA Private University (OTA Hochschule), today SRH Hochschule Berlin. She was succeeded by Peter Eichhorn in January 2010.

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

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 antisemitism.

In 2018 Süssmuth was awarded the Mercator Visiting Professorship for Political Management at the Universität Essen-Duisburg's NRW School of Governance.[20]

Awards and recognitions

Personal life

Süssmuth was married to university professor Hans Süssmuth from 1964 until his death in 2020. They have one daughter.

Bibliography

Sources

External links

Notes and References

  1. Harry Luck (28 January 2010), Biedenkopf: „König Kurt“ und Kohls Rivale Focus.
  2. News: Statements. Campaign for a UN Parliamentary Assembly. 28 September 2017. en-US.
  3. https://rp-online.de/nrw/landespolitik/cdu-vorsitz-suessmuth-wirbst-fuer-nrw-minister-laschet_aid-55569945 NRW-Minister in Umfrage vorne: Süssmuth will Laschet als CDU-Chef
  4. https://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/30/opinion/germany-s-need-for-immigrants.html Germany's Need for Immigrants
  5. Web site: Report: "Zuwanderung gestalten - Integration fördern".
  6. Web site: Deutsches Zentrum Kulturgutverluste - Geschäftsstelle Beratende Kommission. www.kulturgutverluste.de. 26 October 2019.
  7. http://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/pressreleaseandstatementarchive/2010/december/20101201prpreventioncommission Eminent world personalities call for an HIV Prevention Revolution
  8. http://www.epc.eu/about_council.php Strategic Council
  9. https://www.iom.int/global-commission-international-migration Global Commission on International Migration
  10. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/about/trustees Board of Trustees
  11. http://www.jg-berlin.org/en/about-us/heinz-galinski-foundation.html Board of Trustees
  12. http://www.dino-muenster.de/ueber-uns/beirat/ Board of Trustees
  13. http://www.gegen-vergessen.de/verein/beirat/ Advisory Board
  14. http://www.genshagenerkreis.de/?page_id=335 Board of Trustees
  15. https://tilschweigerfoundation.com/ueber-uns/team/ About Us
  16. https://www.total-e-quality.de/der-verein/kuratorium/ Board of Trustees
  17. http://www.dgvn.de/structure-of-una-germany/presidium/ Presidium
  18. https://www.enbw.com/media/downloadcenter-konzern/jahresabschluss-der-enbw-ag/jahresabschluss-der-enbw-ag-2009.pdf 2009 Annual Report
  19. https://www.daad.de/de/infos-services-fuer-hochschulen/weiterfuehrende-infos-zu-daad-foerderprogrammen/tdu/ Türkisch-Deutsche Universität (TDU)
  20. Web site: Rita Süssmuth wird Gastprofessorin an der NRW School of Governance in Duisburg. Ruhr. Regionalverband. 9 February 2018. www.metropoleruhr.de. de. 24 May 2018.
  21. Web site: Ein sehr bewegender Abend: Wir gratulieren #RitaSüssmuth ganz herzlich zur Verleihung unserer Ehrenmitgliedschaft!. Twitter. 9 March 2018. 7 April 2016.
  22. Web site: "Wegbereiterin der deutsch-polnischen Aussöhnung" – Verdienstorden des Landes für Prof. Rita Süssmuth. www.stk.brandenburg.de. 30 November 2016.
  23. https://idw-online.de/de/news664975 Dorothea-Schlözer-Medaille
  24. Web site: Rita Süssmuth erhält Humanismus-Preis » kathnews. 8 March 2018. de-DE.
  25. Third Gerd Bucerius Lecture, 5 May 2003.