Gerhard Schroeder, former chancellor of Germany. Biography

Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is hospitalized due to "severe burnout syndrome". This was reported on Tuesday, February 4, by the publication Wirtschafts Woche with reference to the politician's lawyer Hans-Peter Huber. In this regard, the former head of the German government will not be able to participate in the hearings-questions on the "Nord Streams". "Izvestia" tells who is Gerhard Schroeder and what role he played in the construction of international gas pipelines.

Schroeder was born in 1944 in Mossenberg (Lower Saxony). His father served in the Wehrmacht and died during the fighting in Romania. The mother of the future politician married a second time, but her husband soon died of tuberculosis. After that, the woman had to raise five children alone, the family was on the verge of poverty.

To help his mother, at the age of 14 Schroeder transferred to night school and got a job as an assistant in a hardware store. At 19, he became a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), and a few years later headed its youth organization "Young Professionals". In 1971, he graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Göttingen and passed the state examination, giving him the right to practice law.

In 1980, Schroeder became a member of the Bundestag, and three years later he became chairman of the district branch of the SPD in Hanover. During his time in parliament, he advocated lowering real estate prices and easing penalties for representatives of "informal youth movements".

Never say never: conservatives in Germany are moving closer to the far right

The CDU/CSU bloc was able to push an initiative to tighten migration policy through parliament with the help of the AdH

However, in 1990, after his election as Prime Minister of Lower Saxony, the politician revised his views, significantly tightening the migration policy of the region and reducing social assistance programs. Nevertheless, his measures helped Lower Saxony to rank second among all German states in terms of economic performance.

In 1998, Schroeder was nominated as the SPD candidate for Chancellor of Germany. At the end of the election, he beat the incumbent head of government Helmut Kohl and two of his fellow party members to a landslide victory.

As Chancellor, the politician made a number of important decisions. In particular, under his leadership, in 1999, for the first time since the end of World War II, Germany sent its military contingent to other countries. German forces participated in NATO operations in the Balkans and in the American anti-terrorist operation in Afghanistan. Nevertheless, Schroeder did not support U.S. plans to invade Iraq.

Schroeder also helped strengthen Russian-German relations, especially on energy issues. In 2005, he signed an agreement to build the Nord Stream gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea and in the same year he became chairman of the supervisory board of the North European Gas Pipeline Company (Nord Stream AG). In October 2016, the politician also chaired the board of Nord Stream 2, which oversaw the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

In 2003, Schroeder presented a reform plan called Agenda 2010, aimed at reducing unemployment and federal budget spending. However, such changes threatened to hit the least protected segments of the population, as they envisaged cuts in social programs. This caused discontent in the ranks of SPD, because of which the politician was forced to leave the post of the party chairman, which he held since 1999. In September 2005, as a result of early parliamentary elections, Schroeder resigned from the post of Chancellor, giving it to Angela Merkel.

After that, the former head of government focused on work in the oil and gas business. He held senior positions in such Russian companies as Gazprom and TNK-BP. In addition, he continued to supervise the work of Nord Streams and also lectured to students in different countries.

Despite retiring from politics, Schroeder actively advocated for the development of relations between Russia and Germany. In 2014, he condemned the imposition of anti-Russian sanctions caused by the reunification of Crimea with the Russian Federation. He also emphasized that the FRG needs Russian energy resources.

After the start of the special operation to protect Donbass in 2022, Schroeder was hit by a wave of criticism for too close ties with Russia. In May 2022, he was stripped of some of his privileges as former chancellor. He was also forced to stop cooperating with Russian companies.

In June 2024, the former head of the German government was summoned as a witness in the investigation into the activities of the fund supporting the construction of "Nord Stream-2" in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. According to the investigation, the structure was financed by Gazprom to circumvent U.S. sanctions.