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Irmgard Schwaetzer

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Irmgard Schwaetzer
Bundesministerin a. D.
Adam-Schwaetzer in 2018
Federal Minister for Regional Planning, Building and Urban Development
In office
18 January 1991 – 17 November 1994
ChancellorHelmut Kohl
Preceded byGerda Hasselfeldt
Succeeded byKlaus Töpfer
Personal details
Born (1942-04-05) 5 April 1942 (age 84)
Münster, Nazi Germany
PartyFree Democratic Party
OccupationPolitician

Irmgard Schwaetzer (born 5 April 1942) is a German politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and a Protestant church official. From 2013 to 2021, she chaired the Synod of the Protestant Church in Germany (EKD).[1][2] She is the central founding figure, as well as honorary chairwoman, of the Liberal Women.[3]

Early life and education

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In 1971, Schwaetzer received a doctorate in pharmacy from the University of Bonn.

Career

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From 1980 to 2002, Schwaetzer served as a member of the Bundestag. Under the leadership of chairman Hans-Dietrich Genscher, she was the Secretary General of the FDP between 1982 and 1984.

Following the 1987 West German federal election, Schwaetzer was appointed as Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office in the government led by Chancellor Helmut Kohl. In that capacity, she oversaw the ministry's activities on European policy and cultural affairs. At a party convention in 1988, she narrowly lost against Otto Graf Lambsdorff in a vote on the FDP leadership.[4]

Schwaetzer in 1991

In January 1991 Schwaetzer was appointed Federal Minister of Spatial Planning, Construction and Urbanism, succeeding Gerda Hasselfeldt. During her time in office, she oversaw various architectural design competitions on construction projects that eventually permitted Germany's Parliament and government to move from Bonn to Berlin after German reunification.[5]

Following the resignation of Hans-Dietrich Genscher in 1992, Kohl and Lambsdorff nominated Schwaetzer to be the new Foreign Minister.[6] In a surprise decision, her own FDP parliamentary group rejected her nomination shortly after and voted instead to name Justice Minister Klaus Kinkel to head the Foreign Office. Schwaetzer would have been the first woman to hold a senior cabinet post in Germany.[7]

Schwaetzer later became the target of public criticism in 1993 when she said in a contribution to a house organ published by Munich-based Germania Investment Management that the company could make "valuable contributions" to solving the problems of housing and office space, both of which were in acute shortage in the formerly Communist eastern part of the country at the time.[8]

Schwaetzer retired on 17 November 1994 from the Federal Government.[9][10]

From 1998 to 2002, Schwaetzer chaired the working group for labor and social policy, health policy, family, women's and youth policy of the FDP parliamentary group.

Other activities

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Recognition

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See also

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References

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  1. ↑ Czygan, Michael (2 May 2015). "EKD-Synode: Irmgard Schwaetzer bleibt an der Spitze". Stadt Würzburg. Main-Post (in German). Archived from the original on 1 March 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  2. ↑ "Schwaetzer ist Vorsitzende der EKD". Politik; DÜSSELDORF. Main-Post (in German). dpa. 11 November 2013.
  3. ↑ "Bundesvorstand" (in German). Liberale Frauen. See "Ehrenvorsitzende". Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  4. ↑ Dachs, Gisela (1 May 1992). "Irmgard Schwaetzer, die erste deutsche Außenministerin: Spät gestartet, früh am Ziel". Die Zeit. Vol. [1992], no. 19.
  5. ↑ Thorson, Larry (19 February 1993). "Germans Choose 3 Foreign Architects In Parliament Design Competition". Associated Press. AM cycle. Factiva asp0000020011031dp2j00cfo. Nexis Uni 3SJF-4050-001T-40H2-00000-00. First 11 of 16 paragraphs republished as: "In Search Of A Design For Germany's Reichstag". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 17 April 1993. p. D10. NewsBank 0EB2A4B630518152. Newspapers.com 176195206.
  6. ↑ Kinzer, Stephen (28 April 1992) [BONN, April 27]. "Genscher, Bonn's Foreign Minister 18 Years, Resigns". The New York Times. p. A3. Factiva NYTF000020050413do4s00zwu (full text), nyta000020011107do4s00m09 (abstract). Gale A174830349. Nexis Uni 3SC4-6RK0-000P-2056-00000-00 (full text), 3SP7-CBR0-000H-B1YT-00000-00 (abstract). ProQuest 108941761, 428449047, 428446936.
  7. ↑ Kinzer, Stephen (29 April 1992) [BONN, April 28]. "Party in Bonn Rebels on Genscher's Successor". The New York Times. pp. A5. Factiva NYTF000020050413do4t0103s (full text), nyta000020011107do4t00mrq (abstract). Gale A174830186. Nexis Uni 3SC4-8KR0-000P-23SK-00000-00 (full text), 3SP7-CBP0-000H-B1VJ-00000-00 (abstract). ProQuest 108991167, 428448727, 428447379.
  8. ↑ Whitney, Craig R. (12 January 1993) [BONN, Jan. 11]. "Kohl Issues Rebuke To Coalition Partner Amid New Scandal". The New York Times. p. A11. Factiva NYTF000020050408dp1c00jt1 (full text), nyta000020011101dp1c00195 (abstract). Gale A174519366. Nexis Uni 3SC6-XMM0-0024-J2SR-00000-00 (full text), 3SP7-HJC0-000H-B3F2-00000-00 (abstract). ProQuest 109251465, 428883255, 428878321.
  9. ↑ Schwaetzer, Irmgard. "Irmgard Schwaetzer: Frauen ins Pfarramt". 500 Jahre Reformation: Luther2017 (in German). Politik & Kultur 05/2015.
  10. ↑ "Irmgard Schwaetzer ist neue Chefin der EKD-Synode". portal liberal (in German). FDP, Stiftung für die Freiheit. 7 February 2014. Archived from the original on 27 November 2024.
  11. ↑ "Mitglieder des Rates der EKD" (in German). Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland (EKD). Archived from the original on 20 April 2021.
  12. ↑ "Hintergrund der Stiftung Garnisonkirche Potsdam" (in German). Wiederaufbau der Garnisonkirche Potsdam. See "Kuratorium der Stiftung Garnisonkirche Potsdam". Archived from the original on 31 May 2019.
  13. ↑ Supervisory Board[permanent dead link] Gemeinschaftswerk der Evangelischen Publizistik (GEP).
  14. ↑ Council Archived 18 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine Foundation for the Humboldt Forum in the Berlin Palace.
  15. ↑ "Kuratorium". שנת לימודים בישראל Ein theologisches Studienjahr an der Hebräischen Universität Jerusalem; שָׁלָ׳׳ב (in German). Studium in Israel e. V. Archived from the original on 3 December 2021.
  16. ↑ Bundeskanzler (23 April 2012). "[Aufstellung aller durch den Bundespräsidenten verliehenen Ehrenzeichen für Verdienste um die Republik Österreich ab 1952] Anfragebeantwortung: Die Abgeordneten zum Nationalrat Dr. Graf, Kolleginnen und Kollegen haben am 23. Februar 2012 unter der Nr. 10694/J an mich eine schriftliche parlamentarische Anfrage betreffend Orden und Ehrenzeichen an ehemalige in- und ausländische Regierungsmitglieder und sonstige Persönlichkeiten gerichtet. [...]" (PDF). www.parlament.gv.at. p. 857 (see "ADAM-SCHWÄTZER, Irmgard"). "10542/AB XXIV. GP", "GZ: BKA-353.110/0073-I/4/2012".
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  • EKD website: Dr. Irmgard Schwaetzer
  • Wikimedia Commons logo Media related to Irmgard Schwaetzer at Wikimedia Commons
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