Mourning for a “great politician” – at the age of 80, Heide Simonis, Germany’s first female Prime Minister, died on Wednesday.
Schleswig-Holstein’s former Prime Minister Heide Simonis is dead. She died in Kiel on Wednesday a few days after her 80th birthday, as the State Chancellery announced. Simonis was Prime Minister of the northernmost state from 1993 to 2005 and the first woman to head a state government in the history of the Federal Republic. Her political career came to a tragic end when she failed to win re-election four times in 2005.
“I mourn the loss of a great politician and a passionate woman from Schleswig-Holstein,” said the incumbent Prime Minister of Kiel, Daniel Günther (CDU), about the death. Simonis “made Schleswig-Holstein even more lovable with her personality, her commitment, her humanity and her straightforwardness”. As a politician, she “never minced her words, was upright, open and always straightforward”.
SPD mourns Heide Simonis
The SPD party leadership recognized the late politician as an important advocate for social justice in Germany. “With Heide Simonis, Social Democracy is losing an important personality who made history,” said party leaders Saskia Esken and Lars Klingbeil on Wednesday. The former Schleswig-Holstein Prime Minister was a role model and encourager for many in the SPD and in her state. You have not only left deep traces in Schleswig-Holstein.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) praised Simonis as a role model in politics. “With her assertiveness, she convinced me even as a young member of the Bundestag – including me. As the first female Prime Minister of a federal state, she had a strong influence on Schleswig-Holstein. We mourn her loss!”
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) spoke on Twitter of a “sad day”: “She will be missed as a person and will never be forgotten as a politician.”
Party colleague Ralf Stegner expressed his condolences to the family and described Germany’s first female prime minister as “quarrelsome, approachable, direct, honest and very brave”. He owes her a lot.
“Light figure of Schleswig-Holstein politics”
Simonis’ achievements were recognized across parties after the news of his death. Schleswig-Holstein’s SPD state chairwoman Serpil Midyatli emphasized “her daring, her steadfastness and her incredible talent for winning over people”. Simonis “was truly a shining light in Schleswig-Holstein politics and leaves a huge gap in our hearts”.
The state leader of Schleswig-Holstein’s Greens, Anke Erdmann, paid tribute to Simons for “her role as a pioneer”: “For me – like for many other women – it was an encouragement that Heide Simonis was the first female prime minister to be elected.”
The Green politician and Vice President of the German Bundestag Katrin Göring-Eckardt spoke of Simonis as “trailblazer“: “She asked the question of power and put men in their place. With her courage, she was an encourager for many.”
The SPD parliamentary group in Schleswig-Holstein also mourns the death of Heide Simonis. Its chairman Thomas Losse-Müller tweeted that it had inspired thousands and motivated them to get involved. “We’re proud you were one of us!”
Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann (FDP) called the SPD politician “a passionate champion of her beliefs. With her, our country loses the first head of a German state government. We will honor her memory.”
Simonis was born in Bonn on July 4, 1943. In 1972 she moved to Schleswig-Holstein with her husband Udo Simonis. From 1976 to 1988 she was a member of the Bundestag, and from 1992 to 2005 of the Schleswig-Holstein state parliament. In 1988 she was appointed Finance Minister to the state cabinet by the then Prime Minister Björn Engholm (SPD), and from 1993 to 2005 she was Prime Minister of the northernmost federal state.
Several years ago, Simonis publicized her Parkinson’s disease and gradually withdrew from the public eye. There have only been a few exceptions in recent years – for example when the SPD awarded her the Willy Brandt Medal for her life’s work on her 75th birthday in 2018, her highest award. She had already been made an honorary citizen of Schleswig-Holstein in 2014.
Source: Stern
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