Christine Lieberknecht
Christine Lieberknecht born May 7, 1958 in Weimar, is a German politician (CDU) and Minister President of Thuringia since October 2009. In addition, she is state chairman of the CDU in Thuringia.
Political Career
Lieberknecht began her political career in 1981, joining in the CDU in the German Democratic Republic. During her time as a pastor in the parish of Weimar from 1984 to 1990 she participated in events and actions of the Christian Peace Conference (CFRP).
She was one of the four signatories of the "letter from Weimar" of 10 September 1989, which was addressed to the party committee and to all regional and district directors of the CDU in the GDR. In late autumn 1989, she was elected to the executive committee of the CDU. She became a founding member of the Young European Federalists in the GDR. From May to August 1990 she worked in the Politically-Advisory Committee.
She was appointed as Deputy Chairman of the CDU in Thuringia in January 1990. After the CDU victory in the first free parliamentary election in Thuringia she was appointed Minister of Culture in the newly formed CDU / FDP government. One of their first tasks was the transformation of the education system. In Thuringia a new two-tier system with high school and regular school was introduced.
From 1992 to 1994 she was the Minister for Federal and European Affairs. In the legislative period 1990-1994, she was the only female member of the cabinet. After the state elections in Thuringia 1994, a grand coalition of CDU and SPD was formed and Lieberknecht was appointed as Minister for Federal Affairs. She held this position until 1999.
During the third legislature, she served as President of the Thuringian State Parliament. After the state election 2004 she succeeded the previous CDU party leader Frank-Michael Pietzsch, who was elected as the new President of the Landtag.
On 8 May 2008, she was sworn in as Minister for Social and Family Affairs and Health in the Cabinet of Dieter Althaus.
After losing the CDU majority in the parliament at the 2009 state election in Thuringia, Dieter Althaus resigned as Prime Minister and Chairman of the CDU. Due to the re-formation of the CDU she was nominated as a candidate for the leadership. On 29 September 2009, the SPD in Thuringia decided to open negotiations with the CDU on forming a coalition, and turned against a government also possible coalition with the Left and the Greens. Lieberknecht was accepted by the Social Democrats as leader of the coalition.
25 October 2009 she was elected at a party congress of the CDU with 83.3 percent of the vote. On the same day both CDU and SPD approved the negotiated between two parties coalition agreement.
Education
She studied Protestant Theology at the Friedrich-Schiller-University in Jena. She went to a Vicariate in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Thuringia.
External Links
http://www.bundesrat.de/SharedDocs/personen/DE/laender/th/lieberknecht-christine.html
