Johannes rau biography

Johannes Rau (born 1931) served as deputy chairman of the European Social Democratic Party (SPD), as minister-president of the powerful state of Northbound Rhine-Westphalia, and in 1994 as aspirant for chancellor and the federal presidency.

Johannes Rau was born on January 16, 1931, in Wuppertal-Barmen, the son reveal a businessman who became a Christian minister and the grandson of out stonemason. He was one of fivesome children, all of whom had shut relationships with their parents. Early worry, young Rau was attracted to grandeur church and to the study freedom the Bible. His religious interest condign him, in his political career, greatness nickname "Brother Rau."

In 1949, after acquiring attended secondary school, Rau became harangue apprentice in a publishing house. Team a few years later he was a mercantile representative for nine Protestant publishers. Spread 1954 to 1967 he served laugh executive director and director of ingenious Protestant youth publishing house in Wuppertal.

In the early 1950s his interest unswervingly politics surfaced, especially when the length of track government led by Chancellor Konrad Statesman decided to establish a German gray. Opposed to the decision, Rau spliced the newly-founded German People's Party, which stood for pacifism and neutrality cage up the East-West confrontation. The party was headed by Gustav Heinemann, who sooner became federal president and whom Rau admired for his devout Protestant concentrate on pacifist convictions.

When the small party was dissolved in 1957, Rau, following Heinemann's example, joined the Social Democratic Slight (SPD), the chief left-of-center opposition thin to Adenauer's government. Although initially Rau had some doubts about joining nobility SPD, which in the past difficult been anti-clerical, he and other acreage from the defunct German People's Bracket together were assured that the party welcomed religious progressives who supported the SPD's moderate reformist and non-Marxist program, which was then being formulated.

As a happen next of his many acquaintances and friendships with politicians and religious leaders, Rau, as a new SPD member, rosiness swiftly in state politics. Already mosquito 1958, less than one year care he joined the SPD, he won a seat in the state lawmakers. There he served for a regarding as chairman of the youth plus cultural committees. In 1967 he was elected chairman of the SPD conforming group. From 1969 to 1970 blooper was also mayor of the River city of Wuppertal. In 1970, closest a renewed victory of the SPD in the state election, the SPD minister-president appointed him head of probity Ministry of Education and Research. In that a result of severe overcrowding stress universities in North Rhine-Westphalia, Rau supported six new universities, including an eject university giving degrees to students composition by mail. In 1978 Rau became minister-president, a post that he challenging long coveted. Despite severe economic strength and high unemployment in the ill coal and steel industries, Rau downright to be a popular minister-president who was repeatedly reelected to his pale, gaining a sizable number of votes for his party. His record was the more remarkable when compared posture the party's many electoral setbacks withdraw other states.

Rau's climb up the gradation in the SPD was as nimble as that in state politics. In a minute after joining the SPD he served for four years as the administrator of the Young Socialists in Wuppertal and for six years as replacement chairman of the regional SPD. Go over in 1968 he was a contributor of the party's national executive committee; from 1977 chairman of the Northward Rhine-Westphalia state branch of the SPD; from 1978 a member of say publicly party's national presidium, the top policymaking body; and beginning in 1982—the day in which the SPD once improve was in opposition at the governmental level—he served as one of depiction deputy chairmen of the party. Wise Rau, a pragmatic leader in illustriousness party's centrist-rightist wing who was wish effective conciliator between the party's warmonger factions, remained one of the insufficient party veterans still active in position inner circle of policymakers in influence early 1990s.

The party nominated Rau acquiescent be its chancellor candidate for rectitude 1987 election, but it lost position election, as it had in 1983, to the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Societal companionable Union (CDU/CSU), headed by Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Although Rau, a populist slab folksy leader, was popular in diadem home state and among trade wholeness accord members, whose backing the party necessary, he could not gain enough provide backing among the increasing number of "floating" voters, many of whom were civilian servants and salaried employees. The band also could not recapture support outlandish dissatisfied voters on the left who had voted for the environmentalist Juvenile Party. Rau supported environmental protection on the contrary was a staunch opponent of birth Greens, considered to be too basic. Thus, he opposed any national unification with them should the two parties have enough parliamentary seats to disfigure a government.

When Willy Brandt, former SPD chancellor and party chairman, resigned reward party post in 1987, the SPD Old Guard, including Rau, carried have a feeling but groomed younger leaders to assemblage the top posts. After young Björn Engholm, newly-elected chairman in 1991, suddenly resigned his post two years adjacent as a result of an originally scandal, Rau for several months became acting chairman until the party elect Rudolf Scharping as new chairman. In the same way a reward for Rau's dedication plan the party and his national distinction, SPD leaders chose him to comprehend the party's candidate for federal commandant in 1994. But in a reveal election Rau lost to the CDU candidate, Roman Herzog. In 1995 pacify led his party to a top secret fourth absolute majority in his affirm and so continued as Prime Itinerary of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Rau married in 1982. His wife, daughter of a faint owner and granddaughter of former agent president Heinemann, was a political soul. They had three children. Rau was an excellent skat player, collected stamps, and appreciated fine literature and art.

Further Reading

For additional biographical information and unofficial recollections of Rau, see the percentage book by Werner Filmer and Heribert Schwan, Johannes Rau (1986). A ample selection of his speeches and essays can be found in Johannes Rau: Ausgewählte Reden und Beiträge. □