Who is Gerhard Schröder?
Gerhard Fritz Kurt Schröder ( German: [ˈɡeːɐ̯haʁt fʁɪts kʊʁt ˈʃʁøːdɐ] ( listen); born 7 April 1944) is a German politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005, during which his most important political initiative was Agenda 2010.
Why is former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder on the Russian gas board?
Gerhard Schröder, the former left-leaning Chancellor of Germany, has been nominated to the board of a Russian state-owned gas company. The move to nominate Schröder to the board of Gazprom has prompted mass outcry amongst German politicians, while the country as a whole has been slammed as of late for its overreliance on Russian natural gas.
What did Schröder do as Chancellor?
Following the 1998 national elections, Schröder became Chancellor as head of an SPD-Green coalition. Throughout his campaign for Chancellor, he portrayed himself as a pragmatic new Social Democrat who would promote economic growth while strengthening Germany’s generous social welfare system.
Is Schröder a Christian?
Schröder identifies himself as a member of the Evangelical Church in Germany, but does not appear to be religious. He did not add the optional phrase So wahr mir Gott helfe (“so help me God”) when sworn in as chancellor for his first term in 1998.