biography
pronunciation:
[row]
| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1931– )
|
| biography:
| German politician and president (1999– ), born in Wuppertal-Barmen, W Germany. He was first a bookseller's apprentice and then a manager in a publishing company before becoming a full-time politician. First elected to the North Rhine–Westphalia state parliament in 1957 (to 1999), he also served as mayor of Wuppertal (1969–70) and became a member of the Social Democratic Party Executive (1968–99). Minister for science and research in the state government (1970–8), and then minister president (1978–98), he was chair of the party state organization (1977–99) before being elected federal president. |
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