In 2012, Germany elected its president - Joachim Gauck. During the election campaign, he won 991 votes from national and regional MPs, defeating his main rival, Bute Klarsfeld (126 votes).
Former Lutheran pastor and human rights activist, Gauk is not affiliated with any political party. He gained a high reputation for his firm opinion even on controversial issues. 80% of the German public consider him a person who deserves trust. It is important to note that Chancellor Angela Merkel supported Gauck in the presidential election, and not Christian Wulff (an iconic figure in German politics).
Joachim Gauck: biography
He was born in 1940 in Rostock. The head of the family, his father, was an outstanding naval officer, the captain of a ship. After World War II, the communists occupied the eastern part of Germany, where Gauck lived, turning it into the German Democratic Republic (GDR). In 1951, his father was sent by Soviet troops to Siberia. In 1955 he was pardoned and againreturned to Rostock.
Joachim spent his childhood behind the Iron Curtain. And in adulthood, he begins to oppose the government of East Germany and the ideas of socialism. He refused to join the ranks of the free German youth, joining a group that opposed communism. Even the State Security Police ("Stasi") considered him a zealous rebel and foreshadowed the possibility of repeating the fate of his father.
Anti-communist pastor
Joachim Gauck was viewed by the government as an incorrigible anti-communist. Therefore, he was forbidden to study journalism. Instead, he studied theology at the University of Rostock and became a pastor at an Evangelical Lutheran church in Mecklenburg-Pomerania. But members of the state security continued to persecute him, as they treated Christianity with distrust.
In addition to his position, Gauk worked as a county and city youth pastor in Rostock.
Career and Revolution
During the 1989 peaceful revolution, future German President Joachim Gauck joined the democratic opposition New Forum party. In this organization, he showed himself quite actively, thanks to which he later became its chairman.
In March 1990, he was elected to the People's Chamber of the GDR, which merged with two other democratic parties to form "Alliance-90".
In the same year, after leaving the party, Joachim Gauck became the special head of the Stasi secret police archives. Afterwards he was instructedinvestigation of serious communist crimes. He served in this position for about 10 years.
Together with Jens Reich, Ulrike Poppe and three other activists, Gauk became the representative of the opposition in the GDR. And then he was awarded the Theodor-Heuss medal.
Responsible work
From 1990 to 2000, Gauck, during his work with secret archives, discovered thousands of people who collaborated with the Stasi and exposed the activities of the opposition. As a result, many of them lost their jobs in the public sector. Gauck was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit First Class in 1995.
Furthermore, future President Joachim Gauck advocated for human rights and stressed the importance of ensuring that the history of communism in Central and Eastern Europe was not marred by the era of the Third Reich.
In 1998, Gauck published the Black Book of Communism, where he presented his opinion on National Socialism and Communism. He was one of the first to sign the Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism (2008) and the Declaration on the Crimes of Communism (2010). German Chancellor Angela Merkel, on her 70th birthday, expressed her deep gratitude to Joachim for his tireless work in promoting the elimination of communism and other forms of totalitarianism.
Change of position
In 2000, Marianne Birtler becomes the Federal Commissioner for Acts of the Security Service of the former GDR. Gauk left this position, since, according to the law, he could not be electedmore than twice in five years.
In 2001 he became a board member of the European Monitoring Center for Racism and Xenophobia.
In 2003, the incumbent president of Germany receives the Bad Iburger Courage-Preises for extremely courageous deeds. In the same year, he was elected chairman of the association Against Oblivion - For Democracy.
In 2004, Gauck modernized the exhibition "Traces of Injustice", dedicated to the victims of Nazi military justice in Torgau.
Who is the President of Germany?
In 2010, German President Horst Köhler resigns due to a moral decline in front of the people and the government. Nevertheless, many people considered him the best president because of his honesty and tolerance.
Gauck was nominated as a presidential candidate by the SPD and Bündnis 90/Die Grünen. However, in the third round of voting, he is defeated by the Prime Minister of Lower Saxony, Christian Wulff.
In 2012, with 991 votes, Joachim Gauck defeats Bute Klarsfeld to become President of Germany.
Special Moment
"What a wonderful Sunday," newly elected German President Gauck said at the beginning of his short speech after the election results were announced. He immediately stressed that he intends to focus on the main themes and issues of importance to Europe and the world.
In front of the assembled members of parliament in the German Bundestag on March 23, 2012, Gauck was brought tooath.
His victory was quite predictable. This is confirmed by a survey conducted by the ARD television channel, which found that 80% of Germans consider him a person who is trustworthy.
Emotional Strength
German President Joachim Gauck has charisma. His biographer Gerd Langguth stated that Gauk is someone who can touch the heart of every person with his speech.
To emphasize his unpredictable nature, he describes himself as either a "liberal conservative left" or a "left conservative liberal".
Sueddeutsche Zeitung claims that his main strength is preaching. And he added that sometimes this emotional quality can present difficulties: “His thoughts and words, and sometimes his actions, are very difficult to predict. And that annoys some people.”
Frank statements from the president of one of the most powerful states in the world can become strong waves that move far and can be intertwined not only with the opinion of ordinary people, but also with citizens of other powers. Mr. Gauck has already become a hero for many Germans, but he can become a hero for some "non-Germans" too!
The main goals of the President
Of course, the main goal of the new President of Germany, like other politicians, is to win the hearts of the public and prove to them that the German state is a country that prides itself on its high status, honesty and transparency. After all, these are qualities that are rarely seen today in a world where politicians are hypocritical and translateresponsibility on others. At all conferences, Gauk tirelessly argues that the best way to develop the country is to help the needy and maintain tolerance.
The current president will also try to crack down on right-wing extremism. This means that by reviewing some sections of the constitution that talk about the immediate liquidation of political parties that focus on the ideas of National Socialism, Communism and xenophobia, he can recognize the organization of the NPD as illegal.
He will provide strong support to Germany's political parties, including Merkel's CDU, and exert a beneficial influence on their work.
And his last goal will be to improve international relations with other countries, including the United States, since the last head of state (Christian Wulff) did not achieve any results in this matter.
Foreign policy
According to many political scientists, Joachim Gauck found the right formula in the conduct of German foreign policy. His most important achievement is the reversal of obscuration from World War II, strong cooperation and reconciliation with Germany's geographic "neighbors", commitment to European integration, strong partnership with the United States, free trade. Germany advocates a concept of security based on respect for human rights. And the most important thing is to maintain order and defend our external interests when cardinal changes are taking place in the world.
Based on its experience in human rights and on the supreme law, Germany adoptsdecisive action to preserve and shape an order based on the legitimate principles of the European Union, NATO and the United Nations. Gauk fights to ensure that brutal regimes do not hide behind the foundations of state sovereignty and non-intervention by participating in international security conferences.
Private life
Joachim Gauck married Gerhild Hansi Radtke in 1959 despite his father's prohibition. This woman had been his lover since childhood, when he first met her at the age of ten. In 1960, the couple had their first child, son Christian. Martin was born in 1962, daughter Gezine was born in 1966, and Katarina was born in 1979. At the end of 1980, Christian, Martin and Gezine were able to leave East Germany and emigrate to Germany. While Katarina stayed with her parents as a child.
Gauk's children were severely discriminated against and denied the right to education by the communist regime because their father was a pastor. Son Christian left Germany in 1987 and moved to West Germany to study medicine. As a result, he became a professional doctor.
In 1990, Joachim falls in love with journalist Helga Hirsch, a Warsaw correspondent for the weekly Die Zeit. This was the main reason for his divorce from his wife Gerhild. Eight years later, Helga broke up with Gauck, but did not completely leave his life - she began working as a consultant to the Federal President.
Gauck is currently living with Danielle Schadt. Her family was engaged in the production of paints and varnishes, she decidedstudy at Frankfurt/Main journalism. After that, she began working as the head of the internal affairs department at the Nürnberger Zeitung. She met the future president of Germany in 2000 at a lecture in Nuremberg.
After getting married, Schadt quit her newspaper job and moved to her husband in Berlin. She fully supports her husband in political affairs and shares his joy - he became a grandfather to twelve grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Summing up, we can conclude that many believe that the emotional Joachim Gauck (the photos above confirm this) is the moral authority for the whole of Germany. The rating of the "former dissident" is constantly growing - he has become a more attractive figure for the German public than Christian Wulff. He is a figure who is closely associated with the peaceful revolution in the GDR. Gauk courageously and fearlessly fought for his convictions, always speaks from the heart, and what he did for his state will not be forgotten by its citizens.
So, today we found out who the president of Germany is - a Lutheran pastor, an anti-communist human rights activist and just a very kind person. It is not in vain that the German society considers him a person worthy of trust. His many years of experience will help him achieve his goals, so that the powerful nation of Germany will become even better.
