Oskar Lafontaine
Encyclopedia
Oskar Lafontaine (ˈlafɔntɛn; born 16 September 1943, Saarlouis
) is a German politician, former German finance minister, former chairman of the Social Democratic Party
and former Minister-President of the state of Saarland
. Since 2007 he was co-chairman of The Left
. After being diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2009, he declared resignation from federal political functions in January 2010, citing health reasons.
into a family of craftsmen. His father, Hans Lafontaine, was a professional baker and was killed serving in World War II. He spent his childhood living with his mother, Catherine, and twin brother, Hans, in Dillingen
.
Lafontaine attended a Catholic episcopal boarding institution in Prüm
and there was educated at the Regino-Gymnasium, a public school. He left school in 1962 and received a scholarship from Cusanuswerk, the scholarship body of the Catholic Church in Germany, to study physics
at the universities of Bonn
and Saarland
. Lafontaine graduated in 1969; his thesis concerned the production of barium titanate
crystals. He worked for Versorgungs- und Verkehrsgesellschaft Saarbrücken until 1974, serving on its board from 1971.
He is currently married to his third wife, Christa Müller, who leads a campaign against genital mutilation
in Africa. The couple have two sons. Lafontaine is a Roman Catholic.
and became more widely known as a critic of chancellor Helmut Schmidt
's support for the NATO plan to deploy Pershing II missiles in Germany. From 1985 to 1998 he served as prime minister of the Saarland
. In this position he struggled to preserve the industrial base of the state, which was based on steel production and coal mining with subsidies
, and served as President
of the Bundesrat
in 1992/93.
following the reunification of Germany
. During the campaign he was attacked with a knife by a mentally deranged woman after a speech in Cologne
. His carotid artery
was slashed and he remained in a critical condition for several days.
convention" in 1995, he was elected chairman of the SPD in a surprise move, replacing Rudolf Scharping
. He was mainly responsible for bringing the whole political weight of the SPD to bear against Helmut Kohl
and his CDU
party, rejecting bipartisan cooperation that had characterized German politics for many years. Lafontaine argued that any help given to Kohl would only lengthen his unavoidable demise.
After this strategy gave the SPD an unexpectedly clear victory at the polls in September 1998, he was appointed Federal Minister of Finance in the first government of Gerhard Schröder
.
of UK Eurosceptic
s. This was because, among other things, he had called for the prompt tax harmonisation of the European Union
, which would have resulted in an increase in UK taxes. In 1998, English tabloid "The Sun" called Lafontaine "Europe's most dangerous man". On 11 March 1999, he resigned from all his official and party offices, claiming that "lack of cooperation" in the cabinet had become unbearable. Until the formation of the Left Party he was known for his attacks against the Schroeder government in the tabloid Bild-Zeitung
which is generally considered conservative.
party (Die Linke), a coalition of the Labor and Social Justice Party (WASG), which is based in western Germany, and the Left Party. PDS, which was the successor to the ruling East German Socialist Unity Party
(SED). Lafontaine joined the WASG on 18 June 2005 and was selected to head their list for the 2005 Federal Election
in North Rhine-Westphalia on the same day. Moreover he also unsuccessfully contested the Saarbrücken
constituency. Nevertheless, the result of the Linkspartei in the Saarland was by far the best in any of the federal states in the West of Germany.
In 2007, when the Left Party
was formed in a merger between 'Left Party.PDS' and WASG, he became chairman alongside Lothar Bisky
.
In May 2009, he declared that "Financial capitalism has failed. We need to democratize the economy. The workforce needs to have a far greater say in their companies than has been the case so far."
, state and party leader of the German Democratic Republic
and a fellow Saarlander, in the magazine Der Spiegel
was criticised as laudatory by many observers. In the late 1980s and early 90s he tarnished his left-wing credentials with a plea for pro-business policies and a call for the reduction of the influx of Germans from Eastern Europe and asylum-seekers.
In contrast to his public socialist political ideology, Lafontaine lives in a manor-like house, commonly known as the "palace of social justice" (Palast der sozialen Gerechtigkeit). However, when asked about it, Lafontaine said politicians of the Left don't have to be poor, but they have to fight against poverty.
Saarlouis
Saarlouis is a city in the Saarland, Germany, capital of the district of Saarlouis. In 2006, the town had a population of 38,327. Saarlouis, as the name implies, is located at the river Saar....
) is a German politician, former German finance minister, former chairman of the Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
and former Minister-President of the state of Saarland
Saarland
Saarland is one of the sixteen states of Germany. The capital is Saarbrücken. It has an area of 2570 km² and 1,045,000 inhabitants. In both area and population, it is the smallest state in Germany other than the city-states...
. Since 2007 he was co-chairman of The Left
The Left (Germany)
The Left , also commonly referred to as the Left Party , is a democratic socialist political party in Germany. The Left is the most left-wing party of the five represented in the Bundestag....
. After being diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2009, he declared resignation from federal political functions in January 2010, citing health reasons.
Family and education
Lafontaine was born in SaarlouisSaarlouis
Saarlouis is a city in the Saarland, Germany, capital of the district of Saarlouis. In 2006, the town had a population of 38,327. Saarlouis, as the name implies, is located at the river Saar....
into a family of craftsmen. His father, Hans Lafontaine, was a professional baker and was killed serving in World War II. He spent his childhood living with his mother, Catherine, and twin brother, Hans, in Dillingen
Dillingen, Saarland
Dillingen is a town in the district of Saarlouis, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the river Saar, approx. 5 km northwest of Saarlouis, and 25 km northwest of Saarbrücken. The Dillinger Hütte steelworks is located here....
.
Lafontaine attended a Catholic episcopal boarding institution in Prüm
Prüm
Prüm is a town in the Westeifel , Germany. Formerly a district capital, today it is the administrative seat of the Verbandsgemeinde Prüm.-Geography:...
and there was educated at the Regino-Gymnasium, a public school. He left school in 1962 and received a scholarship from Cusanuswerk, the scholarship body of the Catholic Church in Germany, to study physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
at the universities of Bonn
University of Bonn
The University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number...
and Saarland
Saarland University
Saarland University is a university located in Saarbrücken, the capital of the German state of Saarland, and Homburg. It was founded in 1948 in Homburg in co-operation with France and is organized in 8 faculties that cover all major fields of science...
. Lafontaine graduated in 1969; his thesis concerned the production of barium titanate
Barium titanate
Barium titanate is the inorganic compound with the chemical formula BaTiO3. Barium titanate is a white powder and transparent as larger crystals...
crystals. He worked for Versorgungs- und Verkehrsgesellschaft Saarbrücken until 1974, serving on its board from 1971.
He is currently married to his third wife, Christa Müller, who leads a campaign against genital mutilation
Female genital cutting
Female genital mutilation , also known as female genital cutting and female circumcision, is defined by the World Health Organization as "all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons."FGM...
in Africa. The couple have two sons. Lafontaine is a Roman Catholic.
Political rise
Lafontaine rose to prominence locally as mayor of SaarbrückenSaarbrücken
Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....
and became more widely known as a critic of chancellor Helmut Schmidt
Helmut Schmidt
Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt is a German Social Democratic politician who served as Chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982. Prior to becoming chancellor, he had served as Minister of Defence and Minister of Finance. He had also served briefly as Minister of Economics and as acting...
's support for the NATO plan to deploy Pershing II missiles in Germany. From 1985 to 1998 he served as prime minister of the Saarland
Saarland
Saarland is one of the sixteen states of Germany. The capital is Saarbrücken. It has an area of 2570 km² and 1,045,000 inhabitants. In both area and population, it is the smallest state in Germany other than the city-states...
. In this position he struggled to preserve the industrial base of the state, which was based on steel production and coal mining with subsidies
Subsidy
A subsidy is an assistance paid to a business or economic sector. Most subsidies are made by the government to producers or distributors in an industry to prevent the decline of that industry or an increase in the prices of its products or simply to encourage it to hire more labor A subsidy (also...
, and served as President
President of the German Bundesrat
In Germany, the President of the Bundesrat or President of the Federal Council is the chairperson or speaker of the Bundesrat . The presidency of the Bundesrat rotates among the heads of government of each of the states on an annual basis...
of the Bundesrat
Bundesrat of Germany
The German Bundesrat is a legislative body that represents the sixteen Länder of Germany at the federal level...
in 1992/93.
Chancellor candidacy
Lafontaine was the SPD's candidate for Chancellor in the German federal election of 1990German federal election, 1990
The 12th German federal election, 1990 was conducted on December 2, 1990, to elect members to the Bundestag of the Federal Republic of Germany...
following the reunification of Germany
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
. During the campaign he was attacked with a knife by a mentally deranged woman after a speech in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
. His carotid artery
Carotid artery
Carotid artery can refer to:* Common carotid artery* External carotid artery* Internal carotid artery...
was slashed and he remained in a critical condition for several days.
Political comeback
At the "MannheimMannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
convention" in 1995, he was elected chairman of the SPD in a surprise move, replacing Rudolf Scharping
Rudolf Scharping
Rudolf Scharping is a German politician .Scharping studied politics, sociology and law at the University of Bonn. He joined the Social Democratic Party in 1966. He was Member of the Rhineland-Palatine Parliament from 1975 to 1994. From 21 May 1991 to 15 October 1994 he was prime minister of the...
. He was mainly responsible for bringing the whole political weight of the SPD to bear against Helmut Kohl
Helmut Kohl
Helmut Josef Michael Kohl is a German conservative politician and statesman. He was Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and the chairman of the Christian Democratic Union from 1973 to 1998...
and his CDU
Christian Democratic Union (Germany)
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...
party, rejecting bipartisan cooperation that had characterized German politics for many years. Lafontaine argued that any help given to Kohl would only lengthen his unavoidable demise.
After this strategy gave the SPD an unexpectedly clear victory at the polls in September 1998, he was appointed Federal Minister of Finance in the first government of Gerhard Schröder
Gerhard Schröder
Gerhard Fritz Kurt Schröder is a German politician, and was Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany , he led a coalition government of the SPD and the Greens. Before becoming a full-time politician, he was a lawyer, and before becoming Chancellor...
.
Minister of Finance
During his short tenure as Minister of Finance, Lafontaine was a main bogeymanBogeyman
A bogeyman is an amorphous imaginary being used by adults to frighten children into compliant behaviour...
of UK Eurosceptic
EuroSceptic
EuroSceptic is the second album of British singer Jack Lucien. It was released in October 2009.Due to being an album influenced by Europop, it features songs with parts in different languages...
s. This was because, among other things, he had called for the prompt tax harmonisation of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, which would have resulted in an increase in UK taxes. In 1998, English tabloid "The Sun" called Lafontaine "Europe's most dangerous man". On 11 March 1999, he resigned from all his official and party offices, claiming that "lack of cooperation" in the cabinet had become unbearable. Until the formation of the Left Party he was known for his attacks against the Schroeder government in the tabloid Bild-Zeitung
Bild-Zeitung
The Bild is a German tabloid published by Axel Springer AG. The paper is published from Monday to Saturday, while on Sundays, Bild am Sonntag is published instead, which has a different style and its own editors...
which is generally considered conservative.
Leaving the SPD/Formation of The Left party
On 24 May 2005 Lafontaine left the SPD. After two weeks of speculation it was announced on 10 June that he would run as the lead candidate for The LeftThe Left (Germany)
The Left , also commonly referred to as the Left Party , is a democratic socialist political party in Germany. The Left is the most left-wing party of the five represented in the Bundestag....
party (Die Linke), a coalition of the Labor and Social Justice Party (WASG), which is based in western Germany, and the Left Party. PDS, which was the successor to the ruling East German Socialist Unity Party
Socialist Unity Party of Germany
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
(SED). Lafontaine joined the WASG on 18 June 2005 and was selected to head their list for the 2005 Federal Election
German federal election, 2005
German federal elections took place on 18 September 2005 to elect the members of the 16th German Bundestag, the federal parliament of Germany. They became necessary after a motion of confidence in Chancellor Gerhard Schröder failed on 1 July...
in North Rhine-Westphalia on the same day. Moreover he also unsuccessfully contested the Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....
constituency. Nevertheless, the result of the Linkspartei in the Saarland was by far the best in any of the federal states in the West of Germany.
In 2007, when the Left Party
The Left (Germany)
The Left , also commonly referred to as the Left Party , is a democratic socialist political party in Germany. The Left is the most left-wing party of the five represented in the Bundestag....
was formed in a merger between 'Left Party.PDS' and WASG, he became chairman alongside Lothar Bisky
Lothar Bisky
Lothar Bisky is a German politician. He was the chairman of the Party of Democratic Socialism , the successor of East Germany's Socialist Unity Party . In June 2007 he became co-chairman of the The Left party, formed by a merger of the PDS and the much smaller Labour and Social Justice – The...
.
In May 2009, he declared that "Financial capitalism has failed. We need to democratize the economy. The workforce needs to have a far greater say in their companies than has been the case so far."
Criticism
An article by Lafontaine on Erich HoneckerErich Honecker
Erich Honecker was a German communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic as General Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party from 1971 until 1989, serving as Head of State as well from Willi Stoph's relinquishment of that post in 1976....
, state and party leader of the German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
and a fellow Saarlander, in the magazine Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. It is one of Europe's largest publications of its kind, with a weekly circulation of more than one million.-Overview:...
was criticised as laudatory by many observers. In the late 1980s and early 90s he tarnished his left-wing credentials with a plea for pro-business policies and a call for the reduction of the influx of Germans from Eastern Europe and asylum-seekers.
In contrast to his public socialist political ideology, Lafontaine lives in a manor-like house, commonly known as the "palace of social justice" (Palast der sozialen Gerechtigkeit). However, when asked about it, Lafontaine said politicians of the Left don't have to be poor, but they have to fight against poverty.
External links
www.die-linke.de – The German Left Party Oskar Lafontaine Information on the website of the parliamentary group Die Linke- Will Germany Go Left of the Left? by Markus Deggerich, Der SpiegelDer SpiegelDer Spiegel is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. It is one of Europe's largest publications of its kind, with a weekly circulation of more than one million.-Overview:...
, Sept 25 2009