Schröder, Gerhard (1944–)

Gerhard Schröder was German chancellor from 1998 to 2005. He also was prime minister of Lower Saxony from 1990 to 1998 and chairman of the Social Democrats from 1999 to 2004. Schröder is especially known as Germany's first media chancellor or the first chancellor of the arising media democracy.

When Schröder first ran for prime minister of the state of Lower Saxony in 1986, he had already made his biography the subject of public discussion. It would become one of his main strategies throughout his career to make use of his simple origin and the fact that he grew up without a father yet achieved great success. In addition to constructing the image of a promising social leader, Schröder also capitalized on his private life for ...