Harald Ringstorff

Harald Ringstorff (25 September 1939 – 19 November 2020) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the 3rd Minister President of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.[1] He headed a coalition government of the SPD and PDS (since 2007 the Left Party, Die Linke) from 1998 until 2006, and subsequently headed a coalition between the SPD and CDU. He was the 61st President of the Bundesrat in 2006/07.

Harald Ringstorff
Minister-President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
In office
3 November 1998 – 6 October 2008
DeputyHelmut Holter
Preceded byBerndt Seite
Succeeded byErwin Sellering
President of Bundesrat
In office
1 November 2006 – 31 October 2007
PresidentHorst Köhler
ChancellorAngela Merkel
Preceded byPeter Harry Carstensen
Succeeded byOle von Beust
Minister of Justice of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
In office
3 November 1998 – 19 September 2000
Minister-PresidentHarald Ringstorff
Preceded byRolf Eggert
Succeeded byErwin Sellering
Deputy Minister-President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
In office
8 December 1994 – 6 May 1996
Minister-PresidentBernd Seite
Preceded byKlaus Gollert
Succeeded byHinrich Kuessner
Minister of Economics and Affairs of European Union of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
In office
8 December 1994 – 6 May 1996
Minister-PresidentBernd Seite
Preceded byHerbert Helmrich (Affairs of European Union)
Conrad-Michael Lehment (Economics)
Succeeded byRolf Eggert (Affairs of European Union)
Jürgen Seidel (Economics)
Leader of the Social Democratic Party in the Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
In office
6 May 1996 – 3 November 1998
Preceded byGottfried Timm
Succeeded byVolker Schlotmann
In office
26 October 1990 – 15 November 1994
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byGottfried Timm
Member of the Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
for Parchim II
(Rostock III; 1990–1994)
(Social Democratic List; 1994–1998; 2006–2011)
In office
26 October 1990 – 4 October 2011
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded byThomas Schwarz
Member of the Volkskammer
for Rostock
In office
5 April 1990 – 2 October 1990
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Personal details
Born(1939-09-25)September 25, 1939
Wittenburg, Nazi Germany
Died19 November 2020(2020-11-19) (aged 81)
Schwerin, Germany
Political partySPD
Ringstorff in 2008

After his Abitur and military service, Ringstorff studied Chemistry at the University of Rostock. He received his Ph.D. in 1969. Afterwards he worked as a chemist for the Rostock dockyards. From 1987 to 1990, he was director of the branch office of the VEB Kali-Chemie ("people's enterprise for potash chemistry").[2]

In 1989 Ringstorff was a founding member of the Social Democratic Party in the GDR and a member of the freely elected Volkskammer of 1990. From 1990 to 2003 he was chairman of the SPD in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.[2]

Since 1990 Ringstorff has been a member of the Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern where he served as parliamentary leader of the SPD from 1990–1994 and 1996-1998. In between he was Minister for Economic and European Affairs and vice-minister-president in a coalition government with the CDU under minister-president Berndt Seite (CDU).[2]

In 1998, the SPD agreed to form a coalition with the PDS (now Left Party), a move controversial within the party. Ringstorff was elected minister-president. His coalition government was re-elected in 2002. After the elections of 2006, he decided to switch to a coalition with the CDU, which would have a more comfortable majority in parliament.

On 6 August 2008, Ringstorff let it be known that he wished to resign as minister-president because of his age. On 6 October, he was succeeded in the office by Erwin Sellering.[1][3]

He died from Parkinson's disease on 19 November 2020.

References
  1. Buergin, Rainer (6 August 2008). "German State of Mecklenburg Premier Ringstorff Quits, Cites Age". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
  2. Helmut Müller-Enbergs. "Ringstorff, Harald * 25.9.1939 Ministerpräsident des Landes Mecklenburg-Vorpommern". Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur: Biographische Datenbanken. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  3. "Der adrette Jurist: Ein Jurist aus dem Westen soll Landesvater im Nordosten werden. Erwin Sellering hat derzeit die besten Chancen, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Nachfolger von Ministerpräsident Harald Ringstorff zu werden. Sellering gilt als als gelassener Vermittler". Handelsblatt (online). 22 August 2008. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
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