Heide Simonis
{{Short description|German politician (1943–2023)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image = Heide Simonis.jpg
| caption = Simonis in 2009
| office = Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein
| predecessor = Björn Engholm
| successor = Peter Harry Carstensen
| termend = 27 April 2005
| termstart = 19 March 1993
| education = {{ubl| University of Kiel | University of Erlangen–Nuremberg }}
| party = Social Democratic
| birth_name = Heide Steinhardt
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1943|07|04}}
| birth_place = Bonn, Greater German Reich
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2023|07|12|1943|07|04}}
| death_place = Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
| office2 = Schleswig-Holstein Minister of Finance
| termstart2 = 5 May 1988
| termend2 = 19 March 1993
| predecessor2 = Roger Asmussen
| successor2 = Claus Möller
| appointer2 =
| office3 = Member of the Bundestag
| termstart3 = 3 October 1976
| termend3 = 8 June 1988
}}
Heide Simonis ({{IPA|de|ˈhaɪdə ziˈmoːnɪs|lang}}; 4 July 1943 – 12 July 2023) was a German author and politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). She was minister of finance in Schleswig-Holstein from 1988 until 1993, when she became minister-president of Schleswig-Holstein. She was the first woman to serve as head of a state government in German history and the only woman to do so in the 20th century, serving until 2005. As of 2025, she is the longest serving former minister-president of Schleswig-Holstein and also the longest serving former female minister-president of all German states (11 years, 343 days).
Early life and education
Born Heide Steinhardt in Bonn on 4 July 1943, she was the oldest of three sisters. She had asthma as a young child and therefore spent time in children's homes from age three. She completed school with the Abitur in 1962 in Nürnberg. She then studied economics and sociology at the universities of Erlangen-Nürnberg and Kiel, graduating with a degree in economics in 1967. She worked in different positions after 1967, beginning as a lecturer at the University of Lusaka in Zambia. She worked with her husband for an advisory panel of the WHO in Japan on health development. She later worked as vocational counsellor at the employment office of Kiel.
Career
= National politics =
Simonis joined the SPD in 1969. She was elected to the German Bundestag in 1976, representing the Rendsburg-Eckernförde district, as then the youngest member of the parliament.
= State politics =
In 1988, Simonis was appointed minister of finance in Schleswig-Holstein by minister-president Björn Engholm. In the 1992 state elections, she became a member of the legislature of Schleswig-Holstein.
On 19 May 1993, Simonis was elected minister-president of Schleswig-Holstein after her predecessor Engholm resigned due to a scandal. She was the first woman in Germany to rise to this level in government. For her first cabinet, she kept almost all of Engholm's ministers.
The 1996 state elections saw the SPD representation drop to 39.8% from 46.2% in 1992, but Simonis was able to form a coalition with the Greens. In the 2000 state elections, at the height of a Christian Democratic Union's donations scandal, the SPD was able to increase its share to 43.1%. At the time, the result was also seen as marking a victory for Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who had campaigned ardently in support of Simonis.John Schmid (28 February 2000), [https://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/28/IHT-result-in-schleswigholstein-sharpens-leadership-crisis-kohl-party-loses.html Result in Schleswig-Holstein Sharpens Leadership Crisis: Kohl Party Loses Regional Election] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720090244/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/28/IHT-result-in-schleswigholstein-sharpens-leadership-crisis-kohl-party-loses.html |date=20 July 2023 }} International Herald Tribune.
Despite basing its campaign for the 2005 elections on Simonis' popularity, the SPD suffered a heavy defeat due to the bad economic situation and its support dropped to 38.7% (for the first time in almost twenty years behind the CDU). On 17 March 2005, Simonis failed to be re-elected as minister-president of Schleswig-Holstein in four consecutive ballots by the Schleswig-Holstein Landtag. In the first ballot she received 34 votes and Peter Harry Carstensen (CDU) received 33, while two deputies cast empty votes. Neither Simonis nor Carstensen got the absolute majority (35 votes). In the second and third ballots the candidates received 34 votes each, while one deputy of the alliance of SPD, Greens, and SSW abstained. An unprecedented fourth ballot brought the same result and Simonis stepped down as minister-president of Schleswig-Holstein.
= After politics =
Simonis served as chairwoman of the German Committee for UNICEF from 2005 until February 2008. She resigned from this position due to a scandal related to donations to the organisation that arose during her term.
Personal life and legacy
File:Ratsherrin Heide Simonis (SPD) (Kiel 50.796).jpg
In 1967, Simonis married {{ill|Udo E. Simonis|de}} who had studied with her. He became a professor of economics, with a focus on the environment. Among her hobbies was quiltmaking.
Simonis survived breast cancer. She announced in 2014 that she was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. She died at home in Kiel on 12 July 2023, at age 80.
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier described her as an exceptional political personality who shaped democracy beyond Schleswig-Holstein. He noted her competence, but also humanity and empathy.
Publications
- {{cite book | last=Simonis | first=Heide | title=Kein Blatt vorm Mund | publisher=Hoffmann Und Campe Verlag | date=1997 | isbn=3-455-11192-0 | language=de}}
- {{cite book | last=Simonis | first=Heide |author-mask=2 | title=Unter Männern | publisher=C.H.Beck | date=2003 | isbn=3-406-50959-2 | language=de}}
- {{cite book | last1=Simonis | first1=Heide |author-mask=2 | last2=Maletzke | first2=Erich | title=Ausgeteilt, eingesteckt | date=2007 | publisher=Zu Klampen! | isbn=978-3-86674-012-9 | language=de}}
- {{cite book | last1=Simonis | first1=Heide |author-mask=2 | last2=Steinhardt | first2=Dodo | last3=Steinhardt-Böttcher | first3=Barbara | title=Drei Rheintöchter | date=2008 | publisher=Bouvier | isbn=978-3-416-03234-6 | language=de}}
- {{cite book | last=Simonis | first=Heide |author-mask=2 | title=Verzockt! | date=2010 | publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht | isbn=978-3-525-30002-2 | language=de}}
- {{cite book | last=Simonis | first=Heide |author-mask=2 | title=Alles Märchen! | date=3 July 2013 | isbn=978-3-7859-1126-6 | language=de}}
- {{cite book | last=Simonis | first=Heide |author-mask=2 | title=Heringstage | date=2016 | publisher=Borbyer Werkstatt Verlag | isbn=978-3-940586-10-0 | language=de}}
Awards
- 2014 – Honorary citizen of Schleswig-Holstein{{cite web | title=Heide Simonis ist tot – Schleswig-Holstein | website=Der Spiegel | date=12 July 2023 | url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/heide-simonis-ist-tot-schleswig-holstein-a-b7ba230f-6521-4b66-a67a-65a194214663 | language=de | access-date=12 July 2023 | archive-date=20 July 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720090242/https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/heide-simonis-ist-tot-schleswig-holstein-a-b7ba230f-6521-4b66-a67a-65a194214663 | url-status=live }}
- 2018 – {{ill|Willy Brandt Medal|de|Willy-Brandt-Medaille}}
References
{{reflist
| refs =
| last = Casdorff
| first = Stephan-Andreas
| title = Sie war auf ihre Art eine eiserne Lady
| newspaper = Der Tagesspiegel
| date = 13 July 2023
| url = https://www.tagesspiegel.de/gesellschaft/nachruf-auf-heide-simonis-sie-war-auf-ihre-art-eine-eiserne-lady-10138249.html
| language = de
| access-date = 13 July 2023
| archive-date = 15 July 2023
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230715115832/https://www.tagesspiegel.de/gesellschaft/nachruf-auf-heide-simonis-sie-war-auf-ihre-art-eine-eiserne-lady-10138249.html
| url-status = live
}}
| last = Heed
| first = Levke
| title = 1993: Heide Simonis wird erste Ministerpräsidentin
| work = NDR
| date = 12 July 2023
| url = https://www.ndr.de/geschichte/chronologie/1993-Heide-Simonis-wird-erste-Ministerpraesidentin,simonis139.html
| language = de
| access-date = 19 July 2023
| archive-date = 1 February 2023
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230201053132/https://www.ndr.de/geschichte/chronologie/1993-Heide-Simonis-wird-erste-Ministerpraesidentin,simonis139.html
| url-status = live
}}
| last = Kampe
| first = Kersten
| title = Kiel hat eine Ministerpräsidentin
| newspaper = taz
| date = 21 May 1993
| url = https://taz.de/Kiel-hat-eine-Ministerpraesidentin/!1615499/
| language = de
| access-date = 19 July 2023
| archive-date = 20 July 2023
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230720090223/https://taz.de/Kiel-hat-eine-Ministerpraesidentin/!1615499/
| url-status = live
}}
| url = https://www.br.de/fernsehen/ard-alpha/sendungen/alpha-forum/heide-simonis-sendung-100.html
| title = Ehemalige Ministerpräsidentin Schleswig-Holstein: Simonis, Heide
| journal = Bayerischer Rundfunk
| date = 8 July 2013
| language = de
| access-date = 25 July 2021
| archive-date = 25 July 2021
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210725163331/https://www.br.de/fernsehen/ard-alpha/sendungen/alpha-forum/heide-simonis-sendung-100.html
| url-status = live
}}
| url = https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/inland/heide-simonis-war-eine-der-herausragendsten-frauen-der-nachkriegszeit-19029813.html
| title = "Eine der herausragendsten Frauen der Nachkriegszeit"
| newspaper = FAZ
| agency = dpa
| date = 12 July 2023
| language = de
| access-date = 19 July 2023
| archive-date = 20 July 2023
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230720090228/https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/inland/heide-simonis-war-eine-der-herausragendsten-frauen-der-nachkriegszeit-19029813.html
| url-status = live
}}
| url = https://www.fembio.org/english/biography.php/woman/biography/heide-simonis/
| title = Heide Simonis
| website = fembio.org
| date = 12 July 2023
| access-date = 19 July 2023
| archive-date = 2 July 2023
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230702221636/https://www.fembio.org/english/biography.php/woman/biography/heide-simonis
| url-status = live
}}
| title = Ein Unbekannter stürzt Heide Simonis
| url = https://www.ndr.de/geschichte/chronologie/17-Maerz-2005-Ein-Unbekannter-stuerzt-Heide-Simonis,shministerpraesidentenwahl100.html
| access-date = 26 April 2022
| work = NDR
| language = de
| archive-date = 26 April 2022
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220426172334/https://www.ndr.de/geschichte/chronologie/17-Maerz-2005-Ein-Unbekannter-stuerzt-Heide-Simonis,shministerpraesidentenwahl100.html
| url-status = live
}}
| title = Heide Simonis tritt zurück
| newspaper = Der Stern
| date = 2 February 2008
| url = https://www.stern.de/panorama/gesellschaft/unicef-vorsitz-heide-simonis-tritt-zurueck-3219490.html
| language = de
| access-date = 25 July 2021
| archive-date = 15 December 2019
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191215170236/https://www.stern.de/panorama/gesellschaft/unicef-vorsitz-heide-simonis-tritt-zurueck-3219490.html
| url-status = live
}}
| title = Im Alter von 80 Jahren: Schleswig-Holsteins Ex-Ministerpräsidentin Heide Simonis ist tot
| newspaper = Der Tagesspiegel
| date = 12 July 2023
| url = https://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/im-alter-von-80-jahren-schleswig-holsteins-ex-ministerprasidentin-heide-simonis-ist-tot-10137550.html
| language = de
| access-date = 12 July 2023
| archive-date = 20 July 2023
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230720090245/https://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/im-alter-von-80-jahren-schleswig-holsteins-ex-ministerprasidentin-heide-simonis-ist-tot-10137550.html
| url-status = live
}}
| title = Heide Simonis mit 80 Jahren gestorben
| publisher = ZDF
| date = 12 July 2023
| url = https://www.zdf.de/uri/707e3281-08b5-4347-b1fd-8f9116dfccff
| language = de
| access-date = 12 July 2023
| archive-date = 20 July 2023
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230720090229/https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/politik/heide-simonis-tot-100.html
| url-status = live
}}
}}
External links
- {{official|https://www.heide-simonis.de/}} {{in lang|de}}
{{Ministers-President of Schleswig-Holstein}}
{{Social Democratic Party of Germany}}
{{Members of the 10th Bundestag}}
{{Members of the 11th Bundestag}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simonis, Heide}}
Category:20th-century German politicians
Category:20th-century German women politicians
Category:21st-century German politicians
Category:21st-century German women politicians
Category:Female members of the Bundestag
Category:Members of the Bundestag for Schleswig-Holstein
Category:Members of the Bundestag for the Social Democratic Party of Germany
Category:Members of the Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein
Category:Ministers of the Schleswig-Holstein State Government
Category:Minister-presidents of Schleswig-Holstein
Category:Politicians from the Rhine Province
Category:Politicians from Bonn
Category:Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 2nd Class
Category:Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd class
Category:University of Erlangen-Nuremberg alumni