Rudolf Scharping
| Rudolf Scharping | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| German Federal Minister of Defence | |
|
In office 27 October 1998 – 18 July 2002 |
|
| Chancellor | Gerhard Schröder |
| Preceded by | Volker Rühe |
| Succeeded by | Peter Struck |
| Chairman of the SPD Parliamentary Group in the Bundestag | |
|
In office 10 November 1994 – 26 October 1998 |
|
| Chancellor | Helmut Kohl |
| Preceded by | Hans-Ulrich Klose |
| Succeeded by | Peter Struck |
| Chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Germany | |
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In office 25 June 1993 – 18 November 1995 |
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| Preceded by | Johannes Rau (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Oskar Lafontaine |
| Minister President of Rhineland-Palatinate | |
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In office 21 May 1991 – 15 October 1994 |
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| Preceded by | Carl-Ludwig Wagner |
| Succeeded by | Kurt Beck |
| Member of the German Bundestag | |
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In office 10 November 1994 – 18 October 2005 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
2 December 1947 Niederelbert, Germany |
| Political party | Social Democratic Party (1966–present) |
| Alma mater | University of Bonn |
Rudolf Albert Scharping (born 2 December 1947) is a German politician (SPD) and sports official. He was from 1991 to 1994 the 6th Minister President of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate and 1998–2002 Federal Minister of Defence. From 1993 to 1995 he was also the national chairman of the SPD. In the Bundestag election in 1994 he was candidate for chancellor. From March 1995 to May 2001 he served as chairman of the Party of European Socialists (PES).
Scharping was born in Niederelbert. He studied politics, sociology and law at the University of Bonn. He joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) in 1966.
He was a Member of the Rhineland-Palatine Parliament from 1975 to 1994. From 21 May 1991 to 15 October 1994, he was prime minister of the state.
In 1994 he ran as the SPD's candidate for German chancellor against Helmut Kohl (CDU), lost, and became leader of the opposition. His successor for the prime minister post is Kurt Beck. From 1993 to 1995, Scharping was chairman of the SPD, succeeding Björn Engholm. He was then defeated by Oskar Lafontaine in an upset vote at the federal party convent at Mannheim. He was elected as one of five vice chairmen in the same year and re-elected in 1997, 1999 and 2001. He has been member of the Bundestag since 1994. He led the SPD parliamentary group from 1994 to 1998.
In July 1999, he was considered the leading candidate to become the new Secretary General of NATO; however, he declined to be nominated for the position.
From 27 October 1998 to 18 July 2002, he served as Germany's Minister of Defence. In his period of office, the German Bundeswehr participated for the first time since 1945 in a War outside Germany in former Yugoslavia. Scharping defended the German involvement with the Hufeisenplan, which later turned out to have likely been a hoax. Parts of the German population doubted the compatibility of the military methods, for example the attacks against Yugoslavia by the NATO, with the Grundgesetz.
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