Germany's
government and main opposition parties expressed their support for Lutheran
pastor Joachim Gauck to become the country's next president. A majority of
Germans have also expressed their support for him.
When called
on to label his political tendencies, Joachim Gauck leans on the Polish
philosopher and describes himself as either a leftist liberal conservative or a
conservative liberal leftist and not a member of any German party but hardly
apolitical.
The
Christian Social Union, the Bavarian sister party to Chancellor Angela Merkel's
Christian Democratic Union, would have liked to have made Gauck president back
in 1999, but the former East German civil rights activist and lawyer declined
to run.
Dedicated
to freedom
Having
lived under the dictatorship of East Germany and been forced to look on as his
father was shipped to a Soviet gulag for four years, Gauck has dedicated his
life to promoting freedom. Upon German reunification, he became the federal commissioner
for the Stasi Archives and played a key role in investigating crimes committed
by the East German communist regime.
 |
| Wulff beat out Gauck, seated, for the president's office in 2010 |
Born on
January 24, 1940, in the middle of World War Two, in the northern city of
Rostock, he said his father's deportation to Siberia in 1951 on charges of
espionage played a key role in his decision to become involved in politics.
Due to his
family background and because he was not a member of the official East German
socialist youth association, Gauck was denied the opportunity to study German
language and literature at university and took up theology in 1958. In 1965 he
began work as a Lutheran pastor.
Though he
would later say that at this point in his life he was critical of the East
German government but not dissident, he would still have to become accustomed
to being under constant observation by the secret police.
When the
church took on a central role in promoting democracy in the former East Germany
in 1989, it was Gauck who helped lead the popular movement New Forum in Rostock
and who held the religious ceremonies that often preceded large-scale
demonstrations on the streets of East German cities.
In March
1990, he was chosen as a New Forum representative in the East German
legislature, where he served until reunification and the chamber's dissolution.
Short
political career
Upon
reunification he took on the role of investigating the crime of the East German
secret police, the Stasi, for what would later become known as the Federal
Commission for the Stasi Archives.
 |
| Gauck took on responsibility for the Stasi Archive |
After two
terms in office, Gauck handed over responsibility for the Stasi archive to
Marianne Birthler in 2000. Since then he has not occupied public office, but
has regularly been discussed as a presidential candidate each time one has been
appointed since 1999.
Gauck's
role investigating the Stasi has made him unpopular in some parts of the Left
party, a successor the former East German communist party. When he ultimately
lost out on being appointed president to Wulff in 2010, Left party leader
Gesine Lötzsch called Gauck a "man of the past" who did not "set
a path for the future."
Well
respected
While the
Left party has consistently refused to support Gauck's candidacy for the
president's office, Germany's other parties have regularly expressed their backing
for him.
 |
| This man was not along in supporting Gauck |
In 2010,
the opposition Social Democratic Party and the Greens pushed for hi to be
appointed president rather than ultimate winner Christian Wulff, who won the
position in the third round of voting.
During the
two days of tense discussions following Wulff's resignation, Gauck was the only
person to receive the support of the FDP, the junior partner in Merkel's
governing coalition, as well as the SPD and Greens.
Gauck also
enjoys the support of the German population. Two polls published Sunday showed
voters would like to see Gauck move into Bellevue Palace, the president's
official residence. Surveys conducted by Emnid and Infratest dimap both found
public support to be highest for Gauck.
The Emnid
poll also found that 79 percent of those surveyed said they wanted a president
who is not currently politically active.
Author: Michael Gessat /sms
Editor: Andrew Bowen
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