Gerhard Schröder
Chancellor of West Germany (1998–2005)
Photo: Primeminister.kz, CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons, cropped)
- 4d ago
SPD leaders push to expel Gerhard Schröder after his visit to Putin's birthday
Robin Mesarosch and Sebastian Roloff, the SPD chiefs of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, back excluding the former chancellor, while Greens co-chair Franziska Brantner demands new proceedings. The SPD Upper Palatinate district has adopted a motion calling for the same step.
- Oct 7
Merz 'deeply outraged' as Schröder joins Putin for birthday celebration in Moscow
Chancellor Friedrich Merz is 'deeply outraged' that former chancellor Gerhard Schröder celebrated Vladimir Putin's 74th birthday, a German government spokesperson said on Friday. The Kremlin said Putin had invited his 'old friend' to his home, and criticism has spread across Merz's coalition.
- Oct 2
Gerhard Schröder joins supervisory board of Russian retailer Hyperglobus
Former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder has joined the supervisory board of Hyperglobus, the supermarket operator spun off from Germany's Globus Holding in 2025.
- Aug 28
AfD pursues power in Saxony-Anhalt as election results shake CDU leadership
Following the state election in Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD is exploring governing options despite lacking a three-seat majority, while CDU leadership faces growing internal friction.
- Aug 22
Germany defeats Croatia 96-87 to claim basketball Supercup in Hamburg
Oscar da Silva scored 22 points in front of 9,583 spectators at the Barclays Arena as Germany secured its seventh Supercup title ahead of World Cup qualifiers.
- Aug 11
SPD working group demands special party conference to replace co-chairs Bas and Klingbeil
An SPD working group has called for an extraordinary party conference in autumn 2026 to replace co-chairs Bärbel Bas and Lars Klingbeil, citing the party's 12% polling low and what it calls a failed dual-role leadership structure.
- Jul 10
Conte's 'constructed Russian threat' remark at Naples rally triggers coalition rift and NATO rebuttal
The M5S leader told a joint opposition rally in Naples on 8 July that the Russian threat is 'constructed' to justify rearmament, prompting Elly Schlein's private rebuke, a formal NATO spokesperson denial, and sharp exchanges on Italian television.
- Jul 4
US envoys Witkoff and Kushner urge compromise in Kyiv after Moscow talks with Putin
US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Sunday following a meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow, urging both sides to compromise as the war threatens to continue into winter.
- Jun 30
Angela Merkel unveils official portrait with a surprising absence: her signature hand gesture
Five years after leaving office, Angela Merkel finally unveiled her official chancellor portrait, painted by a previously unknown 28-year-old artist, and conspicuously missing the 'Merkel-Raute' hand gesture she was famous for.
- Jun 24
Merkel sits for first female portrait in German Chancellery's leaders' gallery, painted by unknown 28-year-old
Five years after her 16-year tenure ended, Angela Merkel has had her official portrait painted for the Chancellery's 'Gallery of Ancestors', becoming the first woman to join the line of post-war German chancellors.
- Jun 9
Niedersachsen launches 'Das ist groß' rebrand with Schröder and Scorpions, polls show 63–80% dislike
The German state of Lower Saxony unveiled a €10 million image campaign featuring NBA star Dennis Schröder and the Scorpions' 'Wind of Change', but online polls show up to 80% of respondents calling the new slogan uncreative.
- May 28
EU foreign ministers reject special envoy for Ukraine talks as Kallas warns of Russian 'trap'
At an informal meeting in Limassol, Cyprus, EU foreign ministers decided against appointing a chief negotiator for Ukraine peace talks, with foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas cautioning that Moscow is trying to dictate who speaks for Europe.
