Harald Ringstorff (25 September 1939 – 19 November 2020) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (

SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been t ...

) and the 3rd

Minister President A minister-president or minister president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments with a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government where they preside over the council of ministers. I ...

of the state of

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; nds, Mäkelborg-Vörpommern), also known by its anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ranks 14th in po ...

. He headed a coalition government of the SPD and

PDS PD, P.D., or Pd may refer to: Arts and media * ''People's Democracy'' (newspaper), weekly organ of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) * ''The Plain Dealer'', a Cleveland, Ohio, US newspaper * Post Diaspora, a time frame in the ''Honorverse'' ...

(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 Germany, the President of the Bundesrat or President of the Federal Council (German: ''Bundesratspräsident'') is the chairperson (speaker) of the Bundesrat (Federal Council). The president is elected by the Bundesrat for a term of one year ...

in 2006/07. After his Abitur and

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job ( volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require ...

, Ringstorff studied Chemistry at the

University of Rostock The University of Rostock (german: link=no, Universität Rostock) is a public university located in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Founded in 1419, it is the third-oldest university in Germany. It is the oldest university in continen ...

. He received his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

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"). In 1989 Ringstorff was a founding member of the Social Democratic Party in the GDR and a member of the freely elected

Volkskammer __NOTOC__ The Volkskammer (, ''People's Chamber'') was the unicameral legislature of the German Democratic Republic (colloquially known as East Germany). The Volkskammer was initially the lower house of a bicameral legislature. The upper house w ...

of 1990. From 1990 to 2003 he was chairman of the SPD in

. Since 1990 Ringstorff has been a member of the

Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern The Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is the people's representative body or the state parliament of the German federal state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Thus it is also a constitutional body of the state. The Landtag convenes in Schwerin and curre ...

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 Berndt Seite (born 22 April 1940 in ''Hahnswalde'', Trebnitz) is a German politician. He was the 2nd minister president of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern from 1992 to 1998 and the 45th president of the German Bundesrat In Germany, the President o ...

(CDU). 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 Erwin Sellering (born 18 October 1949) is a German politician. He served as the 4th Minister President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern from 2008 to 2017. Early life and career Sellering studied law and has lived in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern since 1994, ...

. He died from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

on 19 November 2020.

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ringstorff, Harald 1939 births 2020 deaths People from Ludwigslust-Parchim Presidents of the German Bundesrat Members of the Landtag of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians People from Mecklenburg University of Rostock alumni Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 2nd Class Ministers-President of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania