Sabine Bergmann-Pohl (née Schulz; ; born 20 April 1946) is a German doctor and politician. A member of the

Christian Democratic Union of Germany The Christian Democratic Union of Germany ( , CDU ) is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is the major party of the centre-right in German politics. Friedrich Merz has been federal chairman of the CDU since 31 ...

(CDU), she was

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the People's Chamber of

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

from April to October 1990. During this time, she was also the interim head of state of East Germany, holding both posts until the state's merger into

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

in October. She was the youngest, only female and the last head of state of East Germany. After the

reunification of Germany German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the German Democratic Republic and the integration of i ...

, she served in the government of Chancellor

Helmut Kohl Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as chancellor of Germany and governed the ''Federal Republic'' from 1982 to 1998. He was leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to ...

, first as Minister for Special Affairs, one of five appointed in October 1990 to provide representation for the last East German government in the Kohl cabinet, then as Parliamentary State Secretary in the Ministry of Health for the remainder of Chancellor Kohl's time in office.

Early life and education

She was born Sabine Schulz in

Eisenach Eisenach () is a Town#Germany, town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia, and bordering northeastern Hesse, Hessian re ...

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

. After leaving

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

in 1964, Bergmann-Pohl was initially not admitted to university and entered a two-year internship at the Institute of Forensic Medicine at

Humboldt University The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public university, public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III of Prussia, Frederick W ...

East Berlin East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...

. In 1966, she began to study

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

and graduated in 1972 with a diploma in medicine. From 1979, she worked as a

lung The lungs are the primary Organ (biology), organs of the respiratory system in many animals, including humans. In mammals and most other tetrapods, two lungs are located near the Vertebral column, backbone on either side of the heart. Their ...

specialist and in 1980, earned a medical doctorate. From 1980 to 1985, she was medical director of the polyclinic department for lung diseases and

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

in Berlin-Friedrichshain. From 1985 to 1990, she was medical director at the District Office for lung diseases and tuberculosis in

. In 1990, Bergmann-Pohl was made Patron of the General Disabled Persons in Germany (ABID eV). In 2003, she became President of the Berlin

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

and a member of the Presidium of the International Federation, where she has served as vice president since 2007.

Political career

In 1981, she joined the East German CDU, one of the bloc parties of the GDR, and in 1987 was elected to the district board in

. In the general election of March 1990, the only free and fair election ever held in East Germany, she was elected to the People's Chamber, which on 5 April elected her its president. On the same day, parliament also abolished the State Council, the country's collective presidency. Under the Constitution, the president of the People's Chamber was ex officio vice president of the GDR; as such, Bergmann-Pohl assumed the role of interim head of state as well. In that role, she presided over the People's Chamber formally petitioning to join the Federal Republic of Germany on 23 August, as well as the overwhelming approval of the unification treaty on 12 September. After

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

on 3 October 1990, she became a member of the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

and, along with other leading members of the last East German government, was also appointed Federal Minister for Special Affairs in Chancellor

's cabinet. After the 1990 all-German election, she was appointed Parliamentary Secretary in the Federal Ministry for Health on 18 January 1991. Following her party's defeat in the 1998 election, she departed from the government on 27 October 1998 but remained in the Bundestag until 2002.

Personal life

Sabine Bergmann-Pohl was married to Ulrich Pohl from 1972 to 1979. They had two children. Since 1990 she is married to Jürgen Bergmann. She is a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

.Biografie. Sabine Bergmann
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Offices

;Parliamentary mandates *Member of the People's Chamber of the GDR (1990) **President of the People's Chamber (1990) *Member of the German Bundestag (1990–2002) ;Government Offices *Federal Minister for Special Affairs (1990–1991) *Parliamentary State Secretary in the Ministry of Health (1991–1998)

Writings

*''Frequency of a history and clinical findings of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in childhood, their relationship to lung function and determination of reference values for the ventilation and distribution parameters on Pneumotestgerät. Results of a school investigation''. Dissertation Academy for Medical Training of East Berlin, 1981, Berlin-Karow, 1976. *''Farewell without tears. Looking back at the year of the Unification. Recorded by Dietrich von Thadden''. Ullstein, Berlin – Frankfurt/Main, 1991 *Sabine Bergmann-Pohl & Paul B. Wink (ed.): ''Panel Discussion 1953-1989: Germany on the way to unity and freedom on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the uprising in East Germany on 17 June 2003 at the Academy of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Berlin'', Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Berlin 2004 *Sabine Bergmann-Pohl & Wilhelm Staudacher (ed.): ''"The cry for freedom." The Hungarian Revolution of 1956'', Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Berlin 2007

References

External links

Profile at Bundestag.de
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bergmann-Pohl, Sabine 1946 births Christian Democratic Union (East Germany) politicians East German women Female heads of state Female members of the Bundestag Female members of the Volkskammer German Protestants Federal government ministers of Germany Leaders of East Germany Presidents of the Volkskammer Living people Members of the Bundestag for Berlin Members of the Bundestag 1998–2002 Members of the Bundestag 1994–1998 Members of the Bundestag 1990–1994 Members of the Bundestag 1987–1990 Members of the 10th Volkskammer People from Eisenach Women federal government ministers of Germany Members of the Bundestag for the Christian Democratic Union of Germany 21st-century German women politicians First women presidents Women presidents in Europe 20th-century women presidents