Susanne Kastner (born 11 December 1946 in

Karlstadt am Main Karlstadt (), also called Karlstadt am Main, is a town in the Main-Spessart in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. It is the administrative centre of Main-Spessart (''Kreisstadt''), and has a popula ...

, Bavaria) of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

is a German politician who was one of the Vice-Presidents of the Bundestag from 2002 to 2009.

Early life

She worked as a primary and secondary school teacher and educator for in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

until 1989. She is a member of the

IG Bergbau, Chemie, Energie The IG Bergbau, Chemie, Energie (IG BCE) is a trade union in Germany. It is one of eight industrial affiliations of the German Confederation of Trade Unions (DGB). History and structure The IG BCE was created in 1997 from the merger of the Chem ...

workers union, the , the

Bavarian Red Cross The German Red Cross (GRC) ( ; DRK) is the national Red Cross Society in Germany. During the Nazi era, the German Red Cross was under the control of the Nazi Party and played a role in supporting the regime's policies, including the exclusion o ...

and the Stiftung Kinder Soforthilfe, and the chairwoman of the Rumänien-Soforthilfe e. V. and the German-Romanian Forum e. V.

Political career

She entered the Bavarian State Association of the Social Democratic Party, the BayernSPD in 1972. She was elected to 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 ...

three times from

Bad Kissingen Bad Kissingen () is a German spa town in the Bavarian region of Lower Franconia and County town, seat of the Bad Kissingen (district), district Bad Kissingen. Situated to the south of the Rhön Mountains on the Franconian Saale, Franconia ...

, the first time in May 1989. From 1998 to 2002, Kastner was the Managing Director of the SPD in the Bundestag and served as one of the Vice-Presidents of the Bundestag from October 2002 to September 2009. She retired from the Bundestag in 2013.

Personal life

Kastner, a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

Christian, is married and has three children and eight grandchildren.

Honours

Kastner has been awarded the following honours: * Honorary doctorate from Aurel-Vlaicu-University in Arad, Romania *

Bavarian Order of Merit The Bavarian Order of Merit () is the Order of Merit of the Free State of Bavaria. It is awarded by the Minister-President of Bavaria as a "recognition of outstanding contributions to the Free State of Bavaria and the Bavarian people". The or ...

German Order of Merit The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first President of the Federal Republic ...

''am Bande'' *

Honorary citizenship Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honor usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...

of the Romanian towns of Lipova and

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...

* ''Grand Office''r rank of the Romanian Order of Merit

References

Further sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kastner, Susanne Living people 1946 births Members of the Bundestag for the Social Democratic Party of Germany Female members of the Bundestag Politicians from Bavaria Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians Vice presidents of the Bundestag