Werner Gustav Schulz (22 January 1950 – 9 November 2022) was a German politician of

Alliance '90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (, ), often simply referred to as Greens (, ), is a Green (politics), green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of the Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (formed in East Ger ...

. Trained in food technology at the

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

, he worked as a research assistant. He was an activist for peace ecology and human rights in several oppositional groups from the 1970s. He lost his university job in 1980 when he protested against the

Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until it dissolved in 1991. During its existence, it was the largest country by are ...

. In the

Peaceful Revolution The Peaceful Revolution () – also, in German called ' (, "the turning point") – was one of the peaceful revolutions of 1989 at the peak of the collapse of the Eastern Bloc in the late 1980s. A process of sociopolitical change that led to, am ...

, he was in 1989 a founding member of the

New Forum New Forum () was a political movement in East Germany formed in the months leading up to the collapse of the East German state. It was founded on 9 September 1989 and was the first independent (non- National Front) political movement to be rec ...

, representing the group at the

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. He was elected to the first freely elected

Volkskammer The Volkskammer (, "People's Chamber") was the supreme power organ of East Germany. It was the only branch of government in the state, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs were subservient to it. The Volkskammer was initia ...

. After German reunification, he was a member of the German

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 ...

from 1990 to 2005, and a

member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

(MEP) from 2009 to 2014.

Early life and career

Schulz was born in

Zwickau Zwickau (; ) is the fourth-largest city of Saxony, Germany, after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz, with around 88,000 inhabitants,. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ''Zwickauer Mulde''; progression: ), ...

, then part 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 ...

, on 22 January 1950. He grew up there, the son of an independent haulage contractor and former professional officer from a social-democratic dominated family. From 1964 to 1968, he attended the . His father recommended him not to join the Young Pioneers. Schulz received a degree in food technology at the

in 1974. From 1974 he worked as a research assistant at the university. He was dismissed in 1980 because he protested against the

Soviet invasion of Afghanistan The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until it dissolved in 1991. During its existence, it was the largest country by are ...

. He then worked as a research assistant at the Institut für Sekundärrohstoffwirtschaft, dealing with recycling technology. From 1988, he directed the department ''Umwelthygiene'' of the Kreishygieneinspektion Berlin-Lichtenberg.

Political career

Schulz was active from the beginning in the Protestant church movements for peace, ecology and human rights. He was an activist in several oppositional groups from the 1970s, and a member of the Friedenskreis Pankow from 1982. During the

, he was a founding member of the

in 1989, representing the group at the

and contributing to its constitution. Schulz became a member of the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

in Germany, elected to the first freely elected

in 1990, where he served from March to October 1990 as speaker of his party. After the reunification of Germany, he was a member of the

until 2005, as his party's CEO in parliament (''Parlamentarischer Geschäftsführer'') from the beginning and its economic speaker from 1998. In April 1998, Schulz ran for mayor of

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

. With 8.2 percent of the vote, he came fourth in the first round of voting. Schulz did not run in the second round; instead

Wolfgang Tiefensee Wolfgang Tiefensee (born 4 January 1955) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He was the Federal Minister for Transport, Building and Urban Development in the grand coalition cabinet led by Angela Merkel between 2005 an ...

of the SPD was elected. When

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

Gerhard Schröder Gerhard Fritz Kurt Schröder (; born 7 April 1944) is a German former politician and Lobbying, lobbyist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. From 1999 to 2004, he was also the Leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (S ...

engineered the loss of a

no-confidence vote A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fit ...

in Parliament and asked President

Horst Köhler Horst Köhler (; 22 February 1943 – 1 February 2025) was a German politician who served as President of Germany from 2004 to 2010. As the candidate of the two Christian Democratic sister parties, the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, CDU ...

to allow an early vote in 2005, Schulz and Jelena Hoffmann of Schröder's Social Democrats filed a complaint before the

Federal Constitutional Court The Federal Constitutional Court ( ; abbreviated: ) is the supreme constitutional court for the Federal Republic of Germany, established by the constitution or Basic Law () of Germany. Since its inception with the beginning of the post-W ...

against the dissolution of parliament.Court hears complaints about Schröder's election moves
''

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'', 10 August 2005. His speech was honoured as the Speech of the Year by the seminar of rhetoric of the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

, with the jury saying that he used his limited time for a concise analysis and personal confession, although it was not immediately successful. Schulz was vice president of the council of the

Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship The Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship (, alternatively translated as "(Federal) Foundation for the Study of Communist Dictatorship in East Germany") is a government-funded organisation established in 1998 by the German ...

from 2003 to 2008, and a member of the board of the

Deutscher Evangelischer Kirchentag The German Protestant Church Assembly ( German ''Deutscher Evangelischer Kirchentag'', DEKT) is an assembly of lay members of the Protestant Church in Germany, that organises biennial events of faith, culture and political discussion. History ...

from 2003 to 2009. In 2009, he was a founding member, together with

Christian Führer Christian (5 March 1943 – 30 June 2014) was a Protestant pastor and one of the leading figures and organisers of the 1989 Monday demonstrations in East Germany which finally led to German reunification and the end of the GDR in 1990. Life ...

and Friedrich Schorlemmer, and a member of the board of the ''Stiftung Friedliche Revolution'' (Foundation Peaceful Revolution) in Leipzig. In a political come-back, Schulz became a

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

in 2009. He served until 2014, as vice chair of the delegation to the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee, as a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and as a member of the parliament's delegation to the

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from 2012 to 2014, among others.

Personal life

Schulz was married and the couple had two children. The family lived in the

Boitzenburger Land Boitzenburger Land is a municipality in the Uckermark district, in Brandenburg, Germany. Geography The municipality, with an area of one of largest in Germany, is located in the northeastern part of Brandenburg, close to the border with the stat ...

in Brandenburg, where he founded a support association for his church parish. Schulz died from a heart attack in Berlin on 9 November 2022, at age 72. He had been scheduled to speak at a memorial event at Schloss Bellevue where he collapsed.

Recognition

Schulz was awarded the

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

in 2015; President

Joachim Gauck Joachim Wilhelm Gauck (; born 24 January 1940) is a German politician who served as President of Germany from 2012 to 2017. A former Lutheran pastor, he came to prominence as an anti-communist civil rights activist in East Germany. During the P ...

honoured him and others who had worked towards a united Germany on

German Unity Day German Unity Day (, ) is the national day of Germany, celebrated on 3 October as a public holiday. It commemorates German Reunification in 1990 when the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) joined the Federal Republic of Germany (West Ger ...

. In 2022, he was awarded the . Ex-President Gauck described Schulz as "a tireless fighter for a policy based on democratic values".

Publications

* *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schulz, Werner 1950 births 2022 deaths Alliance 90/The Greens MEPs German civil rights activists Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Members of the Bundestag 1994–1998 Members of the Bundestag 2002–2005 Members of the Bundestag for Alliance 90/The Greens Members of the Bundestag for Berlin Members of the Bundestag for Saxony Members of the European Parliament for Germany MEPs for Germany 2009–2014 Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany People from Zwickau