Oskar Lafontaine
Chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Germany
In office 1995 – 1999
Preceded by	Rudolf Scharping
Succeeded by	Gerhard Schröder
German Minister of Finance
In office 1998 – 1999
Preceded by	Theodor Waigel
Succeeded by	Hans Eichel
Chairman of the The Left
Incumbent
Assumed office  June 16, 2007
Born	September 16, 1943 Saarlouis-Roden, Germany
Nationality	German
Political party	The Left

Oskar Lafontaine (born September 16, 1943 in Saarlouis-Roden) is a left-wing German politician and a leading member of the Left Party. ImageMetadata File history File links Oskar_Lafontaine. ... SPD redirects here. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). ... Rudolf Scharping, 2001 Rudolf Scharping (December 2, 1947 in Niederelbert) is a German politician (SPD). ...   [] (born April 7, 1944), German politician, was Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. ... The finance minister is a cabinet position in a government. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). ... Theodor Waigel (born April 22, 1939) is a German politician of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria-party. ... Hans Eichel (left) with Laurent Fabius Hans Eichel (born December 24, 1941) is a German politician (SPD), was Minister of Finance from 1999-2005. ... The Left (German: ) is a German political party that came into being as a merger of The Left Party. ... The incumbent, in politics, is the current holder of a political office. ... is the 167th day of the year (168th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... // 1400 - Owain Glyndŵr declared Prince of Wales by his followers. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany_1933. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... The Left (German: ) is a German political party that came into being as a merger of The Left Party. ... // 1400 - Owain Glyndŵr declared Prince of Wales by his followers. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Saarlouis is a city in the Saarland, Germany, capital of the district of Saarlouis. ... “Leftism” redirects here. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A politician is an individual who is a formally recognized and active member of a government, or a person who influences the way a society is governed through an understanding of political power and group dynamics. ... The Left Party (In German: , officially with a period at the end), formerly Party of Democratic Socialism (Partei des Demokratischen Sozialismus, PDS) is a left-wing socialist political party in Germany. ...

Lafontaine's views and remarks have made him a polarizing figure in German politics; most Germans are either fond of his politics or disdain them. Some have compared Lafontaine to Edmund Stoiber; both are close to the fringes of the German political mainstream, but come from opposite ends of the political spectrum. Edmund Stoiber in Würzburg Edmund Stoiber [IPA: ˈɛtmʊnt ˈʃtɔʏbɐ] (born September 28, 1941) is a German politician, currently minister-president of the state of Bavaria and chairman of the Christian Social Union (CSU). ...

Political rise

He rose to prominence locally as mayor of Saarbrücken and became more widely known as a critic of chancellor Helmut Schmidt's support for the NATO plan to deploy Pershing II missiles in Germany. From 1985 to 1998 he served as prime minister of the Saarland. In this position he struggled to conserve the industrial base of this state which was based on steel production and coal mining with subsidies, and served as President of the Bundesrat in 1992/93. Saarbrücken [] is the capital of the Saarland Bundesland in Germany. ... The head of government in Germany has traditionally been called Kanzler (Chancellor). ... Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt (born December 23, 1918) is a German Social Democratic politician. ... NATO 2002 Summit in Prague. ... The Pershing II Missile during a test flight The MGM-31 Pershing was a solid-fueled two-stage inertially guided medium range ballistic missile used by the U.S. Armys Missile Command. ... Year 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... Location Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) Administration Country NUTS Region DEC Capital Saarbrücken Minister-President Peter Müller (CDU) Governing party CDU Votes in Bundesrat 3 (from 69) Basic statistics Area  2,569 km² (992 sq mi) Population 1,044,000 (11/2006)[1]  - Density 406 /km... The steel cable of a colliery winding tower. ... Surface coal mining in Wyoming. ... In economics, a subsidy is generally a monetary grant given by a government to lower the price faced by producers or consumers of a good, generally because it is considered to be in the public interest. ... In Germany, the President of the Bundesrat (German: Bundesratspräsident) is the bodys chairperson or speaker. ... The Bundesrat (federal council) is the representation of the 16 Federal States (Länder) of Germany at the federal level. ...

Chancellor candidacy

In the German federal election of 1990, he was the SPD's Chancellor candidate. The party was defeated due to the national euphoria following the reunification. During the campaign he was attacked with a knife by a mentally deranged woman after a speech in Cologne. His carotid artery was slashed and he remained in a critical condition for several days. The 34th German federal election, 1990 was conducted on December 2, 1990, to elect members to the Bundestag (lower house) of Germany. ... German reunification (German: ) took place on October 3, 1990, when the areas of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR, in English commonly called East Germany) were incorporated into the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, in English commonly called West Germany). The start of this reunification process is commonly referred to... For other uses, see Cologne (disambiguation). ... In human anatomy, the carotid artery is a major artery of the head and neck. ...

Political comeback

At the "Mannheim convention" in 1995, he was elected chairman of the SPD in a surprise move, replacing Rudolf Scharping. He was mainly responsible for bringing the whole political weight of the SPD to bear against Helmut Kohl and his CDU party, rejecting bipartisan cooperation that had characterized German politics for many years. Lafontaine argued that any help given to Kohl would only lengthen his unavoidable demise. Mannheim is a city in Germany. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... Rudolf Scharping, 2001 Rudolf Scharping (December 2, 1947 in Niederelbert) is a German politician (SPD). ... Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (born April 3, 1930) is a German conservative politician and statesman. ... This article needs cleanup. ...

After this strategy gave the SPD an unexpectedly clear victory at the polls in September 1998, he was appointed Federal Minister of Finance in the first government of Gerhard Schröder. Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... The Minister of Finance is the member of the Cabinet of Germany in charge of the Ministry of Finance. ...   [] (born April 7, 1944), German politician, was Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. ...

Minister of Finance

During his short tenure as Minister of Finance, Lafontaine was a main bogeyman of UK Eurosceptics, because among other things he had called for the prompt tax harmonisation of the European Union, the result of which would have been an increase in UK taxes. On March 11, 1999, he resigned from all his official and party offices, claiming "lack of cooperation" in the cabinet had become unbearable. More recently, he has become known for his attacks against the current German government in the tabloid Bild-Zeitung which is generally considered conservative. The bogeyman, boogyman, bogyman, or boogeyman, is a legendary ghostlike monster often believed in by children. ... Euroscepticism is scepticism about, or disagreement with, the purposes of the European Union, sometimes coupled with a desire to preserve national sovereignty. ... March 11 is the 70th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (71st in leap years). ... Year 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Bild-Zeitung (often abbreviated Bild, lit. ... This article deals with conservatism as a political philosophy. ...

Leaving the SPD/Formation of the Left Party

On May 24, 2005 Lafontaine left the SPD. After two weeks of speculation it was announced on June 10 that he would run as the lead candidate for the Left Party (Die Linkspartei), a coalition of the Labor and Social Justice Party (WASG), which is based in western Germany, and the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) , which is the successor to the East German communist party[1]. He joined the WASG on June 18, 2005 and was selected to head their list for the 2005 Federal Election in North Rhine-Westphalia on the same day. Moreover he also unsuccessfully contested the Saarbrücken constituency. Nevertheless, the result of the Linkspartei in the Saarland was by far the best in any of the federal states in the West of Germany. is the 144th day of the year (145th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 10 is the 161st day of the year (162nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Left Party (In German: , officially with a period at the end), formerly Party of Democratic Socialism (Partei des Demokratischen Sozialismus, PDS) is a left-wing socialist political party in Germany. ... The Labor and Social Justice Party (German: Arbeit & soziale Gerechtigkeit – Die Wahlalternative or WASG) is a new German political party. ... Party of Democratic Socialism is a political party in India; see Party of Democratic Socialism (India) the former name of a German political party; see Left Party (Germany). ... GDR redirects here. ... is the 169th day of the year (170th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... German federal elections took place on September 18, 2005 to elect the members of the 16th German Bundestag, the federal parliament of Germany. ... Coat of arms Location Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) Administration Country NUTS Region DEA Capital Düsseldorf Prime Minister Jürgen Rüttgers (CDU) Governing parties CDU / FDP Votes in Bundesrat 6 (from 69) Basic statistics Area  34,084 km² (13,160 sq mi) Population 18,033,000... Saarbrücken [] is the capital of the Saarland Bundesland in Germany. ...

Criticisms of Lafontaine

An article by Lafontaine on Erich Honecker, state and party leader of the GDR and a Saarländer like him, in the magazine Der Spiegel was criticised as laudatory by many observers. In the late 80s and early 90s he tarnished his left wing credentials with a plea for pro-business policies and a call for the reduction of the influx of Germans from Eastern Europe and asylum-seekers. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Disambiguation Page Global Depositary Receipt East Germany ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Power lines leading to a trash dump hover just overhead in El Carpio, a Nicaraguan refugee camp in Costa Rica Under international law, a refugee is a person who is outside his/her country of nationality or habitual residence; has a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her...

In 1993 the press reported alleged contacts of Lafontaine to the red-light milieu of Saarbrücken. This motivated him to formulate the most repressive press law of all the German Bundesländer. Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... Germany is a Federal Republic made up of 16 States, known in German as Länder (singular Land). ...

Education and private life

He studied physics at the Bonn University and the Saarland University from 1962 to 1969. A magnet levitating above a high-temperature superconductor demonstrates the Meissner effect. ... Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany, located about 20 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia. ... Location Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) Administration Country NUTS Region DEC Capital Saarbrücken Minister-President Peter Müller (CDU) Governing party CDU Votes in Bundesrat 3 (from 69) Basic statistics Area  2,569 km² (992 sq mi) Population 1,044,000 (11/2006)[1]  - Density 406 /km... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Stargate SG-1 episode, see 1969 (Stargate SG-1). ...

Lafontaine is married to Christa Müller who leads a campaign against genital mutiliation in Africa. They have a son, Carl Maurice, born 1997. He is a Roman Catholic. [2] Female genital cutting (FGC) refers to the excision or tissue removal of any part of the female genitalia for cultural, religious or other non-medical reasons. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Oskar Lafontaine

• (German) www.Sozialisten.de - The German Left Party
• European-Left

v • d • e Presidents of the Bundesrat (Federal Council)
Karl Arnold • Hans Ehard • Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf • Reinhold Maier • Georg August Zinn • Peter Altmeier • Kai-Uwe von Hassel • Kurt Sieveking • Willy Brandt • Wilhelm Kaisen • Franz-Josef Röder • Franz Meyers • Hans Ehard • Kurt Georg Kiesinger • Georg Diederichs • Georg August Zinn • Peter Altmeier • Helmut Lemke • Klaus Schütz • Herbert Weichmann • Franz-Josef Röder • Hans Koschnick • Heinz Kühn • Alfons Goppel • Hans Filbinger • Alfred Kubel • Albert Osswald • Bernhard Vogel • Gerhard Stoltenberg • Dietrich Stobbe • Hans-Ulrich Klose • Werner Zeyer • Hans Koschnick • Johannes Rau • Franz Josef Strauß • Lothar Späth • Ernst Albrecht • Holger Börner • Walter Wallmann • Bernhard Vogel • Björn Engholm • Walter Momper • Henning Voscherau • Alfred Gomolka • Berndt Seite • Oskar Lafontaine • Klaus Wedemeier • Johannes Rau • Edmund Stoiber • Erwin Teufel • Gerhard Schröder • Hans Eichel • Roland Koch • Kurt Biedenkopf • Kurt Beck • Klaus Wowereit • Wolfgang Böhmer • Dieter Althaus • Matthias Platzeck • Peter Harry Carstensen • Harald Ringstorff Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... The Wikimedia Commons (also called Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ... A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning larger, greater) is the modern title of the highest ranking municipal officer. ... Saarbrücken [] is the capital of the Saarland Bundesland in Germany. ... Social Democratic Party of Germany Spectral Power Density ... Rudolf Scharping, 2001 Rudolf Scharping (December 2, 1947 in Niederelbert) is a German politician (SPD). ... SPD redirects here. ...   [] (born April 7, 1944), German politician, was Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. ... The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU - Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands) is the largest conservative political party in Germany. ... Location Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) Administration Country NUTS Region DEC Capital Saarbrücken Minister-President Peter Müller (CDU) Governing party CDU Votes in Bundesrat 3 (from 69) Basic statistics Area  2,569 km² (992 sq mi) Population 1,044,000 (11/2006)[1]  - Density 406 /km... Theodor Waigel (born April 22, 1939) is a German politician of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria-party. ... The Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU – ) is a conservative political party in Germany. ... The finance minister is a cabinet position in a government. ... Hans Eichel (left) with Laurent Fabius Hans Eichel (born December 24, 1941) is a German politician (SPD), was Minister of Finance from 1999-2005. ... Roland Claus (born December 18, 1954 in Hettstedt) is a German politician and member of die Linkspartei. ... The Left Party (In German: , officially with a period at the end), formerly Party of Democratic Socialism (Partei des Demokratischen Sozialismus, PDS) is a left-wing socialist political party in Germany. ... In Germany, the President of the Bundesrat (German: Bundesratspräsident) is the bodys chairperson or speaker. ... The Bundesrat (federal council) is the representation of the 16 Federal States (Länder) of Germany at the federal level. ... Karl Arnold (March 21, 1901 – June 29, 1958) was a German politician. ... Hans Ehard (born 10 November 1887 in Bamberg; died 18 October 1980 in Munich) was a German lawyer and politician, a member of the Christian Social Union (CSU) party. ... Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf was First Minister of Lower Saxony from 1946 to 1955 and from 1959 to 1961. ... Thomas Dehler (October 16, 1889 in Schorndorf – August 19, 1971 in Stuttgart) was a German politician and the leader of FDP 1957–1960. ... Kai-Uwe von Hassel (b. ... Willy Brandt, born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm (December 18, 1913 - October 8, 1992), was a German politician, Chancellor of West Germany 1969 – 1974, and leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) 1964 – 1987. ... Hans Ehard (born 10 November 1887 in Bamberg; died 18 October 1980 in Munich) was a German lawyer and politician, a member of the Christian Social Union (CSU) party. ... Kurt Georg Kiesinger (April 6, 1904–March 9, 1988) was a conservative German politician and Chancellor of West Germany from 1 December 1966 until 21 October 1969. ... Klaus Schütz was a German politician and former Mayor of Berlin from 1967 to 1977, serving as President of the Bundesrat in 1967/68. ... Alfons Goppel (October 1, 1905 - December 24, 1991) was a German politician of the CSU party. ... Dr. Hans Karl Filbinger (born September 15, 1913 in Mannheim died April 1, 2007) was a conservative German politician (CDU). ... Alfred Kubel (25 May 1909, Braunschweig – 22 May 1999, Bad Pyrmont) was a German socialist politician. ... Bernhard Vogel (born December 19, 1932 in Göttingen) is a German politician (CDU). ... Gerhard Stoltenberg (September 29, 1928 - November 23, 2001) was a German politician (CDU) and minister in the cabinets of Ludwig Erhard, Kurt Georg Kiesinger and Helmut Kohl. ... Dietrich Stobbe was a German politician. ... Hans-Ulrich Klose (born June 14th, 1937 in Breslau) is a German politician from the SPD and is now [2007] member of the German Federal Diet (Bundestag). ... Johannes Rau (January 16, 1931 – January 27, 2006) was the President of Germany from July 1, 1999 until June 30, 2004. ... Dr h. ... Lothar Späth (born 16 November 1937 in Sigmaringen) is a German politician of the CDU. From 30 August 1978 to 13 January 1991 he was minister-president of Baden-Württemberg. ... Holger Börner (born February 7, 1931) is a German politician of the SPD. He was prime minister of Hesse from 1976 until 1987. ... Walter Wallmann (born 1932) was a German politician. ... Bernhard Vogel (born December 19, 1932 in Göttingen) is a German politician (CDU). ... Björn Engholm (November 9, 1939) is a German SPD politician. ... Walter Momper (born February 21, 1945 in Sulingen (near Bremen), Niedersachsen) is a German politician and former Mayor of Berlin. ... Henning Voscherau (born August 13, 1941 in Hamburg) is a German notary and Social Democratic politician. ... Alfred Gomolka (born 21 July 1942 in Wrocław) is a German politician and Member of the European Parliament for Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. ... Johannes Rau (January 16, 1931 – January 27, 2006) was the President of Germany from July 1, 1999 until June 30, 2004. ... Edmund Stoiber in Würzburg Edmund Stoiber [IPA: ˈɛtmÊŠnt ˈʃtɔʏbɐ] (born September 28, 1941) is a German politician, currently minister-president of the state of Bavaria and chairman of the Christian Social Union (CSU). ... Erwin Teufel (born September 4, 1939 in Rottweil) is a German politician of the CDU; he was minister-president of Baden-Württemberg from 1991 to 2005. ...   [] (born April 7, 1944), German politician, was Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. ... Hans Eichel (left) with Laurent Fabius Hans Eichel (born December 24, 1941) is a German politician (SPD), was Minister of Finance from 1999-2005. ... Roland Koch Roland Koch (born March 24, 1958 in Frankfurt am Main) is a German politician. ... Prof. ... Kurt Beck, 2004 Kurt Beck (* 1949 in Bad Bergzabern) is a German politician and since 1994 the prime minister of the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz). ... Klaus Wowereit Klaus Wowereit (born October 1, 1953 in Berlin) is a German politician, member of the SPD (Social Democratic Party), and mayor of Berlin since the 2001 state elections. ... Prof. ... Dieter Althaus (born in Heiligenstadt, Thuringia, on June 29, 1958) is a German politician (CDU). ... Matthias Platzeck, born 29 December 1953 in Potsdam, is a German politician. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Dr. Harald Ringstorff (born September 25, 1939 in Wittenburg) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and minister-president of the federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. ...

v • d • e Ministers-President of Saarland
Protectorate (1947-1956)	Johannes Hoffmann · Heinrich Welsch · Hubert Ney
Modern Saarland (since 1957)	Egon Reinert· Franz-Josef Röder· Werner Klumpp (interim)· Werner Zeyer· Oskar Lafontaine· Reinhard Klimmt· Peter Müller

v • d • e Chairmen of the Social Democratic Party of Germany
SPD (1890-1933)	Paul Singer/Alwin Gerisch · August Bebel/Paul Singer · August Bebel/Hugo Haase · Hugo Haase/Friedrich Ebert · Friedrich Ebert · Friedrich Ebert/Philipp Scheidemann · Otto Wels/Herman Müller · Arthur Crispien/Otto Wels/Herman Müller · Arthur Crispien/Otto Wels · Arthur Crispien/Otto Wels/Hans Vogel
SPD-in-exile (SoPaDe) (1933-1945)	Otto Wels/Hans Vogel · Hans Vogel
SPD (since 1946)	Kurt Schumacher · Erich Ollenhauer · Willy Brandt · Hans-Jochen Vogel · Björn Engholm · Johannes Rau · Rudolf Scharping · Oskar Lafontaine · Gerhard Schröder · Franz Müntefering · Matthias Platzeck · Kurt Beck