Günther Krause

Günther Krause (born 3 September 1953) is a German engineer, academic, politician and businessman. After the Peaceful Revolution, he entered politics, serving in the Volkskammer and as a senior adviser to Minister-President Lothar de Maizière. In that role, he was a co-signatory to the Unification Treaty. After German reunification, he was elected to the Bundestag and served in various roles in the Helmut Kohl government. He first served as minister for special affairs from 1990 to 1991 and then as minister of transport from 1991 to 1993. He resigned from the office due to numerous scandals. Legal problems and scandals followed after his career in politics, earning him the nickname Sause-Krause.[2]

Günther Krause
Bundesminister a. D.[1]
Krause in 1990
Minister of Transport
In office
18 January 1991 – 6 May 1993
ChancellorHelmut Kohl
Preceded byFriedrich Zimmermann
Succeeded byMatthias Wissmann
Minister of Post and Telecommunications
Interim
In office
17 December 1992 – 22 January 1993
ChancellorHelmut Kohl
Preceded byChristian Schwarz-Schilling
Succeeded byWolfgang Bötsch
Minister for Special Affairs
In office
3 October 1990 – 17 January 1991
ChancellorHelmut Kohl
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byOffice abolished
Leader of the Christian Democratic Union in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
In office
3 March 1990 – May 1993
General Secretary
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byAngela Merkel
Wende politically career (1990)
State Secretary in the Minister-President's Office
In office
12 April 1990 – 3 October 1990
Minister-PresidentLothar de Maizière
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byOffice abolished
Leader of the CDU/DA group in the Volkskammer
In office
10 April 1990 – 2 October 1990
Preceded byLothar de Maizière
Succeeded byAlfred Dregger (as Leader of the CDU/CSU/DSU group in the Bundestag
Member of the Volkskammer for Rostock
In office
5 April 1990 – 2 October 1990
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Member of the Bundestag for Wismar – Gadebusch – Grevesmühlen – Doberan – Bützow Volkskammer; 1990
In office
3 October 1990 – 10 November 1994
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded byHans-Otto Schmiedeberg
Personal details
Born (1953-09-03) 3 September 1953
Halle, Bezirk Halle, East Germany
Political partyChristian Democratic Union
Other political
affiliations		Christian Democratic Union (East Germany) (1975–1990)
Spouse
Heike Krause-Augustin
​
​
(m. 2004)​
Children3
ResidenceWerder (Havel)
Alma materWismar University of Technology, Business and Design
Occupation
  • Politician
  • Engineer
  • Academic
  • Businessman
Military service
Allegiance East Germany
Branch/service National People's Army
Years of service1972–1974

Former Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel was his protégée. As leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, he helped her garner the nomination in her constituency. Merkel succeeded him as leader after he resigned.

Early life and education

Krause is a native of Güstrow near Mecklenburg, East Germany.[3] He was born on 3 September 1953 in Halle.[4][5] He received a PhD in engineering from Wismar University of Technology, Business and Design in 1987.[4]

Career and activities

Krause joined the Christian Democratic Union of East Germany in 1975.[4][6] He worked as an engineer on computerized planning in housing in Rostock.[4] In 1982, he began to work at his alma mater, Wismar Technology University,[4] and was promoted to the professorship in computer science.[5] Then he became the CDU state chairman from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.[7] He served as state secretary and the chief reunification negotiator for East Germany's only freely elected government headed by Lothar de Maizière.[8][9] Krause was also his senior advisor.[10] The Unification Treaty was signed by West German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schauble and Krause on 31 August 1990.[9][5]

Following the reunification of West and East Germany Krause served at the Bundestag and in its committee on research and technology.[3] He was appointed minister of transport on 18 January 1991 in the fourth Kohl cabinet.[10] He was the most prominent eastern German politician in the government[3][8] and one of the three ministers from East Germany in addition to Angela Merkel (CDU; Minister for Women and Youth) and Rainer Ortleb (FDP; Minister of Education).[11] Krause resigned from the office on 6 May 1993 after his alleged involvement in scandals,[8][12] and was replaced by Matthias Wissmann, another CDU member, in the post.[6] Krause was the eighth minister to quit the Kohl cabinet in the past 13 months.[13]

In 1993, Krause resigned from politics and public office and began to deal with business.[5] As of 2010, he headed a company on information, advice and project development that is based in Kirchmöser, a district of Brandenburg.[5] Later, Krause was targeted by the judiciary due to the insolvency of his company and was sentenced to imprisonment and suspended sentences. He also lived in a luxury mansion without pay for over a year and was involved in other cheating scandals, such as an unreturned kitchen purchase.[14][15][16]

In 2020, he entered the 14th season of the TV reality show, Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier raus!, the German version of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, filmed in Australia, but had to withdraw for medical reasons after one day.[17]

Personal life

Krause married twice and has six children, three from the previous marriage.[5] He lives in Admannshagen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern with his second wife.[5]

References
  1. Bundesminister a. D. = former federal minister
  2. ""Sause-Krause" fährt ein". Die Tageszeitung (in German). 24 December 2002. p. 16.
  3. "Quiet engineer heads German research". New Scientist. No. 1874. 22 May 1993.
  4. "Günther Krause". Munzinger-Archiv. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  5. "Günther Krause: Wir machen aus Hausmüll Erdöl". Focus (in German). Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  6. "Germany" (PDF). Omega Centre. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  7. "Angela Merkel: from physics to politics". Deutsche Welle. 8 March 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  8. "Transport Chief Quits Under Fire in Germany". The New York Times. 7 May 1993. p. 7.
  9. "Unification Treaty is Signed Without Reference to Nazi Era". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 4 September 1990. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  10. "Germany's New Cabinet Is Finalized". Chicago Tribune. 17 January 1991. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  11. Jürgen Weber (2004). Germany 1945-1990. Budapest: Central European University Press. p. 253. ISBN 978-963-9241-70-1.
  12. Steve Crawshaw (7 May 1993). "Scandal-hit CDU minister resigns: An east German leader moved house once too often". The Independent. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  13. Hanna W. Maull (26 May 1993). "The Grandchildren Need New Politics". The New York Times. Trier. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  14. "Kurz vermeldet: 14. April 2009". verkehrsrundschau.de (in German). 14 April 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  15. Gunther Latsch (7 March 2010). "(S+) Auferstanden aus Ruinen". Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  16. Norbert Koch-Klaucke (19 January 2020). "Das Schuldendrama von Günther Krause". Berliner Zeitung.
  17. "Ex-Bundesminister Günther Krause muss das Camp verlassen". RTL News (in German). 11 January 2020.
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