Member of the Bundestag for Saarland (North Rhine-Westphalia; 2005–2009)
In office 18 October 2005 – 1 February 2010
Preceded by
multi-member district
Succeeded by
Yvonne Ploetz
Member of the Bundestag for Saarbrücken I
In office 26 October 1998 – 16 March 1999
Preceded by
himself(1994)
Succeeded by
Gudrun Roos
In office 15 November 1994 – 17 November 1994
Preceded by
himself(1990)[a]
Succeeded by
Elke Ferner
Member of the Landtag of Saarland for Saarbrücken
In office 9 April 1985 – 9 November 1998
Preceded by
multi-member district
Succeeded by
Karin Lawall
In office 13 July 1970 – 14 July 1975
Preceded by
multi-member district
Succeeded by
multi-member district
Personal details
Born
(1943-09-16) 16 September 1943 (age 80) Saarlautern, Saarland, Nazi Germany (now Saarlouis, Germany)
Political party
Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (2024–present)
Other political affiliations
The Left (2007–2022) Labour and Social Justice – The Electoral Alternative (2005–2007) Social Democratic Party (1966–2005) Independent (2022–2024)
Spouses
Ingrid Bachert
(m. 1967; div. 1982)
Margret Müller
(m. 1982; div. 1988)
Christa Müller
(m. 1993; div. 2013)
Sahra Wagenknecht
(m. 2014)
Children
2
Residence
Merzig-Silwingen
Alma mater
Saarland University
Occupation
Politician
Publicist
Physicist
Website
Official website
Oskar Lafontaine (German pronunciation:[ˈlafɔntɛn]; born 16 September 1943) is a German politician. He served as Minister-President of the state of Saarland from 1985 to 1998, and was federal leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) from 1995 to 1999. He was the lead candidate for the SPD in the 1990 German federal election, but lost by a wide margin. He served as Minister of Finance under Chancellor Gerhard Schröder after the SPD's victory in the 1998 federal election, but resigned from both the ministry and Bundestag less than six months later, positioning himself as a popular opponent of Schröder's policies in the tabloid press.
In the lead-up to the 2005 federal election, as a reaction to Schröder's Agenda 2010 reforms, Lafontaine co-founded the left-wing party Labour and Social Justice – The Electoral Alternative. Following a merger with the Party of Democratic Socialism in June 2007, he became co-chairman of The Left. He was the lead candidate for the Saarland branch of the party in the 2009 Saarland state election where it won over 20% of the vote. He announced his resignation from all federal political functions after being diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2009.[1] He retained his position as a member of the Saarland legislature, and from May 2012 to 2022, he was the leader of the opposition in Saarland. Lafontaine resigned from the Left Party on 17 March 2022 because it was no longer an "alternative to the politics of social insecurity and inequality," he said.[2]
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
^"Rückzug als Linken-Chef". Spiegel Online (in German). 23 January 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
^"Ehemaliger Vorsitzender: Lafontaine tritt aus Linkspartei aus".
OskarLafontaine (German pronunciation: [ˈlafɔntɛn]; born 16 September 1943) is a German politician. He served as Minister-President of the state of Saarland...
including "Lafontaine" OskarLafontaine (born 1943), German politician Lafontaine, Ontario, Canada Lafontaine, Quebec, Canada LaFontaine, a provincial...
was the new Left Party, led by Gregor Gysi and former SPD chairman OskarLafontaine, which won 8.7% of votes and 54 seats. The CDU/CSU and SPD both rejected...
Hochzeit: OskarLafontaine und Sahra Wagenknecht haben geheiratet Archived 20 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine (Secret wedding: OskarLafontaine and Sahra...
a centrist candidate, in contradiction to the leftist SPD chairman OskarLafontaine. The Kohl government was hurt at the polls by slower economic growth...
Online. Retrieved 23 April 2018. GRASSMANN, PHILIP (16 November 1995). "OskarLafontaine stürzt Scharping". DIE WELT. Retrieved 23 April 2018. "Größen der Sozialdemokratie"...
his campaign, he included his long-term rivals Gerhard Schröder and OskarLafontaine in his shadow cabinet. He made social justice the centerpiece of his...
and relied on campaigning with other SPD leaders and rivals such as OskarLafontaine and Gerhard Schröder, both self-confident and outspoken, in a "troika"...
SPD, OskarLafontaine, who had fallen out with the SPD. There is a common oath in the SPD not to form coalitions with the Left, because of Lafontaine.[citation...
v t e LINKE Speaker: Gregor Gysi and OskarLafontaine Members: Aydın Bartsch Binder Bisky Bluhm Bulling-Schröter Bunge Claus Dağdelen Dehm Dreibus Enkelmann...
Bundesrat (1989–1990) Berndt Seite, President of the Bundesrat (1992) OskarLafontaine, President of the Bundesrat (1992–1993) Klaus Wedemeier, President...
chancellorship for a sixth term. The two contenders for the SPD nomination were OskarLafontaine, the party's chairman, and Gerhard Schröder, Minister-President of...
increased its support of Kohl's policies, as it feared that otherwise OskarLafontaine, a critic of NATO, might become Chancellor. Horst Teltschik, Kohl's...
included feuds surrounding the position on Afghanistan, the former leader OskarLafontaine, who advised voting against his party in the Saarland due to alleged...
v t e LINKE Speaker: Gregor Gysi and OskarLafontaine Members: Aydın Bartsch Binder Bisky Bluhm Bulling-Schröter Bunge Claus Dağdelen Dehm Dreibus Enkelmann...
elections to Roland Koch's CDU and lost his office. In March 1999, OskarLafontaine resigned as Minister of Finance in the government of Chancellor Gerhard...
Schmidt's call for a return to such virtues, Saarbrücken's SPD mayor OskarLafontaine commented that they were "perfectly suited to run a concentration camp"...
Béjarano (1924–2021), survivor of the Women's Orchestra of Auschwitz OskarLafontaine (born 1943), politician (SPD, The Left) Rainer Rupp (born 1945), spy...
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