Biography of Matthias Platzeck

Matthias Platzeck was born in Potsdam on December 29,1953. His father was a physician and his mother a medical technician. From 1960 to 1972 he attended school in Potsdam and Kleinmachnow and sat for his Abitur (A-level) at a special grammar school ( today Weinberg grammar school).After his military service in the National People's Army of the German Democratic Republic he began his studies at the University of Technology of Ilmenau,which he finished in 1979 as a graduate engineer of biomedical cybernetics. From 1982 to 1990 he was scientific officer at the Institute for Hygiene in Karl-Marx-Stadt (today Chemnitz).From 1982 to 1990 he was head of the department for environmental hygiene at the agency for hygiene in Potsdam.In 1989 he was one of the founding members of the Grüne Liga association and attended the nationwide roundtable talks of the GDR in Berlin. On June 6,1995 Matthias Platzeck joined the Social Democratic Party (SPD)and in 1998 he was elected to a regional party executive and in 1999 to a federal board. From November 15, 2005 to April 10, 2006 he was party chairman of the SPD.From 1990 to 1998 Matthias Platzeck was Minister for Environment,Nature Conservation and Regional Planning. He became popular nationwide for organizing public support for the affected population during a flood of the Oder River in 1997. From1998 to 2002 he was Lord Mayor of Potsdam and he campaigned for the rebuilding of the municipal palace. Since 2002 he has been Minister President of Brandenburg. On July 1, 2002 he joined the support group to rebuild Sankt-Marien-Andrews -Church in Rathenow.

Translated by Christine Holweger

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