Heide Simonis
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Heide Simonis (born July 4, 1943 in Bonn as Heide Steinhardt) is a German politician. She is a member of the SPD.
She was Minister President of Schleswig-Holstein from 1993 to 2005, the first woman to hold this post in Germany's history.
On March 17, 2005 Simonis failed to be reelected as Minister President of Schleswig-Holstein in 4 consecutive ballots by the Landtag (parliament) of Schleswig-Holstein. In the 1st ballot she received 34 votes and Peter Harry Carstensen (CDU) received 33 while 2 deputies cast empty votes. Neither Simonis nor Carstensen got the absolute majority (35 votes). In the 2nd and 3rd ballot the candidates received 34 votes each. Obviously one deputy of the alliance of SPD, Grüne (Greens) and SSW abstained. An unprecedented 4th ballot brought the same result. Simonis has since stepped down as Minister President of Schleswig-Holstein.
Currently she serves as Chief of the German UNICEF.
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