At the state‑mourning ceremony for former Bundestag president Rita Süßmuth on Tuesday, leading German politicians will gather alongside constitutional authorities. The Saturday issue of “Tagesspiegel” reported that former chancellors Angela Merkel (CDU) and Olaf Scholz (SPD) are among the confirmed attendees.
All living successors of Süßmuth who have served as parliamentary president will be present: Wolfgang Thierse (SPD), Norbert Lammert (CDU), Bärbel Bas (SPD, Minister for Family Affairs) and Sabine Bergmann‑Pohl (CDU), who was president of the only freely elected East German People’s Chamber. Every federal minister has registered for the occasion, except construction minister Verena Hubertz (SPD), who is on maternity leave.
The ceremony will also welcome former federal ministers Klara Geywitz (SPD), Hermann Gröhe (CDU), Annegret Kramp‑Karrenbauer (CDU), Otto Schily (SPD), Johanna Wanka (CDU) and Annette Schavan (CDU). Berlin’s Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU), as well as the premiers of Mecklenburg‑Vorpommern and Brandenburg, Manuela Schwesig (SPD) and Dietmar Woidke (SPD), have pledged to attend.
Nine state‑parliament presidents are slated to participate, including Bavarian parliamentary president Ilse Aigner (CSU). Representatives of the Apostolic Nuncio and 19 embassies have also signed up, along with presidents of the Robert Koch Institute, the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM), and the German‑Polish Institute.
President Frank‑Walter Steinmeier ordered the state‑mourning ceremony. The CDU politician led the Bundestag from 1988 to 1998 and had served as federal family minister from 1985.
Steinmeier will attend the event, with Bundestag President Julia Klöckner (CDU) and Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) slated to give speeches. The presidents of the Bundesrat and the Federal Constitutional Court-Andreas Bovenschulte (SPD) and Stephan Harbarth-will also be present. At the deceased’s request, author and journalist Heribert Prantl is scheduled to deliver a speech.
The ceremony will take place in the Bundestag plenary hall at noon, preceded by an ecumenical service at St. Hedwig’s Cathedral beginning at 10 a.m.