Annette Schavan

Annette Schavan
Annette Schavan in 2008
Federal Minister of Education and Research Germany
Incumbent
Assumed office November 22, 2005
Preceded by	Edelgard Bulmahn
Minister of Education, Youth and Sports of Baden-Württemberg
In office July 19, 1995 – October 5, 2005
Preceded by	Marianne Schultz-Hector
Succeeded by	Helmut Rau
Personal details
Born	June 10, 1955 (1955-06-10) Jüchen, Germany
Nationality	Germany
Political party	Christian Democratic Union (CDU)
Alma mater	University of Bonn University of Düsseldorf
Religion	Roman Catholic
Website	Annette-Schavan.de

 Annette Schavan (born June 10, 1955 in Jüchen) is a German politician (CDU). She has been the Federal Minister of Education and Research since November 22, 2005.

From 1995-2005, she served as the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. During this time, she oversaw school education in Baden-Württemberg, and started a controversy when she disallowed a Muslim teacher to wear a head scarf in school, since that was seen as a religious symbol, while allowing Catholic nuns to wear their traditional habit. This was done on the accepted pretext that the cassocks of nuns and monks have an official function, while a Moslem headscarf demonstrates the unwillingness to integrate with and accept the society of a country that one has chosen to live in for material reasons in preference to one's own.

Schavan was under discussion to become the Christian Democrats' candidate for Germany's presidency in 2004, but Horst Köhler was nominated and elected. In 2005 she tried to succeed Erwin Teufel as Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg, but she was defeated by her rival Günther Oettinger (also CDU) in the internal elections of the CDU.

As a public figure, her seclusive private life remains an enigma and has been subject to speculation. In 2006 she received the Else Mayer Award.

External links

Media related to Annette Schavan at Wikimedia Commons

• Official Site of Annette Schavan