Dieter Althaus

Dieter Althaus

Dieter Althaus (born in Heilbad Heiligenstadt, Thuringia, on June 29, 1958) is a German politician (CDU).

Althaus was a teacher of Physics and Mathematics at the Polytechnical High School in Geismar, Thuringia, between 1983 and 1989, where he became deputy headteacher in 1987.

Since 1985 Althaus has been a member of the CDU, remaining with the party as it transformed itself from a loyal supporter of the GDR's ruling Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) to a loyal supporter of the West German party of the same name with which it merged in 1990 shortly after German unification. In 2000 he became state chairman of the CDU in Thuringia. Since 1990 he has been a member of the Thuringian parliament (Landtag).

In 1992 he became a member of Bernhard Vogel's cabinet when he became Thuringian minister of culture and education.

On 5 June 2003 he was elected minister president of Thuringia; he succeeded Bernhard Vogel, who had resigned for reasons of age. As Minister President he served as President of the Bundesrat in 2003/04.

Althaus is married to Katharina and has two children. He was involved in a skiing collision in Styria, Austria on January 1, 2009, in which he suffered severe injuries. Althaus was skiing down an expert run, when he and a 41 year old slovak woman collided at the intersection of an adjoining beginner run, upon which she had been skiing. The woman subsequently died from her injuries. Althaus was wearing a skiing helmet, while the woman was not. The local Austrian prosecutor is investigating the incident.

External links

• Template:De icon Official website