Manfred Kanther

Manfred Kanther
Minister of the Interior
In office 7 July 1993 – 26 October 1998
Preceded by	Rudolf Seiters
Succeeded by	Otto Schily
Personal details
Born	(1939-05-26) 26 May 1939 Schweidnitz
Political party	CDU
Occupation	Stadtoberrechtsrat

Manfred Kanther (b. 26 May 1939 in Schweidnitz, Silesia) is a German conservative politician and was Minister of the Interior of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1993 to 1998. He has been a member of the CDU (since 1958).

Life and education

After passing his Abitur in 1958, Kanther studied law in Marburg and Bonn, finishing in 1966. During his studies, he became a member of the fraternity Corps Guestphalia Marburg (today called Corps Guestphalia et Suevoborussia Marburg). From 1967 to 1970 Kanther held the position of Stadtoberrechtsrat in Plettenberg.

Manfred Kanther is married and has six children.

Political life

Kanther was a member of the Hessian state parliament from 1974 to 1993. In 1994, he was elected into the Bundestag as representative for Hanau ballot. He re-entered the Bundestag in 1998 via the CDU's statewide candidate ballot.

Manfred Kanther was involved in the 2000 donation scandal of the Hessian CDU and stepped down from the Bundestag in January 2000. In April 2005, Kanther was sentenced to 18 months on probation by the Landgericht Wiesbaden for acting in unfaithfulness. The Bundesgerichtshof, however, declared the sentence void in late 2006 and sent the case back to the Landgericht Wiesbaden for further hearings.