Gerhard Schröder

Gerhard Fritz Kurt "Gerd" Schröder (German: [ˈɡeːɐ̯haʁt fʁɪts kʊʁt ˈʃʁøːdɐ] ; born 7 April 1944) is a German lobbyist and former politician, who was the chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. From 1999 to 2004, he was also the Leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). As chancellor, he led a coalition government of the SPD and Alliance 90/The Greens. Since leaving public office, Schröder has worked for Russian state-owned energy companies, including Nord Stream AG, Rosneft, and Gazprom.Schröder was a lawyer before becoming a full-time politician, and he was Minister President of Lower Saxony (1990–1998) before becoming chancellor. Following the 2005 federal election, which his party lost, and after three weeks of negotiations, he stood down as chancellor in favour of Angela Merkel of the rival Christian Democratic Union. He was chairman of the board of Nord Stream AG and of Rosneft but in 2022 resigned from the latter and opted not to join the board of Russian state-run gas company Gazprom. He also had roles as a global manager for investment bank Rothschild, and as chairman of the board of football club Hannover 96.

After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Schröder was criticized for his policies towards Vladimir Putin's government, his work for Russian state-owned companies, and his lobbying on behalf of Russia. On 1 March 2022, Schröder's entire staff including long-time office manager Albrecht Funk resigned due to Schröder's alliances with Russia and Putin directly. On 8 March 2022 the Public Prosecutor General initiated proceedings related to accusations against Schröder of complicity in crimes against humanity due to his role in Russian state-owned corporations. The CDU/CSU group demanded that Schröder be included in the European Union sanctions against individuals with ties to the Russian government.On 9 March 2022, the SPD initiated proceedings to expel Schröder by early 2023. A party arbitration committee ruled that he had not violated any party rules and would remain a member of the party.