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Hannelore Kraft (née Külzhammer, 12 June 1961) is a German politician. She served as the Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia from 2010 until 2017. Kraft was the first woman to serve as head of government of this state and was the third woman to become head of a state government in Germany. Between 1 November 2010 and 31 October 2011, she was the President of the Bundesrat, again the first woman to hold the office.see Liste der Präsidenten des deutschen Bundesrates She is the former leader of the SPD North Rhine-Westphalia and served on the SPD's federal executive from November 2009 until May 2017, and was one of the four federal deputy chairs. spd.de , accessed 10 May 2010
On 24 April 2001, she replaced Detlev Samland as Minister for Federal and European Affairs, and then under Minister-President Peer Steinbrück, served from 12 November 2002 until 31 May 2005 as Minister for Science and Research.
Kraft was a SPD delegate to the Federal Convention for the purpose of electing the President of Germany in 2004, 2009, 2010 and 2012.
On 13 November 2009, Kraft was elected as one of the four vice chairs of the federal SPD under chairman Sigmar Gabriel, receiving the highest overall vote. A party congress in February 2010 affirmed that she was the SPD's candidate for Minister-President at the May 2010 state election. SPD in NRW feiert ihre Spitzenkandidatin Kraft (SPD in NRW celebrates its top candidate Kraft), Die Welt (online edition), 26 February 2010
After many parallel negotiations and various coalitions, Kraft was elected Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia on 14 July 2010 on the second ballot with a sufficient majority of votes, coming from the SPD and Alliance 90/The Greens, while the Left Party abstained. Kraft formed a minority government with ministers of Social Democrats and Greens. "Kraft ist neue Ministerpräsidentin in NRW", Zeit Online, 07-2010. It was the first time in Germany that a coalition has attempted to rule one of the 16 federal states without a proper majority,Quentin Peel (26 September 2011), Politics: Minority government confounds sceptics Financial Times. with the only exception being a red–green alliance governing Berlin for some months in 2001–2002 without a majority. For nearly two years, Kraft ruled the state without a regular majority, pulling votes for each initiative from opposition parties on the right or the left.Nicholas Kulish (11 May 2012), In Germany's Most Populous State, a Regional Leader Rises to Challenge Merkel The New York Times. Together with the deputy governor, Sylvia Löhrmann from the Green Party, Kraft dubbed her government the "invitation coalition".Melissa Eddy (7 March 2013), Women Finding Their Way in German Politics The New York Times.
After decades of ideological rivalry in the state over the structure of secondary schools, both Kraft and Löhrmann later succeeded in negotiating a cross-party agreement with the centre-right Christian Democratic Union that is to ensure peace until 2023.Quentin Peel (26 September 2011), Politics: Minority government confounds sceptics Financial Times.
Kraft got attention for a eulogy she gave after a stampede killed 21 people at the Love Parade music festival in July 2010, less than two weeks after she became state premier. When she gave her speech at a memorial ceremony, she spoke of the hours she spent waiting to hear from her son, who was at the event, unsure if he was injured or unharmed, alive or dead.Nicholas Kulish (11 May 2012), In Germany's Most Populous State, a Regional Leader Rises to Challenge Merkel The New York Times.
In October 2010, Kraft was elected President of the Bundesrat, according to the customary rotation of the presidency between the Bundesländer. She assumed office on 1 November 2010, becoming the first female office holder, remaining in office until 31 October 2011.
At an SPD convention in Berlin in December 2011, Kraft was confirmed in her vice-chairmanship by 97 percent of party members, the best result for a board member.Arne Delfs and Patrick Donahue (11 September 2013), Germany's Second-Most Powerful Woman Takes on Merkel Bloomberg.
Krafts failure to get her 2012 budget plans passed after a court ruled a supplementary budget for 2010 unconstitutional forced her to call an early election and left her exposed to charges of fiscal incompetence.Stephen Brown and Madeline Chambers (14 May 2012), Could heartland victory help Kraft to Berlin? Reuters. Kraft had hoped to win backing from the opposition FDP for the budget but their long-standing objections were not overcome in time for the vote. German state faces snap election after gov't defeat Reuters, 14 March 2012.
Soon after the May 2012 elections, Kraft placed third in a Der Spiegel poll among German politicians right after Chancellor Angela Merkel and the new federal president, Joachim Gauck, and ahead of any other politician in the SPD including Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who lost to Merkel in 2009, and party chairman Sigmar Gabriel.Erik Kirschbaum (1 July 2012), Rising star helps SPD gain on Merkel in German poll Reuters.Delamaide, Darrell, "Merkel's Dutch ally feels impact of backlash", MarketWatch, 5 July 2012. Kraft/SPD's strength was put in the context of Dutch Socialist Party leader Emile Roemer's simultaneously growing strength in opposition before September 2012 elections; of Socialist Francois Hollande's May 2012 victory in France; of Radical Left Alexis Tsipras' strength in spring 2012 Greek elections; and of 2013 German national elections. Retrieved 6 July 2012. This vaulted Kraft into the top rank of German politicians, prompting speculation that she might be the strongest contender to lead the party against Merkel and potentially succeed her as chancellor.Nicholas Kulish (13 May 2012), In Rebuke to Merkel's Party, Social Democrats Win German Vote The New York Times.Melissa Eddy (7 March 2013), Women Finding Their Way in German Politics The New York Times. However, she soon announced that she did not want to become the SPD's candidate for chancellor, preferring instead to stay in her home state for the five-year term she had just won.Charles Hawley (27 September 2012), Letter from Berlin: SPD Still Looking for a Leader to Challenge Merkel Spiegel Online.
In 2013, Kraft initially opposed national SPD leaders who opted to join Merkel as junior partner for the second time.Tony Czuczka and Rainer Buergin (25 September 2013), Merkel Allies Hold Out on Coalition Talks in German Waiting Game Bloomberg.Birgit Jennen (7 May 2014), Rust-Belt Rebel Kraft Leads German Charge Against Merkel Bloomberg. However, she subsequently was part of the SPD team led by Sigmar Gabriel, which led the negotiations towards forming a new German government with Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU/CSU bloc.Quentin Peel (30 September 2013), German coalition talks to start on Friday Financial Times. She headed the SPD's delegation in the energy working group and vocally defended the coal industry, which has a sizeable presence in her state; her co-chair from the CDU/CSU was Peter Altmaier.Annika Breidthardt and Gernot Heller (26 October 2013), Germany may see higher tax revenues, could play role in talks Reuters.
In 2014, Kraft's government plans record spending of 62 billion euros ($85 billion) while trimming the deficit by a quarter to 2.4 billion euros.Birgit Jennen (7 May 2014), Rust-Belt Rebel Kraft Leads German Charge Against Merkel Bloomberg. At the same time, she has repeatedly criticized Merkel's austerity policies during the debt crisis.Birgit Jennen (7 May 2014), Rust-Belt Rebel Kraft Leads German Charge Against Merkel Bloomberg.
In March 2014, Kraft hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping in Duisburg as he visited the last stop on the Yuxinou Railway between Europe and Asia. China-Europe route is new 'silk road' Taipei Times, 31 March 2014.
Following her party's loss in the 2017 state elections, Kraft remained a member of the State Parliament where she currently serves on the Committee on Sports. NRW-Landtag Neue Posten für Ex-Landesminister Kölner Stadtanzeiger, 11 July 2017. She also joined the supervisory board of RAG AG. In 2019, her official portrait – a photograph made by Jim Rakete – was unveiled to the public.Klas Libuda (22 March 2019), Mit Rakete in die Kunstgeschichte Rheinische Post. In 2020, she announced her intention not to run again in the 2022 state elections. Hannelore Kraft will nicht mehr kandidieren Die Welt, 4 February 2020.
With 2014 marking the centenary of the start of World War I, Kraft inaugurated a memorial for the Armistice Day in Ablain-Saint-Nazaire alongside French President François Hollande and German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen, as well as British and Belgian officials.Natalie Muller (11 November 2014), Hollande, von der Leyen, Europe observe Armistice Day Deutsche Welle.
On 26 March 2015, Kraft joined Merkel, Hollande and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of Spain at the crash site of Germanwings Flight 9525 in the Massif des Trois-Évêchés for a memorial; North Rhine-Westphalia was the state where the plane was headed and many of the 144 passengers lived. One day later, she and Germany's President Joachim Gauck attended a memorial service in the western town of Haltern for 16 students and two teachers from the local high school who were killed in the crash.
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