Historical Figures

Resignation after 598 days:Christian Wulff's short tenure

On February 17, 2012, Federal President Christian Wulff announced his immediate resignation as head of state. A personal loan and a scandalous phone call had brought him down. Review of the shortest term in office of a German head of state.

by Nils Hartung

Even the start is bumpy. It was only in the third ballot, after about nine hours, that Christian Wulff had an absolute majority in the Federal Assembly. The opposition has nominated the non-party Joachim Gauck - the SPD and Greens candidate, who is later to succeed Wulff, also gets numerous votes from the CDU/CSU and FDP camp. "There were certainly many unfortunate circumstances in which one rushed from party politics to this office after Horst Köhler's resignation," said Wulff in retrospect in an interview with NDR.de 2020.

Integration - Topic found

In October 2010, Wulff then gives the speech that is to become the symbol of his presidency. "Islam is now also a part of Germany," he said in his speech on the 20th anniversary of German reunification in Bremen -- thereby triggering a broad social discussion. Something that goes unnoticed:Almost simultaneously, he calls on the country's Muslims to step up their efforts with regard to their integration in Germany. It seems that Wulff has found his topic. But soon completely different topics will come to the fore.

Wulff affair:from a single-family home to a bobby car

It all started in December 2011 with the first reports of a loan for a single-family home in Großburgwedel near Hanover. Three years earlier, when Wulff was Prime Minister of Lower Saxony, the wife of an entrepreneur friend of his from Osnabrück granted him a private loan of 500,000 euros to buy the house. When asked in the Lower Saxony state parliament about his relationship with the entrepreneur, Wulff conceals the credit.

"The Rubicon has been crossed"

When he got wind that "Bild" was researching the subject and announced reporting, Wulff called the then editor-in-chief of the tabloid, Kai Diekmann, on December 12, 2011. Diekmann doesn't answer his cell phone - the famous message follows in his mailbox. "The Rubicon has been crossed," was one of the quotes from the angry call. Wulff later states that he was only concerned with the timing of the publication - not with the reporting itself. The "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" publishes an article about the phone call. The German press landscape is raging.

The pressure on the President is growing

What follows is an almost endless flood of reports and comments about the alleged interference with the freedom of the press, vacation trips to the homes of business friends and the free use of automobiles. At some point, even a free bobby car is up for debate. The media pressure is increasing. Wulff comments in writing and regrets not having mentioned the controversial loan in the state parliament. He apologizes to Diekmann for the message on the mailbox. But it's already too late.

Christian Wulff resigns - debate about the honorary pay

The beginning of the end is the initiation of investigations against Wulff on suspicion of corruption. The public prosecutor's office in Hanover applied for his immunity to be lifted - one day later, on February 17, 2012, Wulff resigned as Federal President.

The next debate immediately ignited on the subject of money:Should Wulff get the honorary pay intended for former Federal Presidents? The Office of the Federal President decides that the reasons for his resignation were of a political nature - a controversial interpretation. Quite a few see personal reasons as decisive and doubt that the combination of reasons for resignation and a very short term of office justify an honorary salary. But Wulff gets the money, around 240,000 euros per year, for life.

Criminal trial against ex-head of state ends with acquittal

On November 14, 2013, the trial against Wulff for accepting an advantage before the district court in Hanover begins:the first criminal trial against a former German head of state in the history of the Federal Republic - including huge media interest.

He had not responded to an offer from the public prosecutor's office after the investigation had been completed to discontinue the proceedings against payment of a condition of 20,000 euros. Wulff also rejects the judge's offer to stop the process against conditions. He wants a "flawless acquittal". And gets him:A good two years after his resignation, the district court acquits him. He is rehabilitated - at least legally.

Friendships and family? No questions please!

There were also turbulent years privately:first the divorce, later reconciliation and then the renewed separation from Bettina Wulff. The end of the home stories in glossy and the headlines in colorful letters. The former favorite couple of the German tabloids no longer exist. Years later, Wulff is self-critical:"If there's one thing I really learned at the time, it's that I no longer get involved with private matters, friendships, relationships, family matters," he told NDR 2020, ten years after he was elected the youngest Federal President.

Christian Wulff is patron and lawyer today...

It's getting quiet around the man from Osnabrück, who seems to have closed the chapter. Today, Wulff is again working as a lawyer with a law firm in Hamburg and has taken on several honorary patronages - for example as President of the German Choir Association and patron of the German Multiple Sclerosis Society. "In the meantime, I'm glad that the content of the term of office has come to the fore again and not everything is overlaid by the last few weeks of the term of office," said Wulff in retrospect.

... and honorary citizen of Osnabrück

Elsewhere, too, the political legacy of former Federal President Wulff is once again in focus. In April 2022 he will be awarded the Lower Saxony State Medal for his services by the incumbent Prime Minister of Lower Saxony, Stephan Weil (SPD). During Wulff's time as Prime Minister, he shaped state politics for a decade and a half and left deep marks in the state that are still visible today, says Weil. The city of Osnabrück awarded Wulff, who was born there, honorary citizenship at the end of June 2022. In his laudation, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier particularly emphasized the former head of state's statement that "Islam is now also part of Germany". , in which there were debates with many racist and anti-Muslim undertones.