Chancellor (SPD)Born on 7 April 1944 in Mossenberg, Rural District of Detmold- 1950 Started school in Wülfer-Bexten
- 1951-1958 Elementary and middle school in Talle
- 1958 Middle school leaving certificate
- 1958-1961 Commercial apprenticeship in Lemgo
- 1962 Moved to Göttingen
- 1962-1964 Worked in a hardware store and went to night school in Göttingen
- 1964 Junior secondary school leaving certificate
- 1963 Joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany
- 1964 Enrolment at Siegerland Adult Education Secondary School, Weidenau
- 1965 Transfer to Westphalia Adult Education Secondary School, Bielefeld
- 1966 'Abitur' (general certificate of education qualifying for university entry)
- 1966-1971 Studied law at the University of Göttingen
- 1969-1970 'Juso' Chairman in Göttingen
- 1971 First State Examination in Law
- 1972-1976 Post-graduate legal training at Hanover Regional Court
- 1976 Second State Examination in Law
- 1977 Member of the SPD Executive for the District of Hanover
- 1978-1980 National Chairman of the Young Socialists in the SPD ('Jusos')
- 1978-1990 Worked as a self-employed lawyer in Hanover
- Seit 1979 Member of the SPD Party Council
- 1981 Participation in a US exchange programme for "Young Political Leaders"
- 1983-1993 Chairman of the SPD Executive for the District of Hanover
- As of 1986 Member of the SPD Party Executive
- As of 1989 Member of the SPD Presidium
- 21 June 1990 Elected Premier of the State of Lower Saxony
- 1994-29.9.1998 SPD Chairman for the State of Lower Saxony
- 1 March 1998 Proposed as SPD candidate for the office of Chancellor
- 17 April 1998 Officially nominated as candidate for the office of Chancellor at the SPD National Party Conference in Leipzig
- 27 September 1998 With Gerhard Schröder as its leading candidate the SPD received 40.9% of the vote in the general election for the 14th German Bundestag and the largest number of seats (298).
- 27 October 1998 Elected Chancellor by the German Bundestag
- 12 April 1999 Elected National Chairman of the SPD.