Harald Ringstorff

Who is Harald Ringstorff?

Harald Ringstorff is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party and was minister-president of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. He headed a coalition government of the SPD and PDS from 1998 until 2006, and subsequently headed a coalition between the SPD and CDU. He was the President of the German Bundesrat, serving for the term 2006/07.

After his Abitur and military service, Ringstorff studied Chemistry at the University of Rostock. He received his Ph.D. in 1969. Afterwards he worked as a chemist for the Rostock dockyards. From 1987 to 1990 he was director of the branch office of the VEB Kali-Chemie.

In 1989 Ringstorff was a founding member of the Social Democratic Party in the GDR and a member of the freely elected Volkskammer of 1990. From 1990 to 2003 he was chairman of the SPD in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Since 1990 Ringstorff has been a member of the Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern where he served as parliamentary leader of the SPD from 1990–1994 and 1996-1998. In between he was Minister for Economic and European Affairs and vice-minister-president in a coalition government with the CDU under minister-president Berndt Seite.