Heide Simonis
Heide Simonis | |
|---|---|
Simonis in 2009 | |
| Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein | |
| In office 19 March 1993 – 27 April 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Björn Engholm |
| Succeeded by | Peter Harry Carstensen |
| Schleswig-Holstein Minister of Finance | |
| In office 5 May 1988 – 19 March 1993 | |
| Preceded by | Roger Asmussen |
| Succeeded by | Claus Möller |
| Member of the Bundestag | |
| In office 3 October 1976 – 8 June 1988 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Heide Steinhardt 4 July 1943 Bonn, Greater German Reich |
| Died | 12 July 2023 (aged 80) Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany |
| Political party | Social Democratic |
| Education | |
Heide Simonis (German: [ˈhaɪdə ziˈmoːnɪs]; 4 July 1943 – 12 July 2023) was a German author and politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). She was minister of finance in Schleswig-Holstein from 1988 until 1993, when she became minister-president of Schleswig-Holstein. She was the first woman to serve as head of a state government in German history and the only woman to do so in the 20th century, serving until 2005. As of 2025, she is the longest serving former minister-president of Schleswig-Holstein and also the longest serving former female minister-president of all German states (11 years, 343 days).