Overview
- Federal President Frank‑Walter Steinmeier has directed a Trauerstaatsakt for Süssmuth, with the German Bundestag to host and details to follow.
- Flags were flown at half‑mast at parliament, and condolence books will open for lawmakers in the next sitting week and for the public at the Deutscher Dom from Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Süssmuth died at 88, having served as federal minister for youth, family, women and health from 1985 to 1988 and as Bundestag president from 1988 to 1998.
- Leaders across parties issued tributes, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Speaker Julia Klöckner praising her democratic leadership and Angela Merkel highlighting her candor and commitment to equality.
- Her legacy includes a destigmatizing HIV/AIDS response captured by the credo “We fight the disease, not the infected,” chairing the 2000 immigration commission that declared Germany needs immigrants, and long advocacy for women’s political participation.