Dr. Joachim Gauck
Former Federal President of Germany
Joachim Gauck was the eleventh President of the Federal Republic of Germany from 2012 to 2017. Born in Rostock in 1940 Joachim Gauck studied theology after gaining his Abitur. From 1965 to 1990 he was in the service of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg, working as a pastor for many years. Joachim Gauck became involved in the opposition in the GDR at an early age. In 1989 he was one of the founders of the New Forum and became its spokesperson in Rostock. In March 1990, Joachim Gauck entered the first freely elected GDR parliament as a member of the Alliance 90 – an amalgamation of several grassroots movements – and was elected chairman of the special committee overseeing the dissolution of the Ministry of State Security. On 3 October 1990, he was appointed Special Commissioner of the Federal Government for the files of the State Security Service relating to individuals by Federal President Richard von Weizsäcker on the recommendation of the Federal Government. From 1991 to 2000 he was the Federal Commissioner for the Files of the State Security Service of the former German Democratic Republic. From 2001 to 2004, Joachim Gauck was the German member of the Management Board of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia in Vienna. In 2003, he became the Chairman of the Association "Gegen Vergessen – Für Demokratie" (Against Oblivion – For Democracy). He has been awarded numerous honours and prizes for his work.
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