Heide Simonis
Heide Simonis (lang; 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.
Also recorded as Heide Steinhardt
Heide Simonis
Udo Grimberg · Foto: Udo Grimberg, Lizenz: Creative Commons by-sa-3.0 de · CC BY-SA 3.0 de
- Education
- * University of Kiel
- Birth Name
- Heide Steinhardt
- Born
- 4 July 1943
- Birthplace
- Bonn, Greater German Reich
- Died
- 12 July 2023
- Place of death
- Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
- Full name
- Heide Steinhardt.
- Nationality
- Germany.
- Occupation
- writer, politician, poet, political economist and finance minister.
- Honours
- Orden wider den tierischen Ernst, Golden Schlitzohr, Willy Brandt Medal and honorary citizen of Schleswig-Holstein.
- Languages
- German.
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Heide Simonis (lang; 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.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
No house-authored Note is published until its assertions and sources pass the VALÉORINE evidence contract. The documentary article remains available in full while that enrichment is being consolidated.
Documentary enrichment in progress · no unsupported statement published
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Heide Simonis. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Evidence Panel
not yet certified
- Identity
- resolved
- Independent source families
- 0
- Admitted assertions
- 0
- Open conflicts
- 0
Authority files
wikidata · Q65515 · wikipedia · Heide Simonis
In this article
Biography
Biography
Heide Simonis studied at Kiel University. The recorded working language is German. Places of work recorded in the authority are Bonn and Kiel. Positions recorded include member of the German Bundestag and member of the Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein. Distinctions recorded are Orden wider den tierischen Ernst, Golden Schlitzohr, Willy Brandt Medal and honorary citizen of Schleswig-Holstein.

Grab von Heide Simonis auf dem Kieler Südfriedhof (2024)
Verschieberix
Key facts
Key facts
• Office — Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein • Predecessor — Björn Engholm • Successor — Peter Harry Carstensen • Term End — 27 April 2005 • Term Start — 19 March 1993 • Education — * University of Kiel • University of Erlangen–Nuremberg • Party — Social Democratic • Birth Name — Heide Steinhardt • Born — 4 July 1943 • Birthplace — Bonn, Greater German Reich • Died — 12 July 2023 • Place of death — Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany • Office2 — Schleswig-Holstein Minister of Finance • Term Start2 — 5 May 1988 • Term End2 — 19 March 1993 • Predecessor2 — Roger Asmussen • Successor2 — Claus Möller • Office3 — Member of the Bundestag • Term Start3 — 3 October 1976 • Term End3 — 8 June 1988
Early life and education
Early life and education
Born Heide Steinhardt in Bonn on 4 July 1943, she was the oldest of three sisters. She had asthma as a young child and therefore spent time in children's homes from age three. She completed school with the Abitur in 1962 in Nürnberg. She then studied economics and sociology at the universities of Erlangen-Nürnberg and Kiel, graduating with a degree in economics in 1967. She worked in different positions after 1967, beginning as a lecturer at the University of Lusaka in Zambia. She worked with her husband for an advisory panel of the WHO in Japan on health development. She later worked as vocational counsellor at the employment office of Kiel.
National politics
National politics
Simonis joined the SPD in 1969. She was elected to the German Bundestag in 1976, representing the Rendsburg-Eckernförde district, as then the youngest member of the parliament.
State politics
State politics
• Illustration — Simonis in 2011 In 1988, Simonis was appointed minister of finance in Schleswig-Holstein by minister-president Björn Engholm. In the 1992 state elections, she became a member of the legislature of Schleswig-Holstein. On 19 May 1993, Simonis was elected minister-president of Schleswig-Holstein after her predecessor Engholm resigned due to a scandal. She was the first woman in Germany to rise to this level in government. For her first cabinet, she kept almost all of Engholm's ministers. The 1996 state elections saw the SPD representation drop to 39.8% from 46.2% in 1992, but Simonis was able to form a coalition with the Greens. In the 2000 state elections, at the height of a Christian Democratic Union's donations scandal, the SPD was able to increase its share to 43.1%. At the time, the result was also seen as marking a victory for Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who had campaigned ardently in support of Simonis. Despite basing its campaign for the 2005 elections on Simonis' popularity, the SPD suffered a heavy defeat due to the bad economic situation and its support dropped to 38.7% (for the first time in almost twenty years behind the CDU). On 17 March 2005, Simonis failed to be re-elected as minister-president of Schleswig-Holstein in four consecutive ballots by the Schleswig-Holstein Landtag. In the first ballot she received 34 votes and Peter Harry Carstensen (CDU) received 33, while two deputies cast empty votes. Neither Simonis nor Carstensen got the absolute majority (35 votes). In the second and third ballots the candidates received 34 votes each, while one deputy of the alliance of SPD, Greens, and SSW abstained. An unprecedented fourth ballot brought the same result and Simonis stepped down as minister-president of Schleswig-Holstein.
After politics
After politics
Simonis served as chairwoman of the German Committee for UNICEF from 2005 until February 2008. She resigned from this position due to a scandal related to donations to the organisation that arose during her term.
Personal life and legacy
Personal life and legacy
• Illustration — Simonis in 1970 In 1967, Simonis married Udo E. Simonis who had studied with her. He became a professor of economics, with a focus on the environment. Among her hobbies was quiltmaking. Simonis survived breast cancer. She announced in 2014 that she was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. She died at home in Kiel on 12 July 2023, at age 80. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier described her as an exceptional political personality who shaped democracy beyond Schleswig-Holstein. He noted her competence, but also humanity and empathy.
Identity
Identity
Heide Simonis is recorded as having received Orden wider den tierischen Ernst, Golden Schlitzohr and Willy Brandt Medal.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1943
Heide Simonis born at Bonn.
2023
Heide Simonis died at Kiel.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Bonn.
Birth place
Kiel.
Death place
Publications
Publications
Books by Simonis include: * * * * * * *
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Heide Simonis, revision 1361954020 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Awards
• 2014 – Honorary citizen of Schleswig-Holstein • 2018 – Willy Brandt Medal
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
Heide Simonis was recorded at birth as Heide Steinhardt. The authorities additionally record the heading Heide Steinhardt. Her recorded language was German. She married Udo Ernst Simonis. Recorded positions include member of the German Bundestag, member of the Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein and Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein. She belonged to SPD Bundestag fraction. She worked at Bonn and Kiel. Simonis received Orden wider den tierischen Ernst, Golden Schlitzohr, Willy Brandt Medal and honorary citizen of Schleswig-Holstein.
Identity and origins
Career and activity
Recognition and collections
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
38,960 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Hegemon of ThasosAuthor
- HegesanderAuthor
- Hégésippe MoreauAuthor
- HegesippusAuthor
- Heidi Andrea Restrepo RhodesAuthor
- Heidi HollandAuthor
- Heidi Lynn StaplesAuthor
- Heimito von DodererAuthor
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Heide Simonis?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.