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{{unreferenced|date=January 2012}}
{{Infobox_President
| name =Johannes Rau
| nationality =German
| image =Johannes rau 2004-05-16 berlin-RZ.jpg|
| order =8th [[President of Germany]]
| term_start =1 July 1999
| term_end =30 June 2004
| vicepresident =
| predecessor =[[Roman Herzog]]
| successor =[[Horst Köhler]]
| birth_date =16 January 1931
| birth_place =[[File:Flag of Germany (3-2 aspect ratio).svg|25px]] [[Wuppertal]], [[Weimar Republic|Germany]]
| death_date ={{death date and age|2006|1|27|1931|1|16}}
| death_place =[[File:Flag of Germany.svg|25px]] [[Berlin]], Germany
| party =[[SPD]]
| spouse =[[Christina Rau]]
| profession =[[Journalist]]
| religion =
}}


'''Johannes Rau''' (16 January 1931, [[Wuppertal]] – 27 January 2006, [[Berlin]]) was a German politician of the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|SPD]]. He was the eighth [[President of Germany|President of the Federal Republic of Germany]] from 1 July 1999 until 30 June 2004 and [[minister president]] of [[North Rhine-Westphalia]] from 1978 to 1998.

== Education and work ==
He was born in [[Barmen]], [[Wuppertal]]. His family was [[Protestant]], and he was active in the [[Confessing Church]], a part of the German Protestant Church which was against [[Nazism]].

Rau left school in 1949 and worked as a journalist and publisher.

== Political biography ==
Rau was a member of the [[All-German People's Party]] (GVP), which was founded by [[Gustav Heinemann]], who also became a president of Germany. This party only existed from 1952 until 1957.

In 1958 Rau and Heinemann joined the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany]] (SDP), where he was active in the [[Wuppertal]] branch. He served on the City Council (1964-1978), where he was as chairman of the SDP Group (1964-1967) and later as Mayor (1969-1970).

In 1958 Rau was elected a member of the ''Landtag'' (state parliament) of [[North Rhine-Westphalia]]. In 1967 he became chairman of the SPD group in the Landtag, and in 1970 Minister of Science and Education in the cabinet of [[Minister President]] [[Heinz Kühn]]. He founded five universities in North Rhine-Westphalia during the 1970s. He also started Germany's first [[distance learning]] university at [[Hagen]] (modelled on the ''[[Open University]]'' in Britain).

In 1978 Rau became Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia, where he remained until 1998, winning four elections for the SPD, which became biggest party in the Landtag each time and gained an absolute majority three times, in 1980, 1985, 1990 and finally 1995. From 1995 onwards, Rau led an SPD-[[Alliance '90/The Greens|Greens]] coalition in NRW.

In 1987 Rau tried to become chancellor of Germany for the SPD, but lost to [[Helmut Kohl]]'s [[Christian Democratic Union of Germany|Christian Democrats]] (CDU). In 1994 Rau tried for the first time to become Federal President, but lost to [[Roman Herzog]].

Rau twice served as President of the [[Bundesrat of Germany|Bundesrat]] in 1982/83 and 1994/95, and was deputy for the Federal President. In 1998 Rau stepped down from his positions as SPD Chairman and Minister President, and on 23 May 1999, was elected [[President of Germany|Federal President]] by the [[Federal Assembly of Germany]] to succeed [[Roman Herzog]] (CDU). On 1 July 2004, he was succeeded by [[Horst Köhler]].

In 2000 Rau was the first German head of state since the [[Holocaust]] to address the [[Knesset]], the [[Israel]]i parliament, in German. Some Israeli delegates to walked out, but Israeli President [[Moshe Katsav]] supported and praised him for bridging the gap between the two states.

Following a long history of heart disease, he died a few days after his 75th birthday.

[[File:Rau grab.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Rau's grave on the day of his burial.]]
[[File:Johannes Rau 2002.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Johannes Rau at [[Schloss Bellevue]] in 2002.]]

== Private life ==
Johannes Rau was a practising [[Christian]].{{cn|date=January 2012}} He was sometimes called {{lang-de|Bruder Johannes}}, "Brother John", to make fun of his strong Christian belief; but, he sometimes used this term himself.

On 9 August 1982 he married the political scientist Christina Delius (born 1956). Christina Rau is a granddaughter of [[Gustav Heinemann]], former [[President of Germany]]. The couple had three children: Anna Christina, born 1983, Philip Immanuel, born 1985 and Laura Helene, born 1986.

After leaving office, Rau lived with his family in the federal capital [[Berlin]]. However, they also kept a house in [[Wuppertal]].

Johannes Rau died on 27 January 2006 in Berlin of [[heart disease]].

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[[Category:1931 births]]
[[Category:2006 deaths]]
[[Category:German Lutherans]]
[[Category:German mayors]]
[[Category:Ministers-President of North Rhine-Westphalia]]
[[Category:Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]]
[[Category:Politicians from Wuppertal]]
[[Category:Presidents of Germany]]