Christina Rau

Christina Rau (née Delius; 30 October 1956) is the widow of Johannes Rau, President of Germany from 1999–2004.

Christina Rau
Christina Rau in 2002
Spouse of the President of Germany
In role 1 July 1999 – 30 June 2004
President	Johannes Rau
Preceded by	Christiane Herzog
Succeeded by	Eva Köhler
Personal details
Born	Christina Delius (1956-10-30) 30 October 1956 (age 68) Bielefeld, West Germany
Political party	Social Democratic Party of Germany
Spouse	Johannes Rau ​ ​ (m. 1982; died 2006)​
Relations	Uta Ranke-Heinemann (aunt)
Children	3
Alma mater	University College of Wales King's College London

Early life

Rau is the maternal granddaughter of former President Gustav Heinemann. Her father was Eduard Delius (1921–2014), part in a long line of entrepreneurs in the textile industry of the Westphalian city of Bielefeld while her mother was Christa Heinemann (1929–2016), a daughter of the former President. Through her mother, Rau is the niece of theologian Uta Ranke-Heinemann. She attended boarding school in Switzerland (Hochalpines Institut Ftan) and the United Kingdom (Gordonstoun in Scotland, where Prince Andrew was a contemporary). Subsequently, she studied political science, economics and history at the University College of Wales and at King's College London.

Wedding

On 9 August 1982, she married Johannes Rau, 25 years her senior and a long-time friend of the Heinemann family, who was at that time the Prime Minister of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Activities

She was the patron of :

• UNICEF Germany,
• the Müttergenesungswerk,
• the Bundesverband der Organtransplantierten,
• the Deutsche Kinder- und Jugendstiftung
• the Red Cross Youth of Germany.

Honours

Foreign Honours

•  Austria: Grand Cross of the Order of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria^[1]
•  Estonia: First Class of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana^[2]
•  Iceland: Grand Cross of the Order of the Falcon^[3]
•  Latvia: Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Three Stars
•  Spain: Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic^[4]
•  Sweden: Member Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star^[5]

References

1. "Reply to a parliamentary question about the Decoration of Honour" (PDF) (in German). p. 1654.
2. Estonian Presidency Website (Estonian), Estonian State Decorations, Christina Rau
3. Icelandic Presidency Website (Icelandic), Order of the Falcon, Johannes & Christina Rau Archived 1 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine, 1 July 2003, Grand Cross with Collar & Grand Cross respectively
4. Boletín Oficial del Estado
5. "State banquet hosted by the King of Sweden in honour of President Rau and Mrs. Rau (Image)". Imago-images.com. 8 May 2003.

External links

• Björn Engholm: Die First Lady, Spiegel Special 5/1999]
• "Anne Will: Die Gäste im Studio, Sendung vom 17.01.2010, 21.45 Uhr: Christina Rau, Kindernothilfe-Botschafterin" (in German). Bayerischer Rundfunk. Archived from the original on 29 March 2010. Retrieved 19 October 2010.