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Federal Minister for Family Franziska Giffey (SPD) draws conclusions from the dispute about possible plagiarism in her doctoral thesis and wants to renounce her degree in the future. She announced this in a statement. She wants to continue her work as a family minister.
“In order to avoid further harm to my family, my political work and my party, I declare that the title Dr. rer.pol, which was awarded to me on February 16, 2010 by the Free University of Berlin with the general qualification ‘ magna cum laude ‘, it will be now and also effective no longer to lead in the future ”, says the message.
FU Berlin had reopened the procedure
The debate over Giffey’s doctoral thesis has been going on for months. More recently, the Free University of Berlin announced that it would reexamine the work.
The university had already verified the work once and in some cases criticized inadequate scientific work. However, these shortcomings were not assessed as serious enough for Giffey to have to give up his PhD – the FU only filed one complaint.
But in early November the university announced that it would decide again. The university announced that this was caused by an expert opinion of the lawyer Ulrich Battis, who had been commissioned by the FU to review the decision of the complaint. Another report by Bonn lawyer Klaus Gärditz, requested by the CDU parliamentary group in the Berlin House of Representatives, was also taken into account.
Both experts had concluded that the FU’s complaint to Franziska Giffey did not comply with the Berlin University Law.
In her letter to the rector of the University, Dr. Günter Ziegler emphasizes to Giffey that she is “taking note of” this decision, which was made “without the existence of new facts.” The president gave him the opportunity to comment “without giving any reason on what legal basis he is acting,” he continues.
Giffey goes on to write that “she has written her thesis to the best of her knowledge and belief. As president of the university, she told me last year that the revocation of the doctorate is not considered proportionate.” Giffey “trusted this decision.”
Giffey was planned as the main candidate in Berlin.
Giffey is running for the new Berlin SPD state chairman at the end of November, along with the leader of the parliamentary group Raed Saleh. She is also expected to become the SPD’s top candidate in the House of Representatives elections in fall 2021. The FU’s announcement that it wanted to re-examine the job had recently caused unrest in the state party. The family minister announced in 2019 that she would resign if her doctorate was revoked.
There are voices in the Berlin SPD who see Giffey’s political future in jeopardy over discussions of his doctoral thesis. With the voluntary resignation, the Social Democrat now tries to free himself. But it’s unclear whether his decision to voluntarily give up the title will actually strengthen his position.
