2008 in Germany

Events from the year 2008 in Germany.

Incumbents

Federal level

*President – Horst Köhler
*Chancellor – Angela Merkel

tate level

*Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg – Günther Oettinger
*Minister-President of Bavaria – Günther Beckstein
*Governing mayor of Berlin – Klaus Wowereit
*First mayor of Bremen – Jens Böhrnsen
*Minister-President of Brandenburg – Matthias Platzeck
*First mayor of Hamburg – Ole von Beust
*Minister-President of Hesse – Roland Koch
*Minister-President of Lower Saxony – Christian Wulff
*Minister-President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern – Harald Ringstorff
*Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia – Jürgen Rüttgers
*Minister-President of Rhineland-Palatinate – Kurt Beck
*Minister-President of the Saarland – Peter Müller
*Minister-President of Saxony – Georg Milbradt
*Minister-President of Saxony-Anhalt – Wolfgang Böhmer
*Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein – Peter Harry Carstensen
*Minister-President of Thuringia – Dieter Althaus

Events

Whole year

*Year of Mathematics - initiative of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research [cite web|url=http://www.jahr-der-mathematik.de|title=Das Jahr der Mathematik - Wissenschaftsjahr 2008|language=German]

January

*1 January - Deutsche Post loses its monopoly on mail under 50 grams following EU legislation. [cite web |title=Companies vie for German mail delivery |url=http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/aug2007/gb2007082_647870.htm?chan=globalbiz_europe+index+page_top+stories |work=Businessweek.com |date=2007-08-02]
*1 January - Berlin, Cologne and Hanover introduce restrictions on cars without suitable catalytic converters or diesel particulate filters. More cities will follow during the year. [cite web |title=German Cities Ring in New Year With Clean Air Campaign |url=http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,3031262,00.html?maca=en-tagesschau_englisch-335-rdf-mp |work=Deutsche Welle |date=2008-01-01]
*1 January - Eight states introduce a smoking ban in public places, including restaurants and bars. Three states imposed similar bans in 2007 and the remaining five states will follow later in the year. [cite web |title=German States to Ring in 2008 with Smoking Ban |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,525980,00.html |work=Der Spiegel |date=2007-12-31]
*1 January - A telecommunications data retention law came into force, requiring German telecommunications services and Internet providers to store telephone and Internet data for up to six months.
*3 January - Arrest warrants are issued for Brigitte Mohnhaupt and Knut Folkerts, two members of the left-wing terrorist group Red Army Faction in relation to the 1977 assassination of federal prosecutor Siegfried Buback. [cite web |url=http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3036499,00.html |title=Judge Issues Arrest Warrants for Former RAF Terrorists |work=Deutsche Welle |date=2008-01-03] .
*15 January - The federal government announces that the government budget for 2007 has been balanced and government debt has not increased — for the first time since 1969. [cite web |url=http://www.zeit.de/news/artikel/2008/01/15/2456309.xml |title=Erster ausgeglichener Haushalt seit 1969 |work=Die Zeit |language=German |date=2008-01-15]
*15 January - Mobile phone manufacturer Nokia announces the closure of its factory in Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia, scrapping its 2300-strong workforce. Nokia, having received approximately 88 million euros in subsidies from the German and NRW governments for the Bochum facility, plans to relocate to Romania where the labour costs are cheaper and millions in EU subsidies are available. [cite web |url=http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3063626,00.html |title=Politicians Accuse Nokia of Abusing German, EU Subsidies |work=Deutsche Welle |date=2008-01-16 |accessdate=2008-01-18]
*21 January - Black Monday - The DAX falls 523.98 points (-7.16%), the biggest fall since 2001-09-11.
*27 January - State election in Lower Saxony - The ruling CDU/FDP coalition under Christian Wulff is returned to office, although with a reduced majority. The Left receive 7.1% of the vote and enter the Lower Saxon parliament for the first time.
*27 January - State election in Hesse - The ruling CDU/FDP coalition under Roland Koch loses its majority in the Hessian parliament, with the CDU losing 12% in comparison to the previous election in 2003. The preferred opposition coalition of SPD and Greens under Andrea Ypsilanti also fails to reach a majority. Coalition negotiations begin. The Left receive 5.1% of the vote and narrowly cross the 5%-threshold required to enter the Hessian parliament for the first time.

February

*3 February - Nine Turkish residents die in house fire in Ludwigshafen, [cite web |title=Germany fire victims remembered|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7237630.stm |work=BBC News |date=2008-02-10] leading to concern within the Turkish community. [cite web |url=http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3112847,00.html |title=Fire Sets German-Turkish Race Relations on Edge |work=Deutsche Welle |date=2008-02-07] .
*14 February - The home and office of Klaus Zumwinkel, CEO of Deutsche Post, is searched by police investigating tax evasion. [cite web |title=Authorities Investigating Deutsche Post CEO for Tax Evasion|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,535230,00.html|work=Der Spiegel |date=2008-02-14] . Zumwinkel resigns on the following day. [cite web |title=Deutsche Post boss set to resign|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7246397.stm |work=BBC News |date=2008-02-15] The raid on Zumwinkel is the first after it became known to the government that billions of euros have been diverted into a bank in Liechtenstein by around 900 wealthy Germans. [cite web |title=The Liechtenstein Connection|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,535768,00.html|work=Der Spiegel |date=2008-02-16]
*14 February - The Wallraf-Richartz Museum in Cologne announces that they recently discovered that the Monet painting "On the Banks of the Seine by Port Villez", which has been in the museum's possession since 1954, is a forgery. [cite web |title=Monet painting in Cologne museum found to be forged |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/02/14/arts/EU-A-E-ART-Germany-Fake-Monet.php|work=International Herald Tribune |date=2008-02-14]
*24 February - State election in Hamburg

March

*2 March - Local elections in Bavaria [cite web |url=http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3163121,00.html |title=Merkel Allies Lose Status in Bavarian Municipal Polls|work=Deutsche Welle |date=2008-03-03] .
*27 March - Plans scraps to build the Transrapid high-speed monorail link between the Bavarian capital Munich and its airport because of a massive overrun in costs [cite web |url=http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3219174,00.html |title=Germany Scraps Transrapid Rail Plans|work=Deutsche Welle |date=2008-03-27] .

May

* 19-30 May - 9th UN Convention on Biological Diversity in Bonn
*25 May - Local elections in Schleswig-Holstein

June

*25 June - German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung "(pictured)" announces a troop increase of the country's contingent in Afghanistan to 4,500, yet refuses to move the soldiers to areas where they would be more likely to be involved in direct combat. [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/25/world/europe/25german.html?_r=1&ref=europe (NYT)] - 2008-06-25

August

*31 August - Dresdner Bank was paid for 9.8 Milliarden Euro to Commerzbank [ [http://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/0,1518,575476,00.html Spiegelonline] ]

eptember

* 1 September - Since 1 September 2008 foreigner, which want to receive German nationality have to answer a test with 33 questions in german language. [http://newsticker.sueddeutsche.de/list/id/154898 Sueddeutsche] - 2008-09-01
* 26 September - German Bundestag decided that german parents will have since 2013 a right to give their children, which are older than one year, to a Kindergarten or Pre-school playgroup. The States of Germany have to built enough Kindergarten/Pre-school playgroup for this right of parents (Work-life balance). [http://www.n-tv.de/Meilenstein_fuer_deutsche_Kinder_Recht_auf_Betreuung/260920083511/1029130.html n-tv] - 2008-09-26
* 28 September - State election in Bavaria: The CSU lost his own mayority after 46 years in Landtag. [http://www.n-tv.de/Koalitionspartner_noetig_Fiasko_fuer_die_CSU/280920085818/1030029.html n-tv] - 2008-09-28

Arts & Literature

*July - Loveparade in Dortmund
*25-27 July - Force Attack music festival in Behnkenhagen, near Rostock
*27 July and 9 August - Klassik Open Air in Nuremberg
*31 July - 2 August - Wacken Open Air in Wacken
*6-8 June - Rock am Ring Music festival at the Nürburgring
*20 September - 5 October - 175th Oktoberfest in Munich

Film

*7-17 February - 58th Berlin International Film Festival.
*31 March - Premiere of The Red Baron (film) in Berlin. [cite web |title=German war film challenges taboo|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7324877.stm |work=BBC News |date=2008-04-01]

Television

port

*17-27 January - 2008 European Men's Handball Championship in Norway - world champions Germany finish fourth.
*7-9 March - 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Valencia, Spain
*13-24 March - European LC Championships 2008 in Eindhoven, Netherlands
*2-18 May - 2008 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships in Canada
*April - 2008 World Fencing Championships in Beijing, PR China
*7-29 June - UEFA Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland
*16-21 June - Special Olympics National Games in Karlsruhe
*20 July - German Grand Prix at the Hockenheimring
*8-24 August - 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, PR China. "See Germany at the 2008 Summer Olympics"
*6-17 September - 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, PR China

Future and scheduled events

*12-25 November - 38th Chess Olympiad in Dresden. [cite web |url=http://f0246.futris02.de/cms/cms/english/ |title=Chess Olympiad Dresden 2008]
*2-14 December - 2008 European Women's Handball Championship in Macedonia

Deaths

*2 January - Günter Schubert, actor (b. 1938)
*3 January - Werner Dollinger, former federal minister, co-founder of the CSU (b. 1918)
*7 January - Detlef Kraus, pianist (b. 1919)

References