Departure from Position or Job - Rhineland-Palatinate's Minister President, Malu Dreyer, served for a span of 11 years in the political arena.
After more than a decade, it's come to an end. On a Wednesday morning, both "Spiegel" and "Die Rheinpfalz" reported simultaneously: Malu Dreyer is stepping down. She took over from Kurt Beck as Minister-President of Rhineland-Palatinate in 2013 and has won two elections since then. Initially with a red-green coalition, later with a traffic light coalition made up of SPD, Greens, and FDP, she governed – unlike at the federal level – relatively peacefully. More details will be shared at a press conference in Mainz in the afternoon.
Malu Dreyer Has Multiple Sclerosis
The Minister-President has been a member of the SPD since 1995 and is well-respected within her party. She temporarily took over as party chairwoman after Andrea Nahles' resignation in 2019, with Saskia Esken and Norbert Walter-Borjans following her.
The same year she joined the SPD, the 63-year-old native of Rhineland-Palatinate was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The Minister-President is now openly discussing her neurological illness. She told stern in February 2023: "I'm just overjoyed and incredibly grateful today that I can perform this duty as Minister-President with this disease."
According to media reports, her successor will be Alexander Schweitzer. He is currently part of Dreyer's cabinet as the Minister for Labor and Social Affairs, Transformation, and Digitalization.
Sources: "Tagesspiegel", SWR, Malu Dreyer
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After revealing her diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis in 2013, Malu Dreyer, despite her illness, continued to serve as Minister-President of Rhineland-Palatinate with the support of her SPD party. In light of her health, however, she announced her resignation, leading to speculation about her successor within the party. Kurt Beck, her predecessor, will no doubt be watching the situation closely.
