Politicians’ affairs and plagiarism – doctoral theses under suspicion

After weeks of debates over the abolition of her PhD, Franziska Gieve (the Social Democratic Party) resigned from her position as Minister of the Family. The Social Democrat politician was accused of stealing her thesis. (Read the article about this “The minister resigns and continues.”The verdict of the doctoral thesis is still in dispute.

Helge Brown

Recently, doubts about the current Chancellery’s doctoral thesis, Helge Brown, have become public. So Justus Liebig University (JLU) in Giessen is currently reviewing the doctor’s thesis. Brown received his MD from JLU in 2007 at the age of 35. His work deals with the effect of intraoperative tachycardia (heart palpitations during operation) on postoperative diagnosis. Brown himself asked JLU to review the allegations.

Andreas Schwer

In 2014, the then Secretary-General, Andreas Scheuer, had to deal with allegations of plagiarism. He is said to have taken on several passages of text in his doctoral thesis from outside sources without tagging them properly. In 2004, Schwer received his Ph.D. acquired. This is not equivalent to a German doctoral degree. Examination of the thesis by Charles University shows: the CSU politician used three passages in the text without citing sources. However, the responsible committee does not consider this to be a “serious breach of ethical norms.” However, Scheuer declared that he no longer wanted to use his surname.

Ursula von der Leyen

In 2015, the doctoral thesis of then-defense minister, Ursula von der Leyen, was criticized. Her dissertation, written in 1990, deals with the consequences of a relaxing bath for pregnant women in “premature bladder rupture”. The Hannover Medical School discovers plagiarism, but sees no intent to deceive. The errors did not fundamentally question the scientific value of the work, that is, the outcome of their research. The university president declared, “There was no scientific misconduct. The politician is allowed to keep her title.

Silvana’s Meherin Cabin

In the spring of 2011, a doctoral thesis from former SPD Sylvana Koch was targeted by plagiarism hunters. She is also said to have copied portions of her doctoral thesis on “The Historical Monetary Union between Economics and Politics: The Latin Monetary Union 1865-1927”. After a two-month exam, Heidelberg University canceled the politician’s PhD in June 2011. According to the university, there are more than 120 items in about 80 text pages of the letter that would be classified as plagiarism. Shortly before, Koch Mehrin relinquished her positions as President of the FDP in the European Parliament, Vice President of the European Parliament and as a member of the Presidium of the FDP. You will no longer run in the next European elections.

Annette Chavan

Former Education Minister Annette Chavan (CDU) obtained a PhD through the conscience, or of everything, or more precisely: “The basic requirements, imperatives and requirements for building conscience today.”. In 2013, the University of Düsseldorf withdrew its Ph.D. Schavan had “faked” in their work. Compared to former Defense Minister Karl Theodor Gutenberg, the crimes are much milder: Chavannes plagiarized, but only in a few places is an indication of the origin of her findings completely missing. Also, there is hardly anyone denying that he brought his own knowledge in the business. Soon after withdrawing her Ph.D, she resigned. Above all, she must resign because, as Minister of Education, she is in charge of science. The Düsseldorf Administrative Court rejected your call for annulment in 2014.

Frank Walter Steinmeier

In 2013, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Today’s Federal President and former leader of the parliamentary group of the Social Democratic Party, faced plagiarism allegations raised by a university professor. Steinmeier earned his doctorate in 1991 with a dissertation on homelessness in Giessen. The university is investigating the allegations, but has decided, “There is no intent to deceive nor scientific misconduct.”

Carl Theodor Tso Gutenberg

Former Defense Minister and CSU star Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg was already serving as a candidate for the position of chancellor when the law professor made allegations of plagiarism against him publicly in February 2011. Gutenberg is said to have taken literally a number of passages without mentioning them in his doctoral thesis. Critics accuse him of copying almost everything. Initially, Gutenberg dismissed the allegations as “vague” that he had done the work to the best of his knowledge and beliefs. He later regretted this reaction, describing it as “stupid and stupid.” University of Bayreuth is canceling the Ph.D. degree. Guttenberg violated the requirements for citation “substantially,” he is said to justify. After heavy public criticism, Gutenberg resigned from his office in March 2011.

He now has a PhD again. Gutenberg submitted his new thesis in 2018 to the School of Economics, Law and the Arts at Southampton School of Business, which is part of the university there. PhD thesis title: “An Analysis of the Nature, Scope and Significance of Correspondent Banks and Their Applications to Historical Antecedents and Selected Case Studies”.

Posted today at 12:47 PM

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