Peter Struck

Peter Struck (24 January 1943 – 19 December 2012) was the German Minister of Defence under chancellor Gerhard Schröder from 2002 to 2005. A lawyer, Struck was a member of the Social Democratic Party. Education 1962: Abitur 1964: Member of the SPD Struck studied law at the universities of Göttingen and Hamburg. In 1971 he graduated to Dr. iur. (Doctor of Laws). Political career Peter Struck was a member of the Bundestag from 1980 until 2009. He first became a member of the Bundestag in the 1980 West German elections, via the party list, for the constituency of Celle-Uelzen. Due to his growing popularity, in the years 1998, 2002 and 2005, Struck was directly elected. From 1990 to 1998 he was whip (Parlamentarischer Geschäftsführer) of the SPD parliamentary group. From 1998 to 2002 he was chairman of the SPD parliamentary group.