When Olaf Scholz (64, SPD) was driving on the tarmac at Berlin Airport shortly before 10 pm today, a special companion sat next to him in the car: his wife Britta Ernst (62).
She flies with her husband Government Airbus to G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan. From there we continue on a small detour to South Korea. On Monday, early in the morning, the couple landed back in Berlin.
This was Brita Ernst’s first real trip abroad with her husband. During his 17 months in office, he has been to only one meeting outside Germany – the final of the European Football Championship, when the German national team played at Wembley Stadium in London.
Now a joint long-haul flight – it goes 8700 kilometers to the east, the flight time is almost 12 hours. The President has his own VIP compartment on the large A350 government aircraft. Sofas that convert to a large bed and ensuite shower.
Britta Ernst with her husband Olaf Scholes at the final of the 2022 European Women’s Football Championship
You are by his side – it is special. Yes, Brandenburg’s former education minister was in the Bundestag when he was sworn in as chancellor. But apart from that, Ernst was also very reserved at home.
The only exception: a year ago at the G7 summit in Elma, Bavaria, where she took on the role of the president’s wife, welcoming guests alongside her husband and running the women’s program. Among other things, the accompanying partners went on a Nordic walking tour organized by Sky-Star. Christian Neurether (74) cited.
In Hiroshima, the president’s wife will visit the Peace Museum and the Atomic Bomb Memorial. Lunch will be at a traditional tea house. And on Friday evening there is a cultural program with an origami demonstration. Partners of the G7 participants are slated to immortalize themselves in a signature origami work of art.
It is not yet clear who Britta Ernst will meet in Hiroshima. It is not known whether French President Emmanuel Macron will attend with his wife Brigitte, 70. Heiko van der Leyen (67), husband of EU Commission President Ursula van der Leyen (64), is already confirmed to be the first husband. This means that the women’s program becomes a gender-neutral partner program.
Olaf Scholz and Britta Ernst welcome EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to the G7 summit in Elmau.
The Scholes-Ernst couple have a close relationship: they fell in love with each other in Juzos in Hamburg in their early 20s and married in 1998. They have worn the wedding ring for years. As Scholes contemplates conversations, he often grabs a wide, platinum ring and turns it.
Chancellor calls Britta “the love of his life”. Marriage is the most important thing in the world to her – even more important than the presidency. And he admits that his wife has made him a better person.
Personally, it is great love, but in politics they always emphasize the freedom of the other. He became very angry when his wife asked him if he could continue to serve when he became president. She couldn’t stand being called “Ms. Sholes.”
Will Britta Ernst appear more often now as the chancellor’s wife?
And they carefully compartmentalized their political careers. He was SPD general secretary, federal labor minister, first mayor of Hamburg, federal finance minister, and now chancellor. He was deputy chairman of the SPD parliamentary group in the Hamburg parliament. When he became mayor, he moved to Schleswig-Holstein as schools minister, then education minister in Brandenburg – until his resignation four weeks ago.
Is everything different now after being a minister of state? Will Britta Ernst make frequent appearances on her Olaf side as the chancellor’s wife? wait
It was clear for a long time that she would accompany her husband to the G7 summit. As she assumed the role of co-host at Elma, she decided to travel as a guest to the next summits. It is unclear whether she will travel with her husband more often from now on, for example to the G20 summit in India in the fall.
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