Christina Rau

September 2001: with husband on occasion of the visit of the Russian president Vladimir Putin

Christina Rau (born Christina Delius on 30 October 1956 in Bielefeld) is the widow of the late Johannes Rau, the President of Germany.

Early life

Rau is the maternal granddaughter of former President Gustav Heinemann. Her father is Eduard Delius (1922–2013), part in a long line of entrepreneurs in the textile industry of the Westphalian city of Bielefeld. She attended boarding school in Switzerland (Hochalpines Institut Ftan) and Scotland (Gordonstoun, where The Prince Andrew was one of her classmates). Subsequently, she studied political science, economics and history at the University College of Wales and at King's College London.

Wedding

On 9 August 1982, she married Johannes Rau, 25 years her senior, who was at that time the Prime Minister of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The couple had three children: Anna Christina (1983), Philip Immanuel (1985) and Laura Helene (1986). The family lived in Elberfeld until 1999, and then moved to Berlin.

Activities

She was the patron of :

• UNICEF Germany,
• the Müttergenesungswerk,
• the Bundesverband der Organtransplantierten,
• the Deutsche Kinder- und Jugendstiftung
• the Red Cross Youth of Germany.

Honours

Foreign Honours

•  Austria : Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria (2004) ^[1]
•  Estonia : Recipient 1st Class of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana (November 2000) ^[2]
•  Iceland : Dame Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the Falcon (1 July 2003) ^[3]
•  Latvia : Recipient 1st Class of the Order of the Three Stars
•  Spain : Dame Gran Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (8 November 2002)^[4]

References

• Björn Engholm: Die First Lady, Spiegel Special 5/1999]
• "Anne Will: Die Gäste im Studio, Sendung vom 17.01.2010, 21.45 Uhr: Christina Rau, Kindernothilfe-Botschafterin" (in German). Bayerischer Rundfunk. Retrieved 2010-10-19.