Political Office
From March to October 1990, Nolte was a member of the parliament of the German Democratic Republic, or East Germany. After German unification on October 3, 1990 she joined the Bundestag where she served from 1991 to 1994 as her party's spokeswoman on women's policy. From 1992 to 1994 she was a member of Thuringia CDU.
On November 18, 1994, Nolte became the minister for family, senior citizens and youth. She was 28 years old, making her the youngest German cabinet minister in German history. On November 30, 1994 she was named the European Union Council of Ministers President – again the youngest ever. In 1998 she left the German cabinet when her party joined the opposition. From 1996 to 2000 Nolte was a member of the CDU presiding council in Germany and from January 1999 to October 2002 she was commissioner of the CDU/CSU-fraction for disabled people.
From 2002 to 2005, Nolte was vice chairman for United Nations contacts in the German parliament. In 2005 she failed to win a direct seat in the Bundestag representing the Gotha Ilm county electoral district. Under Germany's electoral law she was eligible to return to the German Federal Parliament via the state list in May 2008, but she declined.
Read more about this topic: Claudia Nolte
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