Family Minister Franziska Giffey wants to end the plagiarism discussion about her doctoral thesis with a drastic step.
The alleged plagiarism scandal surrounding the doctoral thesis of Family Minister Franziska Giffey (42) is one chapter richer. As the 42-year-old SPD politician has now announced according to the "Berliner Morgenpost", she will in future forego her doctorate, which was awarded in 2010. She sees herself forced to take this step "in order to prevent further damage to my family, my political work and my party." According to "Bild" information, however, she does not want to draw any further consequences, such as giving up her ministerial post.
Around ten years ago, the current Minister for Family Affairs received her doctoral thesis with "magna cum laude" – that is, with a particularly noteworthy achievement – from the Free University of Berlin and thus received the addition Dr. rer.pol. (doctor rerum politicarum, pronounced Doctor of Political Science) earned.
At the beginning of last year, however, there were allegations of plagiarism against Giffey. Her dissertation was then examined. Despite several discovered deficiencies, at the end of 2019 it was actually said that these would not be enough to deprive her of the title. Because this decision has since been challenged again, Giffey decided to ensure that the situation was clear and to give up her title voluntarily. It is unclear whether the story will be filed away. Allegedly, the Free University of Berlin now wants to examine Giffey's work one more time.