Overview
- A 90‑minute Trauerstaatsakt was held at noon in the Bundestag following a morning ecumenical service at St. Hedwig's Cathedral in Berlin.
- Federal President Frank‑Walter Steinmeier ordered the ceremony, making Süssmuth only the third woman in Germany to receive this honor.
- Bundestag President Julia Klöckner, Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and, at Süssmuth’s request, journalist Heribert Prantl delivered tributes highlighting her readiness to confront taboos and her forward‑looking politics.
- Top officials and former leaders attended, including Angela Merkel, Olaf Scholz, leaders of all five constitutional organs, and former Bundestag presidents.
- Speakers emphasized her trailblazing record as Germany’s first federal minister with a women’s portfolio, her prevention‑focused AIDS policy, and her long campaign for parliamentary parity; Süssmuth died on February 1 at 88 and was buried in Neuss.