Overview

• The Ombudsstelle received substantiated tips of similarities between Brosius-Gersdorf’s 1997 dissertation and her husband’s 1998 habilitation, prompting the plausibility check.
• Austrian investigator Stefan Weber first highlighted parallels that led to media scrutiny.
• The Ombudsstelle may initiate a formal ombuds procedure if the allegations meet the university’s statutory criteria.
• Brosius-Gersdorf and her husband commissioned a preliminary legal opinion from a Stuttgart law firm that found the accusations baseless.
• Chancellor’s Office Minister Thorsten Frei and SPD leaders have publicly defended her integrity and urged a resolution to her stalled nomination.