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[] (born April 7, 1944), German politician, was Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), he led a coalition government of the SPD and the Greens. Before becoming a full time politician, he was a successful lawyer, and before becoming Chancellor he was Minister-president of the German state of Lower Saxony. Following the 2005 federal election in which his party lost the elections and after three weeks of negotiations, it was announced that he would stand down as Chancellor in favour of Angela Merkel of the rival Christian Democratic Union.