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Olaf Scholz is a German politician who has been serving as the chancellor of Germany since December 8, 2021.
In today’s article, we take a look at his life and find answers to the reason why he is always wearing an eye patch when going out for his daily routines.
Who Is Olaf Scholz?
Olaf Scholz is a German politician who was born in Osnabrück, Lower Saxony, on June 14, 1958, but grew up in Hamburg’s Rahlstedt area. Scholz hails from a working-class family, with both of his parents employed in the textile sector. Jens Scholz, an anesthesiologist and CEO of the University Medical Centre Schleswig Holstein, and Ingo Scholz, a digital entrepreneur, are his two younger brothers.
Scholz was interested in politics from a young age and joined the Social Democratic Party (SPD) at the age of 17. He studied law at the University of Hamburg and thereafter worked as a labour and employment law specialist at the law firm Zimmermann, Scholz und Partner. Scholz has been noted for his commitment to social justice causes throughout his career.
Scholz’ political career began as a student in the 1970s, when he joined the SPD. He became associated with the SPD’s youth organisation, Jusos, and held several leadership posts within it.
He was appointed Vice President of the International Union of Socialist Youth in 1987. Scholz fought for socialist ideals and criticised the capitalist economy during this period. He eventually admitted that he made blunders during this time in his life.
Scholz was elected as a Deputy Member of the Bundestag in 1998, representing the Hamburg-Altona constituency. He served on the Labour and Social Affairs Committee and was the chairman of the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag’s visa inquiry committee.
However, he resigned from his seat in 2001 to become a senator. Scholz served in the Hamburg administration in a variety of capacities from 2001 until 2018.
From 2011 to 2018, he was a senator and the first mayor of Hamburg. In the First Merkel Government, he was appointed Federal Minister for Labour and Social Affairs in 2007. In the fourth Merkel ministry, he later became Vice Chancellor of Germany and Minister of Finance.
Scholz was named as the SPD’s candidate for Chancellor of Germany in the 2021 federal election in 2020. Scholz formed a coalition government with Alliance 90/The Greens and the Free Democratic Party after the SPD secured a majority of seats in the Bundestag.
He was elected and sworn in as Chancellor on December 8, 2021, succeeding Angela Merkel.
Scholz faced various obstacles as Chancellor, notably directing Germany’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He increased the defence budget, sent weaponry to Ukraine, and cancelled the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Scholz presented a new German defence policy in his Zeitenwende speech.
Scholz is married to fellow SPD politician Britta Ernst, and the couple has lived in a number of places, including Hamburg and Potsdam. He was raised in the Protestant Church of Germany but eventually left it.
Scholz took the oath of office as Chancellor without mentioning God, making him the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany who is not a member of a church.
Olaf Scholz with An Eye Patch: What Happened?
Olaf Scholz is known to have had an eye patch due to an accident he had while going jogging.
In September 2023, he took to his Twitter handle to reveal the information with a pirate-style picture of himself with a black eye patch and dark red bruises on the right side of his face. Scholz announced that he would be wearing an eyepatch following the jogging accident.
