From Wikipedia,
the free encyclopedia
Joachim Sauer (born
April 19,
1949) is a German
quantum chemist, full
professor at the
Humboldt University of Berlin.
Scientifical career
Sauer studied chemistry from
1967 to
1972 at the
Humboldt University of Berlin
and was awared a Diploma in
chemistry in 1972. He did research
at his university till 1977. In
1977 he joined the Academy of
Sciences, Central Institute of
Physical Chemistry in Berlin, one
of the leading scientifical
institutes of the former
GDR (East
Germany).
For a brief time during and
after the
German reunification
(1990-1991) he was the Deputy
Technical Director (Catalysis and
Sorption) for BIOSYM Technologies,
San Diego/USA. He remained an
advisor for BIOSYM till 2002.
In
1992 he joined the
Max Planck Society as Head of
the Quantum Chemistry Group in
Berlin. Since 1993 he has been a
full professor of Physical and
Theoretical Chemistry at the
Humboldt University of Berlin.
He is an active research scientist
in chantum chemistry and
computational chemistry.
Personal life
From his previous marriage to a
fellow chemist, Sauer has two
sons, Daniel and Adrian. On
December 30,
1998, he married
Angela Merkel (herself a
doctor of physics who had once
worked in chantum chemistry
research), who later became
chairwoman of the
Christian Democratic Union and
on
November 22,
2005, first female
Chancellor of Germany.
Public visibility as husband
of
Angela Merkel
Due to the rise of his wife
Sauer has gained far more public
visibility than usual for a
research scientist. He has
expressed several times that he is
not fond of this additional
publicity.
During the 2005 election
campaign Joachim Sauer kept a very
low profile, declining to give any
interviews not related to his
scientific work. After attending
the
Bayreuth Festival (an opera
festival and a highly visible
social event in Germany) with his
wife, he was nicknamed "the
phantom of the opera" by the
German press. Prof. Sauer is known
as a great lover of
Wagner's music.
Even during his wife's election
in the
Bundestag, her
inauguration and later her
taking the oath of office Sauer
was not present but - reportedly -
sitting at home watching the event
on TV. This caused something of an
uproar among the German press. The
next day Germany's premier tabloid
"Bild-Zeitung"
displayed the headline "Merkel -
wo war ihr Mann?" ("Merkel - where
was her husband?")
