Else Marie Sofie Schmitt (May 02, 1921 in Brühl, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 - March, 22 1995 in Cologne

Cologne

Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...

, Germany) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany

Social Democratic Party of Germany

The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...

. She served as member of city council of Cologne (1961 - 1984) as well as the first female deputy mayor (1969 - 1975) of the city.

Schmitt was a member of the Parteirat of her party in the 1970s and contributed substantially to policy changes regarding abortion law (Paragraph 218) policy and Paragraph 175

Paragraph 175

Paragraph 175 was a provision of the German Criminal Code from 15 May 1871 to 10 March 1994. It made homosexual acts between males a crime, and in early revisions the provision also criminalized bestiality. All in all, around 140,000 men were convicted under the law.The statute was amended several...

 of her federal ruling party.

The "Bundesverdienstkreuz" was awarded to her in two different classes - 1974 and 1986.

External Links

• Schmitt & Kinski