Manfred Stolpe

Manfred Stolpe was a German canonist, theologian and politician who served as Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs of Germany from 2002 until 2005. Before, he was Ministerpräsident of the state Brandenburg from 1990 until 2002. Stolpe was, after the state elections following German reunification, the only Social Democratic Minister-President of a state of former East Germany. Stolpe is considered to be the architect of modern Brandenburg and left office with a 74% approval rating. He is credited with forging a new identity for the state, among other things, popularizing the Brandenburglied, though controversy surrounding several failed projects and his work for the Stasi came up during his tenure. To date, Brandenburg has only had Social Democratic Minister-Presidents.