Susanne Kastner

Susanne Kastner (born 11 December 1946 in Karlstadt am Main, Bavaria) of the Social Democratic Party is a German politician who was one of the Vice-Presidents of the Bundestag from 2002 to 2009.

Early life
She worked as a primary and secondary school teacher and educator for Religious Pedagogy in München until 1989. She is a member of the IG Bergbau, Chemie, Energie workers union, the Arbeiterwohlfahrt, the Bavarian Red Cross and the Stiftung Kinder Soforthilfe, and the chairwoman of the Rumänien-Soforthilfe e. V. and the German-Romanian Forum e. V. She has done a lot of charitable work in Romania, and views it as her second home country.

Political career
She entered the Bavarian State Association of the Social Democratic Party, the BayernSPD in 1972 and worked in its party's Board of directors. She was elected into the Bundestag three times, in the electoral district of Bad Kissingen, the first time in May 1989. From 1998 to 2002, Kastner worked as the Managing Director of the SPD in the Bundestag and served as one of the Vice-Presidents of the Bundestag from October 2002 to September 2009 and she was succeeded by Wolfgang Thierse. Despite her retirement from the Bundestag in 2013, Kastner is still politically active on regional and local level. Florian Pronold, praised her as a caring and motivated person.

Personal life
Kastner, a Lutheranian Christian, is married and has three children totaling eight grand-children.

Honours
Kastner has been awarded the following honours:


 * Honorary Doctor title at the Aurel-Vlaicu-University in Arad, Romania


 * Bavarian Order of Merit
 * German Oder of Merit am Bande


 * Honorary citizenship of the Romanian towns of Lipova and Sibiu
 * Grand Officer rank of the Romanian Order of Merit


 * Nationaler Verdienstorden im Rang eines Großoffiziers, Rumänien