German minister resigns amid PhD plagiarism scandal

Franziska Giffey, German federal minister for family affairs, senior citizens, women and youth, resigned on Wednesday over the alleged plagiarism of her doctoral (PhD) thesis, reported Xinhua.

"I regret if I have made any mistakes in the process," Giffey said, adding that if the Free University of Berlin decides to revoke her academic title, she will accept that.

The latest review of Giffey's PhD title came after criticism of two earlier reviews that resulted in an official reprimand in October 2019. The case was reopened in November last year.

Although the final decision by the university on revoking Giffey's PhD title is still pending, the 43-year-old politician gave in to public pressure and resigned.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel accepted Giffey's decision "with great respect, but I also need to say with great regret." She said that she had "worked well and closely" with Giffey over the past years.

Giffey is not the first German minister to resign from office under Merkel because of PhD plagiarism. Former Minister of Defense Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg and former Minister of Education Annette Schavan also resigned after being stripped of their titles in 2011 and 2013, respectively.

Despite her resignation, Giffey did not announce her withdrawal from politics entirely and is set to continue her campaign as a leading candidate for the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in the regional election in Berlin in September.