Gerhard Schröder, German Chancellor

Born: April 1944, Mossenberg.

Elected seventh Chancellor of Germany with the votes of the SPD and Alliance 90/ The Greens on 27 October 1998.

After a career in law, Mr Schroder entered the Bundestag in 1980. He headed the SPD group in the Lower Saxony State Assembly in 1986. Four years later he became Premier of the State of Lower Saxony. He was elected National Chairman of the SPD on 12 April 1999.

The chancellor, once derided as a 'cashmere chancellor' after his photo testimonials for pricey cashmere coats and the back-slapping scenes with top businessmen, has adopted a statesman-like mantle since the political funding scandal engulfed the opposition Christian Democrat Union.

He has been a keen player in the coalition building following the attack of September 11, building on his close personal contacts with Washington and Moscow, and taking a hands-on role in EU affairs. The most noticeable aspect of Berlin's growing weight has been its confidence in discussing the future of Europe. A practice that has, at times, acted as a painful reminder to France of the need to adjust to a more confident partner across its border.

As the eurozone's largest economy and an election in the Autumn, Germany's poor economic performance and rising unemployment will be in the spotlight. The government's increased net expenditure, despite falling tax revenues, has triggered a warning from the EU over their budget defecit which is forecast to be 2.7 per cent of GDP in 2002, approaching the 3 per cent ceiling laid down by the Maastricht Treaty.

The warning is unlikely to be a vote-loser. The German public may well prefer well-funded public services to fiscal rectitude. Maintaining government spending despite the economic downturn is certain to be a crowd-pleasing measure at home. In fact, opposition leader Edmund Stoiber has said he will boost spending further, up to the 3 per cent ceiling.