Introduction
Susanne Laschet (née Malangré; born 18 May 1962) is a German bookseller, wife of former Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia and Chancellor of Germany candidate Armin Laschet.
Background
Malangré was born to a prominent Aachen family and is the daughter of the prominent business executive Heinrich Malangré and the niece of the city's former lord mayor Kurt Malangré. Her family is of French-speaking Walloon origin and moved from Haine-Saint-Pierre in Belgium to Stolberg in the second half of the 19th century to establish a glass production business.
She trained as a bookseller and is a well-known bookseller in Aachen.
She met Armin Laschet as a child in a Catholic children's choir led by her father; they married in 1985 and have three children. Her husband's grandfather was also from Wallonia.
Public activities
Susanne Laschet became the First Lady of Germany's largest state North Rhine-Westphalia in 2017. As First Lady she was active in philanthropic work. She is the patron of the Müttergenesungswerk, a charitable organisation founded by the First Lady of Germany Elly Heuss-Knapp. She is also the patron of Aktion Lichtblicke.
In 2020 her husband became a candidate to the chairmanship of the CDU and to succeed Angela Merkel as Chancellor of Germany, and was reportedly the candidate favoured by Merkel. However, he still lost.