Veronica Carstens

German First Lady (1923–2012)

Veronica Carstens
Veronica with Karl Carstens, 1949

First Lady of Germany
In role 1 July 1979 – 30 June 1984
President	Karl Carstens
Preceded by	Mildred Scheel
Succeeded by	Marianne von Weizsäcker

Personal details
Born	Veronica Prior (1923-06-18)18 June 1923 Bielefeld, Weimar Republic
Died	25 January 2012(2012-01-25) (aged 88) Bonn, Germany
Spouse	Karl Carstens (1944–1992, his death)
Signature

Veronica Carstens (born Prior; 18 June 1923 – 25 January 2012) was the wife of the German President Karl Carstens.^[1]^[2]

She began medical studies in 1941, which she interrupted during the war to work as a nurse. In 1944 she married at Berlin-Tegel Karl Carstens, whom she had met the year before. Temporarily she was a housewife. In 1956 she continued her medical studies, graduating in 1960.

From 1960 to 1968 she worked as a medical assistant and in 1968 she opened her medical practice in Meckenheim near Bonn.

Carstens was by profession a doctor of medicine, and she maintained her practice throughout her husband's tenure as president. She was a strong advocate of naturopathy and homeopathy, and in 1982 the Carstens established the Carstens-Foundation (Carstens-Stiftung) – a major funder of alternative medicine research in Europe.^[2]^[3] She was an honorary member of the Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg).^[4]

She was widowed in 1992. After she had retired from public life in 2009, she lived in a sanitarium in Bonn.

References

^ Frau von Ex-Bundespräsident Carstens tot Bild, 25 January 2012 (in German).
^ ^a ^b "Was macht eigentlich Veronica Carstens?" Stern, 21 April 2005 (in German).
^ "Dr. Veronica Carstens ist gestorben". Rheinische Post, 25 January 2012 (in German).
^ Obituary (by Albrecht von Cossel) for "Frau Dr. Veronica Carstens" in Johanniterorden for March 2012, page 18. The Order, unlike the parallel Roman Catholic and Anglican organizations, maintains the tradition of its mediaeval origin in admitting only men as full members.