Status: 01/11/2023 3:04 p.m
In countless press conferences, he informed the federal government about the corona situation: Lothar Wieler, President of the RKI, will resign on April 1st. The step was taken in agreement with Health Minister Lauterbach.
The President of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Lothar Wieler, is leaving the institute on April 1st. The RKI announced that he would devote himself to new tasks in research and teaching. The step was taken in agreement with Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach, who confirmed this. The RKI is an institution of the federal government.
For a transitional period, Wieler’s task will be taken over by his deputy Lars Schaade.
Head of the RKI since 2015
Wieler has headed the institute since March 2015, which played a central role in the pandemic. On leaving, he said: “It was a privilege to be able to work in an exposed position together with a motivated team of excellent experts during this crisis.”
He demanded that the independence of research must also be accepted in the future, because it is essential for the RKI to be able to fulfill its tasks. Wieler also thanked “the health ministers with whom I had the opportunity to work”.
During the pandemic, Wieler took a tougher stance in the debate about protective measures for the population, which also brought him criticism from some quarters, including the FDP.
Lauterbach regretted the departure and thanked Wieler on behalf of the federal government for his commitment in the pandemic. “Without Prof. Wieler, Germany would have come through this pandemic much worse.”