German minister accused of lying to advance career

German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (Photo: AP).

Die Welt (Germany) reported on March 12 that the scandal broke out when Mr. Lauterbach was 32 years old and had just received his Doctor of Science degree from the Harvard School of Public Health. Upon returning to Germany, he applied for a professorship at the University of Tubingen.

Lauterbach said he was head of a research project on breast cancer diagnosis and treatment at the cancer center in Aachen.

Lauterbach also said that the project had received 2 million Deutschmarks (about $1.38 million at the time) from the German government , and he promised to transfer part of the money to the University of Tubingen if it was accepted.

However, the German government and the Aachen cancer center told Die Welt that the project as described by Lauterbach never existed. A similar cancer study was conducted in Aachen, but Lauterbach was not listed as an author.

Lauterbach also claimed to have raised funds for a study at Princeton University in the US, but was turned down by university officials. Lauterbach said he had received 20,000 Deutschmarks for a book project, but the money was ultimately not paid because he had not completed the book.

Lauterbach was offered a job at the University of Tubingen, but turned it down to work in Cologne. Asked by German news agency Merkur on March 12, Lauterbach said he "could not remember the specifics of the incident."

According to Die Welt , German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach refused to be interviewed by the newspaper.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/bo-truong-duc-bi-cao-buoc-noi-doi-de-thang-tien-su-nghiep-20230313113131343.htm