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Schroeder adopts second Russian child

Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his wife Doris have adopted a baby boy from Russia two years after adopting a 3-year-old Russian girl, an official from Schroeder's office said on Thursday.

  • Reuters
  • Published: 00:00 August 18, 2006
  • Gulf News

Berlin: Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his wife Doris have adopted a baby boy from Russia two years after adopting a 3-year-old Russian girl, an official from Schroeder's office said on Thursday.

Germany's Bild newspaper said the boy was not yet one year old and, like the Schroeder's adopted daughter Viktoria, came from St Petersburg.

Schroeder, 62, lives in Hanover with his two adopted children and 15-year-old Klara, his wife Doris Schroeder-Kopf's daughter from a previous relationship. Doris, 43, a former Bild reporter, is Schroeder's fourth wife.

St Petersburg is the home town of Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom Schroeder developed a close friendship while chancellor. The Kremlin leader supported his adoption of Viktoria in 2004.

Schroeder may have had trouble adopting a child in Germany where adoption rules favour younger parents. Since leaving office last November, Schroeder has come under criticism at home and abroad for taking on a lucrative job as head of a Russian-led gas pipeline project that he helped start with Putin while in office.

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