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German Defense Minister Drops Â«PhDÂ» Title

19 February 2011 01:29 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Germany’s Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg says he will temporarily stop using his doctoral title while charges that he plagiarized part of his thesis are investigated, APA reports quoting â€œThe Voice of Americaâ€.

But Guttenberg told reporters Friday that while his thesis no doubt contains mistakes, he continues to strongly reject accusations that he plagiarized any part of it.

The allegations were published in the Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper earlier this week. The paper said that Guttenberg’s doctoral thesis contains excerpts from works of other scholars.

The University of Bayreuth, where Guttenberg submitted his thesis in 2007, is looking into the charges.

The minister has called the charges â€œabsurd.â€

Guttenberg has said he is ready to check if more than 1,200 footnotes in his work are correctly placed, and address the issue in a new edition. But he dismissed the plagiarism allegations.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has given Guttenberg her support. The 39-year-old minister is one of the most popular German politicians, and has been named as Chancellor Merkel’s possible successor.

The opposition has reacted promptly, asking that the minister step down if the accusations are proved true.