Johannes Rau (born 1931) served as deputy chairman of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD), as minister-president of the powerful state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in 1994 as candidate for chancellor and the federal presidency, and as president of Germany beginning in 1999.

Johannes Rau was born on January 16, 1931, in Wuppertal-Barmen, the son of a businessman who became a Protestant minister and the grandson of a stonemason. He was one of five children, all of whom had close relationships with their parents. Early on, young Rau was attracted to the church and to the study of the Bible. His religious interest earned him, in his political career, the nickname "Brother Rau."

In 1949, after having attended secondary school, Rau became an apprentice in a publishing house. Three years later he was a sales representative for nine Protestant publishers. From 1954 to 1967 he served as executive director and director of a Protestant youth publishing house...