Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
BERLIN (AP) — A former education minister in Germany who resigned over plagiarism allegations has lost a legal bid to have her doctorate restored.
Annette Schavan, an ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, quit in February 2013 after an academic panel at Heinrich Heine University in Duesseldorf reviewed her 1980 doctoral thesis, discovered uncredited passages from others' work throughout her paper, and revoked her degree.
A Duesseldorf administrative court upheld that decision Thursday. Schavan said she would read the full judgment before deciding whether to appeal it.
"I once again reject strongly the accusation of deception," the 58-year-old said in a statement.
Merkel's government plans to make Schavan, a reform-minded Roman Catholic, Germany's next ambassador to the Vatican.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
