By Geir Moulson
Associated Press
BERLIN — Germany’s top Protestant cleric resigned today after she was caught driving with a blood-alcohol level three times the legal limit, an incident that she said had undermined her authority.
Margot Kaessmann, who was elected only last October as the first woman to head Germany’s Lutheran church, said she was quitting both that post and her job as bishop of Hannover immediately.
“I made a serious mistake that I regret deeply,” Kaessmann, 51, said in a statement to a televised news conference.
“My heart tells me very clearly that I cannot remain in office with the necessary authority,” she added. “I would no longer have in the future the same freedom that I have had to name and judge ethical and political challenges.”
Kaessmann was stopped by police on Saturday after ignoring a red traffic light in Hannover.
A test showed she had a blood-alcohol level of 0.154 percent — well above the legal limit of 0.05.
Kaessmann, who was accompanied by her four daughters as she gave her resignation statement, gave no detailed explanation of her actions and took no questions.
Because her blood alcohol level was above 0.11 percent, it is considered a criminal offense in Germany. Prosecutors in Hannover have begun an investigation.
Kaesmann faces the loss of her driver’s license for at least several months and a fine.
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