Editing Franz Müntefering (section)

===Chairman of the SPD, 2008–2009===
Müntefering's wife Ankepetra died on 31 July 2008. Following her death, Müntefering decided to return to active politics and was elected Chairman of the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany]] on 18 October 2008.<ref name=Picked>Judy Dempsey, [http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/07/europe/germ.php "German foreign minister picked to challenge Merkel"], ''International Herald Tribune'', 7 September 2008.</ref> On 7 September 2008, [[Kurt Beck]] had resigned as SPD Chairman.<ref name=Picked/><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090620062732/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/08/content_9840654.htm "German SPD party reshuffles leadership, with eye on election"], Xinhua, 7 September 2008.</ref>

Following the SPD's defeat in the [[2009 German federal election|federal election of 2009]], Müntefering resigned from the position of party chairman of the Social Democratic Party.