Band minister of agriculture Cem Özdemir and his wife Pia Castro have separated. “We agreed some time ago in friendship to live separately,” said a joint statement when asked by the German Press Agency. The 57-year-old Green Party politician and the 51-year-old journalist and presenter married in 2003. They have a daughter and a son together.
“As parents, we continue to care for our two children together,” the statement continued. Özdemir and Castro asked to refrain from further press inquiries. “For reasons of protecting our privacy – and above all for the sake of our children – we will not be making any further statements.”
Özdemir and Castro married in the USA in the spring of 2003; the politician, who was born in Bad Urach, Swabia, was working in Washington at the time. His wife, who comes from Argentina, came to Germany in 1994 on a study scholarship. In Berlin she became known, among other things, for her presentations on Radio Multikulti and Deutsche Welle. The couple appeared together again and again, whether at the Federal Press Ball, at the Berlinale or at the Federal Green Party conference.
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