Heide Simonis was the first woman to head a state government in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany. The politician shaped politics in Schleswig-Holstein for decades, from 1993 to 2005 as the first female prime minister of a federal state. In 2005, Simonis failed under spectacular circumstances in the election of Prime Minister in Kiel. After her political career, she took over the German presidency of Unicef until 2008 – and also danced in the RTL show Let's Dance.