German minister in plagiarism row to resign: Report

BERLIN - German Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, who has been embroiled in a plagiarism scandal, will resign Tuesday, Bild newspaper reported.

He has already handed in his resignation to Chancellor Angela Merkel, according to the newspaper. President Christian Wulff has also reportedly been informed of the decision.

Guttenberg is scheduled to make a statement later Monday morning, the defence ministry said.

Guttenberg had been under increasing political pressure following revelations that more than 100 pages of his 475-page doctoral thesis had been copied from other works without citation.

Bayreuth University, which gave Guttenberg top marks for his dissertation, is investigating whether he deliberately tried to mislead examiners by passing off others’ work as his own - a charge the minister has denied.

Last week, the university stripped the minister of his doctoral title - at his own behest - but he had so far survived calls for his resignation and still enjoyed Merkel’s backing.

Merkel had earlier in the day unexpectedly interrupted her visit to the opening of the CeBIT computer trade fair in Hannover to conduct a lengthy telephone conversation.

Guttenberg has frequently been cited as Germany’s most popular minister, even ahead of Merkel.