German minister resigns in plagiarism row

BERLIN - German Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg resigned Tuesday, after he became embroiled in a plagiarism scandal last month.

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.