德国国防部长因抄袭论文辞职

Germany's defense minister, a rising star in Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative bloc and the country's most popular politician, resigned Tuesday over allegations he plagiarized his doctoral thesis.

德国国防部长古滕贝格于本周二宣布辞职。古滕贝格是德国总理安格拉•默克尔所领导的保守派阵营的政坛新星，也是德国最受欢迎的政治家。

German Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg answers citizens questions during visitors day in the house of the Federal Press Conference (Bundespressekonferenz) in Berlin in this Aug 22, 2010 file photo.
Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg told reporters it was the "most painful step of my life," but he felt that he could no longer carry out his duties as minister amid the intense debate surrounding the work and his person.

Guttenberg admitted last month making "grave mistakes" in his 2007 thesis and gave up his academic title of "Dr." but insisted he did not intentionally copy the work.

Following that, Bayreuth University formally removed his academic title in order to uphold（支持，举起） the institution's standards, which he said Guttenberg had "seriously violated" by failing to sufficiently credit the source of his work.

But the pressure continued to grow, with the scandal dominating the country's news coverage, despite polls showing the majority of Germans backed him.

On Monday, some 23,000 German academics joined the rising chorus（合唱） of people demanding his resignation, sending Merkel a joint letter protesting her decision to keep Guttenberg on.

"I was always ready to fight, but have to admit I have reached the limit," Guttenberg told reporters at the Defense Ministry.