德国国防部长古腾贝格星期二在有关他博士论文涉嫌抄袭的丑闻中辞职。
古腾贝格说，下台是他一生中“最痛苦的一步”，但是这个争议使他无法继续履行职责。
拜罗伊特大学校长上个星期表示，该机构撤销了古腾贝格部长的博士头衔，因为他的博士论文违反了大学的标准。
这位受欢迎的部长承认在他的博士论文写作中犯了错误，但是坚称他不是有意欺骗。
古腾贝格星期二说，他“总是准备抗争”，但是现在已经到了他的极限。
德国总理默克尔一直对古腾贝格表示支持。
这个涉及他长达475页的博士论文丑闻是在德国一家报纸报导说论文中的大段文字抄自其他学者而没有提及他们的名字后爆发的。这些指控使古腾贝格获得了“剪切与粘贴大王”的外号。
Germany's defense minister resigned Tuesday amid a scandal involving allegations that he plagiarized his doctoral thesis.
Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said stepping down was "the most painful step" of his life, but that the controversy has made it impossible to carry out his duties.
The president of the University of Beyreuth said last week the institution had withdrawn the minister's title of doctor because Guttenberg's thesis violated the university's standards.
The popular minister has acknowledged making errors in his writing, but insisted he did not deliberately cheat.
Guttenberg said Tuesday he was "always ready to fight," but had reached his limit.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has supported Guttenberg.
The scandal involving his 475-page doctoral thesis erupted after a German newspaper reported that chunks of the work were copied from other scholars without properly crediting them. The allegations earned Guttenberg the nickname of "Baron Cut-and-Paste."
