Klaus von Dohnanyi

Klaus von Dohnanyi (German pronunciation: [ˈklaʊs fɔn doˈnaːni];[1] born 23 June 1928) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He served as mayor of Hamburg between 1981 and 1988.

Klaus von Dohnanyi
von Dohnanyi in 2018
First Mayor of Hamburg
In office
24 June 1981 – 8 June 1988
PresidentKarl Carstens
Richard von Weizsäcker
ChancellorHelmut Schmidt
Helmut Kohl
Preceded byHans-Ulrich Klose
Succeeded byHenning Voscherau
Personal details
Born (1928-06-23) 23 June 1928
Hamburg, Germany
Political partySocial Democratic Party of Germany
Dohnanyi in 1978

Early life and career

Dohnanyi was born in Hamburg, the son of Christine von Dohnanyi and Hans von Dohnanyi, a lawyer, and a nephew of the Lutheran theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. His grandfather was the celebrated Hungarian composer Ernst von Dohnányi. Both his father and uncle were executed in 1945 as members of the anti-Nazi German Resistance. His younger brother Christoph is a conductor. He also has a sister, Barbara.[2]

After studying law at the University of Munich, and later in the United States at Columbia, Stanford and Yale universities, Dohnanyi started his career with the Max Planck Institute for International Private Law. He then moved to Ford Motor Company, the car manufacturer, working for the company in both Detroit and Cologne where he was head of the Planning Division. From 1960 to 1967, he was a Managing Partner of the Institute for Market Research and Management Consulting in Munich.[2]

Political career

In 1969 Dohnanyi was elected to the German Federal Parliament (the Bundestag) from the state of Rhineland-Palatinate[3] and served in the Economics ministry as state secretary, and later as Federal Minister of Education and Science until 1981. In 1981, Dohnanyi was elected First Mayor of his home city, and thus Minister-President of Hamburg, one of the federal States of Germany. He served two terms as First Mayor, from 24 June 1981 until 8 June 1988.[2]

After the fall of the Berlin Wall and with German unification, Dohnanyi became involved with the restructuring programme in East Germany, and from 1993 to 1996 was a special adviser on Market Economy and State to the Board of the Treuhandanstalt and BvS, its successor company, responsible for privatising state-owned companies in the former East Germany.[2] Dohnanyi is a member of the Konvent für Deutschland, a cross-party think-tank of conservative-liberal orientation.[4]

In 2004, Dohnanyi co-chaired (alongside Edgar Most) a government-appointed commission which presented Minister Manfred Stolpe, then serving as cabinet minister charged with eastern reconstruction, with a 29-page report ("Recommendations for a Change in Direction for Development East").[5]

Other activities (selection)

References
  1. "Klaus von Dohnanyi: Kartei gegen Hitler". YouTube. zeitzeugen-portal. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  2. Thies, Jochen (2004). Die Dohnanyis. Eine Familienbiographie. Berlin: Propyläen. ISBN 3-549-07190-6.
  3. Handgestickt, mit Lust an der Nuance, Die Zeit, 16 February 1979, in German
  4. "Konvent für Deutschland: Konservativ-liberaler Beraterkreis - Stuttgarter Zeitung online - Stuttgart, Region & Land -". Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2011-04-19.
  5. Stefan Berg, Steffen Winter and Andreas Wassermann (September 5, 2005), Germany's Eastern Burden The Price of a Failed Reunification Der Spiegel.
  6. Board of Trustees AIESEC Germany.
  7. Senate Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities.
  8. "Chronicle". Bertelsmann Stiftung. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  9. Board of Trustees Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
  10. Board of Trustees Hamburger Theaterfestival.
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