Kurt Biedenkopf

Kurt Hans Biedenkopf (German pronunciation: [kʊʁt ˈbiːdn̩ˌkɔp͡f] ⓘ; 28 January 1930 – 12 August 2021[1]) was a German jurist, academic teacher and politician of the Christian-Democratic Union (CDU). He was rector of the Ruhr University Bochum.

Kurt Biedenkopf
Biedenkopf in 1973
Minister-President of Saxony
In office
8 November 1990 – 18 April 2002
DeputyRudolf Krause
Heinz Eggert
Hans Geisler
Preceded byRudolf Krause (as Landesbevollmächtigter)
Succeeded byGeorg Milbradt
President of the Bundesrat
In office
1 November 1999 – 31 October 2000
First Vice PresidentRoland Koch
Preceded byRoland Koch
Succeeded byKurt Beck
General Secretary of the
Christian Democratic Union
In office
12 June 1973 – 7 March 1977
LeaderHelmut Kohl
Preceded byKonrad Kraske
Succeeded byHeiner Geißler
Leader of the Christian Democratic Union
in the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia
In office
29 May 1980 – 24 May 1983
Preceded byHeinrich Köppler
Succeeded byBernhard Worms
Parliamentary constituencies
Member of the
Landtag of Saxony
In office
27 October 1990 – 19 October 2004
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded bymulti-member district
ConstituencyChristian Democratic Union List
Member of the
Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia
In office
29 May 1980 – 29 June 1988
Preceded bymulti-member district
Succeeded byHans-Joachim Menge
ConstituencyChristian Democratic Union List
Member of the Bundestag
for North Rhine-Westphalia
In office
18 February 1987 – 9 November 1990
Preceded bymulti-member district
Succeeded byWolfgang Lohmann
ConstituencyChristian Democratic Union List
In office
14 December 1976 – 4 November 1980
Preceded bymulti-member district
Succeeded bymulti-member district
ConstituencyChristian Democratic Union List
Personal details
Born(1930-01-28)28 January 1930
Ludwigshafen, Free State of Bavaria, Weimar Republic (now Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany)
Died12 August 2021(2021-08-12) (aged 91)
Dresden, Germany
Education

Biedenkopf made a political career first in North Rhine-Westphalia, where he was chairman of the party. After the re-unification of Germany, he served as the first Minister President of the Free State of Saxony from 1990 until 2002. He was 54th president of the Bundesrat from 2000, overseeing the body's move from Bonn to Berlin. Biedenkopf is regarded as the intellectual leader of the CDU when Helmut Kohl was chancellor.[2]

Biedenkopf worked on advisory boards of institutions including the Bertelsmann Stiftung, Deutsche Nationalstiftung, Dresden Frauenkirche, Independent Commission on Turkey and the Staatliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Meissen. Among his numerous recognitions were international honorific doctorates.

Early life and science

Biedenkopf was born in Ludwigshafen am Rhein. When his father became technical director of the Buna-Werke,[2] the family moved to Schkopau, where he attended school.[3] Biedenkopf first studied political sciences from 1949 to 1950 at the Davidson College in North Carolina and at Georgetown University.[3][4] He then studied economics and law in Germany at the University of Munich,[3] achieving a law doctorate in 1958.[5][6] He obtained a Master in Law in 1962 from Georgetown University, where he studied and researched again from 1958 to 1959 and 1961 to 1962.[7] In 1963 Biedenkopf completed his habilitation at Goethe University Frankfurt.[8] He became lecturer of the Ruhr University Bochum in 1964.[2] In 1967, he was appointed rector of the university; he was the youngest head of a university in West Germany at the time.[3] He was lecturer and visiting professor also at the Goethe University Frankfurt and Leipzig University.[5][9][10] In the early 1970s, Biedenkopf moved to the board of Henkel.[3]

Political career

Career in national politics

Biedenkopf was a member of the Christian-Democratic Union (CDU). He entered his professional political career when he became secretary general of the CDU in 1973, under the leadership of chairman Helmut Kohl. He resigned from that office in 1977 after disagreements with Kohl and went on to become one of his fiercest rivals within the party.[11][7]

From 1977 to 1983 he was deputy chairman of the CDU in Germany.[7] During the terms 1976–1980 and 1987–1990 he was a member of the Bundestag.[5]

In 1979, it was revealed that Christel Broszey, Biedenkopf's secretary, disappeared and was presumed to have fled to East Germany.[12] Media reported that Broszey had been a spy.[13][14]

Career in North Rhine-Westphalia

In the 1980, state elections in North Rhine-Westphalia, Biedenkopf unsuccessfully ran against the incumbent Minister-President Johannes Rau. He served as chairman of the CDU in North Rhine-Westphalia – the party's largest chapter – until 1987, when he was succeeded by Norbert Blüm. In late 1989, he joined forces with Lothar Späth, Heiner Geißler, Rita Süssmuth and others in an unsuccessful effort to oust Kohl as CDU chairman.[15]

Minister-President of Saxony

After the re-unification of Germany in 1990 Biedenkopf was elected as Minister-President in the newly formed state of Saxony.[5] His party also won the subsequent elections in 1994 and 1999 with an absolute majority. He held his office until April 2002.[5]

At the CDU's initiative, the state parliament resolved to declare Saxony a "free state" once again, recalling its 19th century history.[16] Early in his tenure, Biedenkopf emerged as a kind of unofficial spokesman for the regions of East Germany.[17] He enjoyed great popularity among a majority of the people of Saxony. Known for his autocratic leadership style, he was often referred to as "the Saxon King" or "King Kurt".[18] During his time in office, he doubled outlays on primary and secondary education and sharply ramped up spending on research and development.[19] He also led a legal battle against the European Commission on subsidies for Volkswagen investments in Saxony.[20]

Ahead of the German presidential election in 1994, Biedenkopf was widely seen as a likely candidate, but the post went to Roman Herzog.[21]

In 2000, Biedenkopf held the rotating presidency of the Bundesrat of Germany. In this capacity, he oversaw the body's move to Berlin to complete the government's return to the pre-World War II capital from Bonn.[22]

In January 2001, Biedenkopf dismissed State Minister of Finance Georg Milbradt because Milbradt had started a debate about Biedenkopf's succession. Milbradt eventually succeeded Biedenkopf in 2002.[23]

Death

Biedenkopf died in Dresden on 12 August 2021 at the age of 91.[24][25][26][27]

Political positions
Biedenkopf in 2010

Before the introduction of the euro, Biedenkopf was the only German state leader to vote against the monetary union in the Bundesrat, the legislative body that represents the German states; he later argued that "Europe wasn't ready for that epochal step."[28] Already in 1997, he had joined the ministers-president of two other German states, Gerhard Schröder and Edmund Stoiber, in making the case for a five-year delay in Europe's currency union.[29]

Ahead of the Christian Democrats' leadership election in 2018, Biedenkopf publicly endorsed Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer to succeed Angela Merkel as the party's chair.[30] He later supported Armin Laschet's candidacy to succeed Kramp-Karrenbauer in the 2021 leadership election.[31]

Other activities

In 1983, Biedenkopf became a member of the advisory board of the non-profit Bertelsmann Stiftung.[32] In 1987, he became chairman of the board (until 1990).[33] During his term, the Carl Bertelsmann Prize (today Reinhard Mohn Prize) was awarded for the first time.[34] He was active on the board of the Deutsche Nationalstiftung, active for the unification of Germany after the separation and within the European community, and was the foundation's honorary senator until his death.[35]

Between 2004 and 2006, Biedenkopf and Christine Bergmann served as ombuds, observing the impact of the Schröder government's labour market reforms, with a mandate to advise government and parliament on any recommended revisions to it. In 2005, he was appointed by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder to head a commission on the future of codetermination in Germany.[36] Both Biedenkopf and Schröder later served as mediators in a 2006 conflict over privatisation plans at German railway operator Deutsche Bahn; the plans eventually fell through.[37]

In addition, Biedenkopf held a number of paid and unpaid positions, including:

Recognition

See also

References
  1. "Ehemaliger CDU-Ministerpräsident: Kurt Biedenkopf ist tot". Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger. 13 August 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  2. Schlamp, Hans-Jürgen (13 August 2021). "Nachruf auf Kurt Biedenkopf Der kritische König". Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  3. Locke, Stefan (13 August 2021). "Kurt Biedenkopf gestorben : Der unbequeme König". FAZ (in German). Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  4. Whitney, Craig R. (26 September 1976). "German Professor campaigns in Ruhr". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  5. Kuska, Bernd. "2003 – Prof. Dr. Kurt Biedenkopf". Internationaler Brückepreis der Europastadt Görlitz/Zgorzelec (in German). Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  6. "Kurt Biedenkopf – Redner & Perspektiven". Die internationale Redneragentur (in German). Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  7. "Kurt Biedenkopf". Geschichte der CDU, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (in German). 13 August 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  8. "Zum Tod von Kurt Biedenkopf – "Ich bin Lehrer gewesen, ein Lehrer, der immer lernt"". Deutschlandfunk (in German). 13 August 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  9. Albers, Jürgen. "Alfred-Weber-Lecture mit Kurt Biedenkopf – Kommunikation und Marketing". Universität Heidelberg (in German). Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  10. "Der "Macher" aus Sachsen". tagesschau.de (in German). 13 August 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  11. Richard Levine, Milt Freudenheim and James F. Clarity (16 March 1986), Kohl Is Facing A Second Inquiry New York Times.
  12. "Spionage: Meist handelten sie aus Liebe". Der Spiegel (in German). 18 March 1979. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  13. Staud, Toralf. "Jahn-Behörde entlarvt Stasi-Spione im Bundestag". ZEIT ONLINE (in German). Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  14. Michael Getler (14 March 1979), Spy Mania Grips Bonn After Defection Washington Post.
  15. Harry Luck (28 January 2010), Biedenkopf: „König Kurt" und Kohls Rivale Focus.
  16. Maximilian Popp, Andreas Wassermann and Steffen Winter (25 February 2016), What's Wrong with Saxony? A Search for the Roots of Fear and Racism Der Spiegel.
  17. John Tagliabue (11 March 1991), Young Germans Still Flocking From East to West The New York Times.
  18. Stephen Kinzer (15 September 1994), State Voting In Germany Reveals Shift The New York Times.
  19. Gail Edmondson (17 November 2003), Commentary: Saxony Wakes From Its Slumber Bloomberg News.
  20. John Schmid (31 July 1996), EU Vows to Fight Saxony's VW Subsidies International Herald Tribune.
  21. Stephen Kinzer (27 March 1993), Germany Considers Jew as President The New York Times.
  22. German Upper House Finishes Move to Berlin The New York Times, 28 September 2000.
  23. "Milbradt, Georg". Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (in German). 26 August 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  24. Locke, Stefan (13 August 2021). "Kurt Biedenkopf gestorben: Der unbequeme König". FAZ.NET (in German). Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  25. "Unverschämt frei". ZEIT ONLINE (in German). Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  26. "CDU-Politiker Biedenkopf im Alter von 91 gestorben". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). 13 August 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  27. "So können sich die Sachsen von Biedenkopf verabschieden". Sächsische Zeitung (in German). 13 August 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  28. Wiegrefe, Klaus; Sauga, Michael; Reiermann, Christian; Böll, Sven; Spiegel, Der (8 May 2012). "Euro Struggles Can Be Traced to Origins of Common Currency". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  29. Schmid, John (28 July 1997). "Another German Premier Seeks Delay on the Euro". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 August 2021. (subscription required)
  30. Lohse, Eckart (15 November 2018). "Millionär der Mittelschicht: Ist Merz ein Kandidat von gestern?". FAZ.NET (in German). Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  31. Fiedler, Carsten; Voogt, Gerhard (13 January 2021). "Armin Laschet im Interview: "Ein Richtungswechsel wäre eine grundfalsche Entscheidung"". Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger (in German). Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  32. "Chronicle" (in German). Bertelsmann Stiftung. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  33. "Personalien". Handelsblatt (in German). 11 September 1987. p. 22.
  34. "Carl Bertelsmann-Preis: Biedenkopf würdigt Tarifvertragsparteien". Handelsblatt (in German). 18 April 1988. p. 5.
  35. "Gremien". Deutsche Nationalstiftung (in German). Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  36. Hugh Williamson, Maike Rademaker and Richard Milne (7 July 2005), VW scandal prompts call for labour relations review Financial Times.
  37. Schröder und Biedenkopf legen Schlichtungsvorschlag bei Bahn vor Rheinische Post, 11 September 2006.
  38. Board of Trustees Dresden Frauenkirche.
  39. International Advisory Board International Law Institute (ILI).
  40. "EU Credibility at Risk If Turkey's Accession Process Stalls". Open Society Foundations. 6 September 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  41. Board of Trustees Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft.
  42. Kurt Biedenkopf Hertie School of Governance.
  43. "Lions-Club feiert 50. Geburtstag". DIE WELT. 16 November 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  44. Peter Anderson (9 September 2015), Biedenkopf verlässt Meissen-Aufsichtsrat Sächsische Zeitung.
  45. "Tabellarischer Lebenslauf". Kurt Biedenkopf (in German). Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  46. "Traueranzeigen von Kurt Biedenkopf". FP Gedenken (in German). Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  47. Rundschau, Lausitzer (8 August 2005). "Freistaat hält sich mit Orden für seine Bürger zurück". lr-online.de (in German). Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  48. "Prof. Dr. Dieter Landgraf-Dietz mit der Sächsischen Verfassungsmedaille geehrt". Sachsen (in German). Retrieved 13 August 2021. Bisherige Träger der Medaille sind unter anderem der ehemalige sächsische Ministerpräsident Prof. Dr. Kurt Biedenkopf (2002)
  49. Ministerpräsident Armin Laschet verleiht den Verdienstorden des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen an Gerhart Baum, Kurt Biedenkopf, Birgit Fischer und Reiner Priggen, State Government of North Rhine-Westphalia, press release of 23 August 2017.
  50. Huster, Susann (28 April 2021). "Universität Leipzig verleiht Kurt Biedenkopf die Ehrendoktorwürde". Universität Leipzig (in German). Retrieved 13 August 2021.
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