Burkhard Hirsch | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Vice President of the Bundestag (on proposal of the FDP-group) | |
| In office 10 November 1994 – 26 October 1998 | |
| Preceded by | Dieter-Julius Cronenberg |
| Succeeded by | Hermann Otto Solms |
| Member of theBundestag | |
| In office 1980–1998 | |
| Minister of the Interior ofNorth Rhine-Westphalia | |
| In office 28 May 1975 – 4 June 1980 | |
| Preceded by | Willi Weyer [de] |
| Succeeded by | Herbert Schnoor |
| Member of the German Bundestag | |
| In office 1972 – 28 May 1975 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1930-05-29)29 May 1930 Magdeburg, Germany |
| Died | 11 March 2020(2020-03-11) (aged 89) Düsseldorf, Germany |
| Political party | Free Democratic Party |
| Alma mater | University of Marburg |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Burkhard Hirsch (29 May 1930 – 11 March 2020) was a German politician andcivil liberties advocate. A member of theFree Democratic Party (FDP), Hirsch spent 21 years in theBundestag (1972–1975, 1980–1998). He also served five years as Minister of the Interior ofNorth Rhine-Westphalia (1975–1980).
Born inMagdeburg,[1] then part of thePrussianProvince of Saxony, Hirsch earned hisAbitur inHalle. He studied law andpolitical sciences (Rechts- und Staatswissenschaften) at theUniversity of Marburg. He completed his first and secondStaatsexamen in 1954 and 1959, respectively, and earned hisDoctor of Laws in 1961[1][2] with adoctoral thesisDer Begriff des Bundesstaates in der deutschen Staatsrechtslehre. He worked as a lawyer at the Amts- und Landgericht Düsseldorf from 1964. He was a member of the Wirtschaftsvereinigung Eisen- und Stahlindustrie from 1960 to 1967.[2]
Hirsch joined theFDP in 1949 and was a member of their youth organisationJungdemokraten until 1964.[2] He served on the city council ofDüsseldorf from 1964 to 1972 and was president of the regional party from 1971 to 1977. He served on the party's board inNorth Rhine-Westphalia from 1971 to 2005, and then became its honorary chairman.[2] He first attained a seat in theBundestag in the1972 federal election.[1] From 1973 to 2005, he was on the FDP's national board and then became an honorary member.[2] Hirsch left theBundestag in 1975 to become Minister of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia, serving as vice minister-president from 1979.[2] He returned to the Bundestag in 1980.[1] From 1994 to 1998, he was avice president of the Bundestag.[1]
Hirsch gained a reputation as one of the most vocal advocates forcivil liberties in Germany, which earned him theArnold-Freymuth-Preis [de] in 1998 and theFritz Bauer Prize in 2006.[1] Hirsch was also awarded anhonorary doctorate by theGoethe University Frankfurt in 2006,[1] and was praised in a speech byPeter-Alexis Albrecht [de] as "a nonpartisan, relentless, and aggressive advocate of the rigorous rule of law".[3]
.jpg)
Hirsch was president of the council of theHochschule Düsseldorf from 2008 to 2015, with a short interruption.[4] For his influential work for the academy, he was the first to be awarded anhonorary citizenship, in May 2016.[4] He died on 11 March 2020.[4] The Hochschule wrote in an obituary:[4]
Er war gleichsam ein Brückenbauer zwischen den Menschen und Nationen – in der logischen Argumentation sachlich und konstruktiv; in seinem Handeln und Wirken stets menschlich zugewandt und wohlwollend.[4]
(He was, as it were, a bridge-builder between people and nations – practical and constructive in his logical argumentation and always humane and benevolent in his actions and influence.)
einen überparteilich unnachgiebigen und kämpferischen Verfechter strikter Rechtsstaatlichkeit
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
