Kai-Uwe von Hassel | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.jpg) von Hassel in 1966 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President of the Bundestag | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 5 February 1969 – 13 December 1972 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Eugen Gerstenmaier | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Annemarie Renger | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minister for Displaced Persons, Refugeesand War Victims | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 1 December 1966 – 5 February 1969 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chancellor | Kurt Georg Kiesinger | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Johann Baptist Gradl | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Heinrich Windelen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minister of Defence | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 9 January 1963 – 1 December 1966 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chancellor | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Franz Josef Strauß | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Gerhard Schröder | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 11 October 1954 – 7 January 1963 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy |
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| Preceded by | Friedrich Wilhelm Lübke | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Helmut Lemke | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President of theBundesrat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 7 September 1955 – 6 September 1956 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Vice President | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Peter Altmeier | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Kurt Sieveking | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1913-04-21)21 April 1913 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 8 May 1997(1997-05-08) (aged 84) Aachen, Germany | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Christian Democratic Union (1946–1997) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kai-Uwe von Hassel (21 April 1913 – 8 May 1997) was a German politician fromSchleswig-Holstein associated with theChristian Democratic Union (CDU). He served asMinister President ofSchleswig-Holstein from 1954 to 1963, asFederal Minister of Defence from 1963 to 1966, and asFederal Minister for Displaced Persons, Refugees and War Victims from 1966 to 1969. From 1969 to 1972 he was the fourthpresident of the Bundestag. Having previously served asPresident of the Bundesrat in his capacity as Minister-President from 1955 to 1956, he is (as of 2025) the only person to have presided over both of the legislative constitutional bodies of the federal republic.
Hassel was born in Gare,German East Africa (now inLushoto,Tanga Region,Tanzania), where his fatherTheodor von Hassel (1868–1935) had served as aSchutztruppe officer. After theFirst World War, the Hassel family was banished from Tanganyika by the British mandate administration and settled inGlücksburg, Schleswig-Holstein. Hassel took hisAbitur school-leaving exam in 1933, trained as anagribusiness merchant, and returned to theTanganyika Territory in 1935. At the beginning of theSecond World War he was interned inDar es Salaam by the British authorities and was again banished to Germany. Drafted into theWehrmacht armed forces, he served as an interpreter for theAbwehr military intelligence organisation under AdmiralWilhelm Canaris and was decorated with theIron Cross (2nd Class).
After the war, Hassel joined the newly established Christian Democrat party in theFlensburg district and from 1947 served as mayor of Glücksburg. In 1950 he became a member of theSchleswig-Holstein legislature, and at the1953 federal election a member of the GermanBundestag.
On 11 October 1954 Hassel assumed the office of a Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein. From 1955–1956, he wasPresident of the German Bundesrat. He was closely associated withLudwig Erhard's two Chancellorships, serving as Minister of Defense from 9 January 1963 to 1 December 1966. In 1963 he secretly asked theUnited States to supply theBundeswehr withchemical weapons.[1] He then served inKurt Georg Kiesinger's cabinet from 1 December 1966 to 21 October 1969 asMinister of Displaced Persons, Refugees, and War Victims. His son Joachim von Hassel, a naval aviator andOberleutnant zur See, was killed in aLockheed F-104 Starfighter crash on 10 March 1970.
Following his service in the government, Hassel waspresident of the Bundestag from 5 February 1969 to 13 December 1972, having been elected when the previous president,Eugen Gerstenmaier, resigned during a financial scandal. In 1979, he was elected to theEuropean Parliament and served for one term, retiring in 1984. He died aged 84, when he suffered a heart attack during theCharlemagne Award ceremony in theAachen city hall in 1997.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister President of Schleswig-Holstein 1954–1963 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of the Bundesrat 1955–1956 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Federal Minister of Defence 1963–1966 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of Bundestag 1969–1972 | Succeeded by |
