Liselotte Funcke | |
|---|---|
 Liselotte Funcke in 1974 | |
| Member of theBundestag | |
| In office 17 October 1961 – 23 November 1979 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1918-07-20)20 July 1918 |
| Died | 1 August 2012(2012-08-01) (aged 94) Hagen, Germany |
| Nationality | German |
| Political party | FDP |
| Occupation | Politician |
Liselotte Funcke (20 July 1918 – 1 August 2012) was a German liberal politician of theFree Democratic Party (FDP). She was a member of the GermanBundestag parliament from 1961 to 1979, serving asits vice president from 1969. She then was appointed state Minister of Economy inNorth Rhine-Westphalia, the first woman in the position. Funcke is remembered for her engagements to integrate foreigners in German society, as the Federal Commissioner for Foreigners (Ausländerbeauftragte) from 1981 to 1991, and afterwards.
Funcke was born inHagen to a liberal-leaning family,[1] the fourth child of a factory owner.[2] Her father was member of the board and president of the Reichsverbandes der Deutschen Industrie from 1919 to 1933, and became a member of theBundestag for the FDP in the 1950s.[2] Her mother came from the Osthaus family of bankers.[2] She attended the Realgymnasium, where she achieved theAbitur in 1937.[3] She served in theArbeitsdienst and attended the Kaufmannsschule Dortmund. She then studied Betriebswirtschaftslehre (business administration) in Berlin, where she earned her diploma in 1941.[2] Funcke worked for three years for a Wirtschaftsprüfer (statutory auditor) in Wuppertal; from 1944 she was responsible for balance, taxes, and finance in the company Schraubenfabrik und Gesenkeschmiede Funcke & Hueck, which her great-grandfather had founded in Hagen.[2]
Funcke's political career began after World War II,[1] joining the FDP in 1946.[2] She was a member of theLandtag of North Rhine-Westphalia state parliament from 1950 to 1961,[4] when she was elected to the GermanBundestag.[4][5] Funcke wasthe parliament's vice-president from 1969 to 1979.[4][1] From 1972 to 1979 she was chairman of the Bundestag's Finance Committee, having already been its deputy chairman from 1965 to 1969.[6]
Funcke served as stateMinister of Economy [de] (Wirtschaft, Mittelstand und Verkehr) inNorth Rhine-Westphalia from 1979,[4] the first woman in the position.[6] She had to leave the post a year later because her party was no longer part of theLandtag. She was theAusländerbeauftragte der Bundesregierung [de] (Federal Commissioner for Foreigners) from 1981 to 1991, working for the federal government for the integration of foreigners and their families,[2] again the first woman to hold the position.[6] She understood the position as "interpreter" of the problems of the foreigners, especially the large group of Turkish workers who brought their families with them; it earned her the respectful nameMutter der Türken (Mother of the Turks), and she continued to serve their interests in public after her official term.[4]
Funcke died in Hagen at the age of 94.[1]
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