View source for Ernst Benda

{{Refimprove|date=October 2023}}
{{Short description|German judge (1925–2009)}}
{{Expand German|topic=bio|date=December 2008|Ernst Benda}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = 
| name                = Ernst Benda
| honorific-suffix    = 
| image               = Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F041440-0013, Hamburg, CDU-Bundesparteitag, Ernst Benda.jpg
| imagesize           = 200px
| caption             = 
| office              = 4th [[List of justices of the Federal Constitutional Court#Presidents of the Federal Constitutional Court|President of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany]]
| term_start          = 8 December 1971
| term_end            = 20 December 1983
| nominator           = 
| appointer           = 
| predecessor         = [[Gebhard Müller]]
| successor           = [[Wolfgang Zeidler]]
| office2             = 6th Federal Minister of the Interior of Germany
| term_start2         = 2 April 1968
| term_end2           = 21 October 1969
| nominator2          = 
| appointer2          = 
| predecessor2        = [[Paul Lücke]]
| successor2          = [[Hans-Dietrich Genscher]]
| office3             = Member of the [[Bundestag]]
| term_start3         = 15 October 1957
| term_end3           = 8 December 1971
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1925|1|15|df=y}}
| birth_place         = Berlin, Germany
| death_date          = {{death date and age|2009|3|2|1925|1|15|df=y}}
| death_place         = [[Karlsruhe]], Germany
| restingplace        = 
| restingplacecoordinates = 
| birthname           = 
| party               = [[Christian Democratic Union (Germany)|CDU]]
| otherparty          = <!--For additional political affiliations -->
| spouse              = 
| partner             = <!--For those with a domestic partner and not married -->
| relations           = 
| children            = 
| residence           = 
| alma_mater          = [[Free University of Berlin]]
| occupation          = 
| profession          = 
| cabinet             = 
| committees          = 
| portfolio           = 
| signature           = 
| website             = 
| footnotes           = 
}}
'''Ernst Benda''' (15 January 1925 – 2 March 2009) was a German legal scholar, politician, and judge. He was the fourth president of the [[Federal Constitutional Court of Germany]] from 1971 to 1983. He also held the position of [[Minister of the Interior of Germany]] from 1968 to 1969.

Benda was born in Berlin, the son of an engineer. After completing his schooling, he served in the [[Kriegsmarine]] from 1943 to 1945. After World War II, he pursued law studies at the [[Humboldt University of Berlin]] in East Berlin. However, in 1948, he moved to the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison|University of Wisconsin]] and later to the [[Free University of Berlin]] in West Berlin. In 1956, he began working as a [[lawyer]] in Berlin.

Benda became a member of the [[Christian Democratic Union (Germany)|Christian Democratic Union]] (CDU) in 1946. He played a role in founding the [[Kampfgruppe gegen Unmenschlichkeit]] (KgU) ("Combat Group against Inhumanity") in 1948, an anti-communist organization that operated in the German Democratic Republic ([[GDR]]). The KgU received financial support from various Western intelligence agencies and the West German government. He served as a member of the [[Abgeordnetenhaus von Berlin]], the parliament of Berlin, from 1954 to 1957. In 1957, he was elected to the [[Bundestag]], the West German parliament.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Die Mitglieder des Deutschen Bundestages - 1.-13. Wahlperiode: Alphabetisches Gesamtverzeichnis; Stand: 28. Februar 1998|url=http://webarchiv.bundestag.de/cgi/show.php?fileToLoad=627&id=12|date=1998-02-28|website=webarchiv.bundestag.de|publisher=Deutscher Bundestag, Wissenschaftliche Dienste des Bundestages (WD 3/ZI 5)|language=de|trans-title=The members of the German Bundestag - 1st - 13th term of office: Alphabetical complete index|access-date=2020-05-21|format=PDF}}</ref> In 1965, Benda played a role in bringing significant changes to West Germany's [[Statute of limitations|statutes of limitations]] for [[murder]], allowing charges of murder against former National Socialists. He held the position of [[Secretary of State]] in the German [[interior ministry]] from 1967 and became Minister of the Interior in 1968. 

In 1969, Benda was appointed as a judge to the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany. He became the president of the court from 1971 to 1983. Starting in 1984, Benda held the position of a professor of law at the [[University of Freiburg]].

==Awards and honours==
:1974 [[Order of Merit of the Italian Republic|Grand Cross of Merit of the Italian Republic]]
:1975 [[Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria|Grand Gold Medal with Ribbon for Services to the Republic of Austria]]
:1983 [[Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]]
:1974 Honorary Doctorate from the Faculty of Law, [[Julius-Maximilians-Universität]] [[Würzburg]]
:1978 Honorary Professor at the [[University of Trier]]
:1978 [[Pipe smoker of the year]]
:1987 {{ill|Heinz-Herbert Karry Prize|de|Heinz Herbert Karry-Preis}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline}}
* [https://www.faz.net/s/Rub594835B672714A1DB1A121534F010EE1/Doc~E95530D7196664D7CBCA3E33C48EC3CC5~ATpl~Ecommon~Scontent.html Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung] {{in lang|de}}

{{Navboxes
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Benda, Ernst}}
[[Category:1925 births]]
[[Category:2009 deaths]]
[[Category:KGU members]]
[[Category:Members of the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin]]
[[Category:German Protestants]]
[[Category:Jurists from Berlin]]
[[Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni]]
[[Category:Free University of Berlin alumni]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Grand Decoration with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria]]
[[Category:Interior ministers of Germany]]
[[Category:Justices of the Federal Constitutional Court]]
[[Category:Members of the Bundestag for Berlin]]
[[Category:Members of the Bundestag 1969–1972]]
[[Category:Members of the Bundestag 1965–1969]]
[[Category:Members of the Bundestag 1961–1965]]
[[Category:Members of the Bundestag 1957–1961]]
[[Category:20th-century German judges]]
[[Category:Members of the Bundestag for the Christian Democratic Union of Germany]]
[[Category:Kriegsmarine personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Humboldt University of Berlin alumni]]