View source for Horst Ehmke

{{Short description|German lawyer, law professor and politician (1927–2017)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}

{{Infobox officeholder
| image = Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F041575-0018, Horst Ehmke bei Pressekonferenz.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Horst Ehmke in 1973
| name = Horst Ehmke
|birth_name=Horst Paul August Ehmke
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1927|2|4|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Free City of Danzig]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2017|3|12|1927|2|4|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Bonn]]
| office = [[Federal Ministry of Post and Telecommunications|Federal Minister of Post and Telecommunications]]
| term_start = 15 December 1972
| term_end = 16 May 1974
| predecessor =[[Lauritz Lauritzen]]
| successor = [[Kurt Gscheidle]]
| office1 = [[Minister of Justice (Germany)|Federal Minister of Justice]]
| term_start1 = 26 March 1969
| term_end1 = 22 October 1969
| predecessor1 = [[Gustav Heinemann]]
| successor1 = [[Gerhard Jahn]]
| office2 = [[Chiefs of the Federal Chancellery|Chief of the Federal Chancellery]]
| term_start2 = 22 October 1969
| term_end2 = 15 December 1972
| predecessor2 = [[Karl Carstens]]
| successor2 = [[Horst Grabert]]
| office3 = Federal Minister of Research, Technology, and Post
| term_start3 = 15 December 1972
| term_end3 = 7 May 1974
| predecessor3 = [[Lauritz Lauritzen]]
| successor3 = [[Kurt Gscheidle]]
| party = [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|SPD]]
| otherparty =
| occupation = Professor of law
}}

'''Horst Paul August Ehmke''' (4 February 1927 – 12 March 2017) was a [[Germany|German]] lawyer, law professor and [[politician]] of the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democratic Party]] (SPD). He served as [[Minister of Justice (Germany)|Federal Minister of Justice]] (1969), Chief of Staff at the [[German Chancellery]] and [[Federal Minister for Special Affairs of Germany|Federal Minister for Special Affairs]] (1969–1972) and Federal Minister for Research, Technology, and Post (1972–1974).

==Life==
Ehmke was born in the [[Free City of Danzig]], where he passed his [[Abitur]].<ref name=spiegelprofile>''[[Der Spiegel]]'', 4 February 2007, [http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/0,1518,463828,00.html Der flotte Hotte sah sich als kommenden exzellenten Kanzler]</ref> In [[1944]], at the age of 17, Ehmke was enrolled as a member of the [[Nazi Party]], although when this became public knowledge in 2007 as part of a media investigation of [[Nazism|Nazi]] archives, he stated that he had made no application and was previously unaware of the enrollment.<ref>''[[Die Welt]]'', 14 July 2007, [https://www.welt.de/politik/article1026806/Weitere_Prominente_in_der_Nazi_Kartei.html Weitere Prominente in der Nazi-Kartei]</ref><ref>''[[Der Spiegel]]'', 16 July 2007, [http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-52263711.html Hoffnungslos dazwischen]</ref> Following the [[Expulsion of Germans after World War II]] he came as a [[refugee]] to [[West Germany|western Germany]]. He studied [[Law]] and [[Economics]] in [[University of Göttingen|Göttingen]] and [[Political science]] and [[History]] at [[Princeton University]] ([[U.S.]]) from 1949 to 1950. In 1952, he promoted as Dr. iur., and in 1956, he passed his final examinations. In these years, he was the assistant of [[Adolf Arndt]], member of the [[Bundestag]] (SPD).

From 1956 to 1960, Ehmke became a member of the [[Ford Foundation]] in [[Cologne]] and [[Berkeley, California|Berkeley]]. After passing his [[Habilitation]] in 1960, he became [[Professor]] of [[public law]] at the [[University of Freiburg]], where he became the Dean.<ref name=spiegelprofile/> From 1963 on, Ehmke was ordinary [[Professor]] and held the chair of [[Law]] at this [[university]]. Since 1974, he was accredited as a [[lawyer]].

Ehmke was married and had three children.

==Political career==
[[File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F033699-0003, Bonn, Ehmke empfängt Edward Kennedy.jpg|thumb|right|Chief of Staff Horst Ehmke greeting Senator [[Ted Kennedy]] in [[Bonn]], April 1971]]

Since 1947, Ehmke has been a member of the SPD, where he was a member of the executive board from 1973 to 1991. He was a member of the [[Bundestag]] from 1969 to 1994 for the state of [[North Rhine-Westphalia]]. Here, he was deputy whip of the SPD faction from 1977 to 1990.

Ehmke was [[Minister of Justice (Germany)|Federal Minister of Justice]] from to [[March]] to [[October]] 1969 before becoming Chief of Staff at the [[German Chancellery]] from 1969 to 1972 under Chancellor [[Willy Brandt]], being simultaneously the [[Federal Minister for Special Affairs of Germany|Federal Minister for Special Affairs]].<ref name=spiegelprofile/> After the [[1972 West German federal election]] he moved to become Federal Minister for Research, [[Technology]] and Post, until he was replaced in May 1974 by [[Hans Matthöfer]].<ref name=spiegelprofile/><ref>The ministry subsequently was split into the [[Federal Ministry for Education and Research (Germany)]] and the Federal Ministry for Post and Communications.</ref> Ehmke died on 12 March 2017 at the age of 90.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://poststar.com/news/world/horst-ehmke-aide-to-west-german-leader-brandt-dies-at/article_a0bc79d2-35a2-5cc5-9505-02cbfde9a5ce.html |title=Horst Ehmke, aide to West German leader Brandt, dies at 90 |access-date=13 March 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170313180040/http://poststar.com/news/world/horst-ehmke-aide-to-west-german-leader-brandt-dies-at/article_a0bc79d2-35a2-5cc5-9505-02cbfde9a5ce.html |archive-date=13 March 2017 }}</ref>

==Writings==
* ''Grenzen der Verfassungsänderung'', 1953
* ''Politik der praktischen Vernunft – Aufsätze und Referate'', 1969
* ''Politik als Herausforderung. Reden – Vorträge – Aufsätze 1968–1974'', 1974
* ''Politik als Herausforderung. Reden – Vorträge – Aufsätze 1975–1979'', 1979
* ''Beiträge zur Verfassungstheorie und Verfassungspolitik'', 1981
* ''Mittendrin – Von der Großen Koalition zur Deutschen Einheit'', 1994
After retiring, Ehmke also wrote detective stories revolving around politics:
* ''Global Players'', 1998
* ''Der Euro-Coup'', 1999
* ''Himmelsfackeln'', 2001
* ''Privatsache'', 2003
* ''Im Schatten der Gewalt'', 2006

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category-inline}}
* [http://www.theaterscene.net/ts/articles.nsf/FI/D0B199D2608DB91A85256FF100517682 Interview about the play Democracy] 2005, on Broadway about Willy Brandt

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ehmke, Horst}}
[[Category:1927 births]]
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