Pskov
Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...
,
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
- 10 September 2003
Cologne
Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
, Germany) was a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters.
The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...
and
social scientist
Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...
, specializing in Soviet studies,
international law
International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...
and
Eastern European
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountains, and ...
history and politics.
Life
Meissner was the son of Artur Meissner, a judge of
Baltic German
Baltic Germans ( or , later ) are Germans, ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950), their resettlement in 1945 after the end ...
extraction, and spent his childhood in
Pärnu
Pärnu () is the fourth-largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second-largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of ...
,
Estonia
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
. He attended
Tartu University
The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a Public university, public research university located in the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is also the largest and oldest university in the country.Posen University, where he also worked as research assistant for Erik von Sivers and
Axel Freiherr von Freytag-Loringhoven
Axel may refer to:
People
* Axel (name), all persons with the name
Places
* Axel, Netherlands, a town
** Capture of Axel, a battle at Axel in 1586
Arts, entertainment, media
* ''Axel'', a 1988 short film by Nigel Wingrove
* ''Axel'', a Cirque ...
. In the course of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
he became an officer in the
German Army
The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...
, serving with
Heeresgruppe Nord
Army Group North () was the name of three separate army groups of the Wehrmacht during World War II. Its rear area operations were organized by the Army Group North Rear Area.
The first Army Group North was deployed during the invasion of Pol ...
.
After the war he moved to Hamburg, where he became a research assistant to Rudolf von Laun at the
University of Hamburg
The University of Hamburg (, also referred to as UHH) is a public university, public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('':de:Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen, ...
. From 1946 until 1953 he headed the ''Ostrecht'' (Eastern European law) desk at the ''Forschungsstelle für Völkerrecht und ausländisches öffentliches Recht'' of Hamburg University. In 1953 Meissner joined the Foreign Service of the
Federal Republic of Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen constituent states have a total population of over 84 ...
. During his time at the Soviet desk, he was a member of the German delegation accompanying
Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman and politician who served as the first Chancellor of Germany, chancellor of West Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the first leader of th ...
on his visit to
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
in September 1955 and the Four Power Conferences on Germany in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
(1954) and
Geneva
Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
(1955; 1959). In 1956 he became First Secretary at the German Embassy in Moscow. Two years later he became head of the Research Department of the "Ostabteilung" in the
German Foreign Office
The Federal Foreign Office (, ; abbreviated AA) is the foreign ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany, a federal agency responsible for both the country's foreign policy and its relationship with the European Union. It is a cabinet-leve ...
.
Having earned a doctorate at Hamburg University in 1955, Meissner was offered the chair in Eastern European Law, Politics and Social Studies at
Kiel University
Kiel University, officially the Christian Albrecht University of Kiel, (, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a public University, public research university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the ...
in 1959. In 1964 he became director of the Institute for Eastern European Law at
Cologne University
The University of Cologne () is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in 1388. It closed in 1798 before being re-established in 1919. It is now one of the largest universities in Germany with around 45,187 students. The Universit ...
, where he remained until his retirement in 1984.
Boris Meissner died 10 September 2003 aged 88 years in Cologne, Germany. Meissner was married to Irene Sieger in 1949 who died on December 11, 2017, in Cologne, Germany.
Work
In 1961 Meissner initiated the foundation of the '' Federal Institute for Eastern European and International Studies'' (). He was its first president serving until 1965 and remained on the board for six more years. At the same time he advised the Foreign Office on policy towards the East Bloc, and later served as director of its advisory committee from 1972 - 1982.
A member of the
Christian Democratic Union of Germany
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany ( , CDU ) is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is the major party of the centre-right in German politics. Friedrich Merz has been federal chairman of the CDU since 31 ...
, Meissner was member of the foreign commission of the party's executive committee from 1970 to 1976. He continued to advise Chancellor
Helmut Kohl
Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as chancellor of Germany and governed the ''Federal Republic'' from 1982 to 1998. He was leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to ...
on Eastern Europe in the 1980s and 1990s.
Apart from this, Meissner was president of the Göttinger Arbeitskreis, an association of scientists from the former German territories in the East, from 1965 - 2000.
Publications
Meissner was a regular commentator on Soviet affairs for several scientific journals, e.g. ''Osteuropa'' (Eastern Europe) and ''Außenpolitik'' (Foreign Affairs). His expertise also covered east–west-Relations and the German question. He was a renowned expert on Soviet institutions as well as the internal affairs of the ruling
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...
. He followed the development of nationalist movements in the Soviet Union and the changes introduced by
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
from 1984 onwards. After the collapse of the Soviet Union he focused on the Baltic states.
His first book on the Soviet constitution was published in 1947, followed by numerous publications. In 1956 his doctoral thesis titled ''Soviet Intervention in the Baltic States and the Baltic Question in International Law'' () was published.
Selected works
*' In: ' : Duncker und Humblot, 1973
** ''The Baltic Question in World Politics'', The Baltic States in Peace and War (The
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...
Press, 1978), 139-148
*''Sowjetunion und Selbstbestimmungsrecht'' In: ''Dokumente zum Ostrecht'', 0419-6015; Bd. 3 a1962*''Partei, Staat und Nation in der Sowjetunion: ausgewählte Beiträge.'' Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 1985
*''The Communist Party of the Soviet Union: Party Leadership, Organization, and Ideology'' (1976) ;
*The Soviet conception of coexistence and the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (East-West relations). (1975)
*''Die Sowjetunion im Umbruch: historische Hintergründe, Ziele und Grenzen der Reformpolitik Gorbatschows''. Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 1988
*' In: ' Hrsg Boris Meissner, Dietrich A. Loeber, Cornelius Hasselblatt. Hamburg: ''Bibliotheca Baltica'', 1994, S.466-504
*' (Veröffentlichung / Göttinger Arbeitskreis) 2000 ,
Decorations
*
Order of the Polar Star
The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 F ...
1st Class (1977)
*Commander's Cross of the
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...
(1985)
*Grand Cross of the
Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana
The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana (, also the Order of the Cross of St. Mary's Land) was instituted by the President of Estonia, Lennart Meri, on 16 May 1995 to honour the independence of the Estonian state. (The Latin name ''Terra Mariana'' ...
Landsmannschaft Ostpreußen
The Landsmannschaft Ostpreußen ("Homeland Association of East Prussia") is a non-profit organization for Germans who were evacuated or expelled from East Prussia during World War II and as well as people who emigrated in more recent times, exe ...
(1990)
*
Honorary Doctorate
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...
of the University of Tartu (1996)
References
* Cornelius Hasselblatt ''Boris Meissneri Fenomen'', Akadeemia, nr 7 1997, lk 1383-1385
* Peeter Järvelaid. Kannab Eestit südames: Boris Meissner 85. Euroopa kultuuriruumis matkates // Õigus ja poliitika kultuuris : artikleid ja esseid / Peeter Järvelaid. Tallinn, 2002, lk. 139–179.
* Peeter Järvelaid. Professor Boris Meissner – 85 : mees, kes kannab Eestit südames // Ajalooline Ajakiri (2000) nr. 4, lk. 124–128. – Bibl. joonealustes märkustes. Summary, lk. 137.
* Peeter Järvelaid. Paul Keres ja Boris Meissner. – Pärnu Postimees, 7. jaanuar 2011, lk. 11.
* Peeter Järvelaid. Targad valitsejad ja nõunikud. - Pärnu Postimees, 2. mai 2015, lk. 19.
* Peeter Järvelaid. Tarkadest valitsejatest ja nende nõunikest. – Eesti Päevaleht (Stockholm), juuni 2015, lk. 10–11.
* Peeter Järvelaid. Kaks mälestuskildu Boris Meissnerist (1915-2003). - Pärnu Postimees, 3. oktoober 2015 (http://www.parnupostimees.ee/3349135/peeter-jarvelaid-kaks-malestuskildu-boris-meissnerist-1915-2003)
* Peeter Järvelaid. Mälestuskilde Boris Meissnerist (1915-2003). Prof. dr. dr h.c. Boris Meissneri sajandat sünniaastapäeva meenutades. – Eesti Elu (Toronto), 22. oktoober 2015, lk. 4 ja 8.