Johannes Dieckmann (19 January 1893 – 22 February 1969) was a German journalist and politician who served as the 1st acting president of the parliament of

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

from 1949 to 1969.

Early life

Dieckmann was born in

Fischerhude Fischerhude is a village located next to the Wümme river in northern Germany between Bremen and Hamburg. Fischerhude is part of the municipality of Ottersberg, in the district of Verden.''Historisches Gemeindeverzeichnis für die Bundesrepublik ...

in the Prussian

Province of Hanover The Province of Hanover (german: Provinz Hannover) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1868 to 1946. During the Austro-Prussian War, the Kingdom of Hanover had attempted to maintain a neutral position ...

, the son of a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

pastor. He studied economics and philosophy at the universities of Berlin, where he joined the Verein Deutscher Studenten (VDSt), a German

Studentenverbindung (; often referred to as Verbindung) is the umbrella term for many different kinds of fraternity-type associations in German-speaking countries, including Corps, , , , and Catholic fraternities. Worldwide, there are over 1,600 , about a thousan ...

, Giessen, Göttingen and Freiburg. In 1916 he was recruited to the German Army and was severely injured in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, declared permanently ineligible. Nevertheless, he was later still mobilised to Italian campaign 1917. During the German Revolution in November 1918, he became chairman of a Soldiers' council. After the war, he joined the liberal

German People's Party The German People's Party (German: , or DVP) was a liberal party during the Weimar Republic that was the successor to the National Liberal Party of the German Empire. A right-liberal, or conservative-liberal political party, it represented politi ...

(DVP) and became a close associate of

Gustav Stresemann Gustav Ernst Stresemann (; 10 May 1878 – 3 October 1929) was a German statesman who served as chancellor in 1923 (for 102 days) and as foreign minister from 1923 to 1929, during the Weimar Republic. His most notable achievement was the reconci ...

in his election campaign.Article by Marc Zirlewagen in ''

Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon The ''Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon'' (''BBKL'') is a German biographical encyclopedia covering persons related to the history of the church, philosophy and literature, founded 1975 by Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz Friedrich Wilhelm B ...

'' In March 1919, he became a DVP party secretary in constituency Weser-Ems, and in 1921 he was sent by Stresemann to

Duisburg Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in No ...

/ Oberhausen constituency. During Belgian occupation in 1922, he was briefly imprisoned for publishing a journal not approved by the occupation authorities. During the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is ...

, Dieckmann held various posts within DVP regional leadership and was a member of Saxon Landtag for DVP from the end of 1929 to February 1933. After the Nazi seizure of power in January 1933, Dieckmann lost his office and worked from October 5, 1933 to August 30, 1939 in fuel and oilshale companies. From August 1939 to January 1941 he was mobilised again and participated French campaign; from January 15, 1941 to 1945 he worked in Silesian industrial business. After the failed coup attempt against Hitler, when Johannes Dieckmann’s cousin Wilhelm Dieckmann (1893–1944) was executed for connections with the plotters, Johannes Dieckmann was put under cautious surveillance by

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...

. After the war, Dieckmann established ''Sächsisches Tageblatt'' and led Sächsischer Kohlekontor GmbH.Article by Marc Zirlewagen in ''Biographisch-Bibliographises Kirchenlexikon'' In October 1945, he was a co-founder of Kulturbund. In 1945, he with his Bundesbruder Hermann Kastner (1886–1956) were some of the founders of ''Demokratische Partei Deutschlands'' (later renamed Liberal-Demokratische Partei Deutschlands); Dieckmann remained member of party’s central management (Zentralvorstand). From 1946 to 1952 he was a LDPD MP and (chairman of LDPD faction) in the ''Landtag'' of Saxony and its ''Präsidium''. In that post, he helped push out the more courageous members of his party and led it into the National Front of the GDR, which included the official political and social organisations and was effectively controlled by the

Socialist Unity Party of Germany The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (german: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, ; SED, ), often known in English as the East German Communist Party, was the founding and ruling party of the German Democratic Republic (GDR; East German ...

. From 1950 on, Dieckmann was a member of the ''Präsidium'' of the National Front. Later, from 10 March 1948 to 11 December 1949, he was minister of justice of the state of Saxony and deputy ''Ministerpräsident'' of Saxony. In 1948/49 Dieckmann was a member of the

German Economic Commission The German Economic Commission (german: Deutsche Wirtschaftskommission; DWK) was the top administrative body in the Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany prior to the creation of the German Democratic Republic (german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik). ...

(German: Deutsche Wirtschaftskommission or DWK), member of German People’s Council (Volksrat) and its constitution committee. He also acted as the president (chairman) of provisional People’s Chamber and People’s Chamber (Volkskammer), the parliament of the GDR, a post he held until his death. As such he was acting head of state after president

Wilhelm Pieck Friedrich Wilhelm Reinhold Pieck (; 3 January 1876 – 7 September 1960) was a German communist politician who served as the chairman of the Socialist Unity Party from 1946 to 1950 and as president of the German Democratic Republic from 1949 to ...

's death on 7 September 1960, until the presidency was replaced by the

State Council State Council may refer to: Government * State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President * State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative auth ...

five days later. Dieckmann was elected one of the deputy chairmen of the State Council, a post he held until his death. A member of the

Liberal Democratic Party of Germany The Liberal Democratic Party of Germany (german: Liberal-Demokratische Partei Deutschlands, LDPD) was a political party in East Germany. Like the other allied bloc parties of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) in the National Front, it ...

, one of several parties in the Socialist system of East Germany, Dieckmann already in 1947 was a founding member of the Society for Studying the Culture of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

("Gesellschaft zum Studium der Kultur der Sowjetunion"; from 1949: Gesellschaft für Deutsch-Sowjetische Freundschaft). He became one of its leaders and from 1963 to 1968 was the president of the association. He was the Chairman of Permanent Delegation of the GDR for the "International Conference for peaceful solution to German Question" and Chairman of "Foundation of the

Veterans A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that h ...

for People’s Solidarity".

Honour titles and awards

Ehrendoktor (Honorary doctor) of the

Leipzig University Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December ...

(1953)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dieckmann, Johannes 1893 births 1969 deaths People from Verden (district) People from the Province of Hanover German Lutherans German People's Party politicians Liberal Democratic Party of Germany politicians Heads of state of East Germany Members of the State Council of East Germany Presidents of the Volkskammer Members of the Provisional Volkskammer Members of the 1st Volkskammer Members of the 2nd Volkskammer Members of the 3rd Volkskammer Members of the 4th Volkskammer Members of the 5th Volkskammer Members of the Landtag of Saxony Cultural Association of the GDR members German Army personnel of World War I German Army personnel of World War II Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit (honor clasp) Recipients of the Banner of Labor

Early life

Honour titles and awards

Further reading

References