Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F046646-0036, Bonn, Empfang für Bundesratsdirektor Dr

Alfred Kubel (25 May 1909 in

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...

– 22 May 1999 in Bad Pyrmont) was a German politician; in his later career, he was a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). In 1928, after attending Middle School, Kubel became an industrial clerk. In 1925, Kubel became a member of ''

Internationaler Sozialistischer Kampfbund The Internationaler Sozialistischer Kampfbund (, "International Socialist Militant League") or ISK was a socialist split-off from the SPD during the Weimar Republic and was active in the German Resistance against Nazism. History The ''Interna ...

'', a left-wing political party. During that time, he also joined a

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

. Starting in 1933, he became active in resistance to the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

. Kubel was arrested in 1937 and was convicted to a one-year prison term for preparation of

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

. He was drafted into the

Volkssturm The (; "people's storm") was a levée en masse national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. It was not set up by the German Army, the ground component of the combined German ''Wehrmacht'' armed forces, ...

, a branch of the military, in 1944, and deserted soon thereafter. In May 1946, after having joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Kubel was appointed

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

by the British occupation forces; he held this position until the state was merged into

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

in November 1946. From 1951 to 1955 and from 1957 to 1970, he held various cabinet-level positions in the government of Lower Saxony. As minister, he also served on the

Volkswagen Group Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The company designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercial ...

's advisory board from 1965 to 1970. Kubel was

Minister President of Lower Saxony The Minister-President of Lower Saxony (german: Ministerpräsident des Landes Niedersachsen), also referred to as Premier or Prime Minister, is the head of government of the German state of Lower Saxony. The position was created in 1946, when the ...

from 1970 to 1976; as such, he served as

President of the Bundesrat In Germany, the President of the Bundesrat or President of the Federal Council (German: ''Bundesratspräsident'') is the chairperson (speaker) of the Bundesrat (Federal Council). The president is elected by the Bundesrat for a term of one year ...

in 1974/75.

References

Biography at the Lower Saxon Ministry of Agriculture

External links

Literature by Kubel
* 1909 births 1999 deaths Presidents of the German Bundesrat Politicians from Braunschweig Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Ministers-President of Lower Saxony Ministers of the Lower Saxony State Government Volkssturm personnel Deserters {{Germany-SPD-politician-stub German resistance to Nazism