Gerhard Stoltenberg (29 September 1928 – 23 November 2001) was a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and minister in the cabinets of Ludwig Erhard, Kurt Georg Kiesinger and

Helmut Kohl Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to 1998. Kohl's 16-year tenure is the longes ...

. He served as

Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein The Minister-Presidents of Schleswig-Holstein since 1946 have been: List Political party: See also *Schleswig-Holstein *List of rulers of Schleswig-Holstein *Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Ministers-President Of Schles ...

from 1971 to 1982 and as

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

of the Bundesrat from 1977 to 1978.

Life

Early life and career

Stoltenberg was born in

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...

in northern Germany. In 1944 he became a navy assistant (''HJ-Marinehelfer''), a

Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...

auxiliary in the Kriegsmarine. After the war, when he was no longer a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

, he completed his '' Abitur'' in 1949. Stoltenberg began studying history, sociology and philosophy at the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...

. In 1954 he graduated as a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

and worked as an academic in Kiel. In 1960 he became a professor ('' Privatdozent''). In the years 1965 and from 1969 to 1970, Stoltenberg was the director of Friedrich Krupp GmbH in Essen.

Political career

Since 1947 Stoltenberg had been member of the CDU. In the years 1955 to 1961, he was federal leader of the

Junge Union The Junge Union Deutschlands (''Young Union of Germany'') or JU is the joint youth organisation of the two conservative German political parties, CDU and CSU. Membership is limited to individuals between 14 and 35 years of age. Junge Union c ...

, the youth' organisation of the CDU. From 1955 Stoltenberg had different positions in the CDU. From 1971 until 1989, he was chairman of the CDU in the state of Schleswig-Holstein. Moreover, Stoltenberg served as vice chairman of the federal CDU since 1969. Stoltenberg was member of the state parliament of Schleswig-Holstein from 1954 to 1957, and from 1971 to 1982. From 1957 to 1971, and from 1983 until 1998, Stoltenberg also served as a member of the federal German legislature, the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Common ...

. As a junior member of parliament and member of the budget committee, he was the first to introduce to the 1959 federal budget a flat grant of DM 5,000,000 for political education (training of party activists) to be transferred to federal party headquarters. Gerhard Stoltenberg looked destined for West Germany's highest office as he made a brilliant start to his political career. On 24 May 1971, Stoltenberg was elected minister-president of the state of Schleswig-Holstein and remained in this position until 1982. In 1982, he became federal minister of finance under chancellor

. He left this position when he was appointed minister of defence from 1989 on, replacing Rupert Scholz. He resigned from this position on 31 March 1992. Stoltenberg died in

Bad Godesberg Bad Godesberg ( ksh, Bad Jodesbersch) is a borough ('' Stadtbezirk'') of Bonn, southern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. From 1949 to 1999, while Bonn was the capital of West Germany, most foreign embassies were in Bad Godesberg. Some buildings ar ...

in 2001.Biography at BmVg.de
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Personal life

Stoltenberg was married and had two children. He was a member of the Lutheran church.

References