Alfred Fellisch (1 June 1884 – 4 March 1973) was a German Social democrat and

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

politician. He was

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

minister of economics both in the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

and in postwar

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

and briefly Minister President of the

Free State of Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

(1923–1924). Fellisch was born in Fraustadt,

Province of Posen The Province of Posen (; ) was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1848 to 1920, occupying most of the historical Greater Poland. The province was established following the Greater Poland Uprising (1848), Poznań Uprisi ...

, German Empire (Wschowa, Poland), his father was a butcher. He attended primary school and was trained as a glovemaker, a profession he exercised until 1912. In 1912 and 1913 he attended the Social Democratic Party school 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 ...

and started to work for the ''Volksstimme'' ("People's Voice") newspaper in

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt (); ; ) is the third-largest city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden, and the fourth-largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East Be ...

in 1913. In 1914 he became a member of the SPD party executive of

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

. From 1914 to 1921 Fellisch was the chairman of the young workers organization in Chemnitz. In 1919 he became a member of the town council of Chemnitz and worked as a secretary of the Social Democratic fraction in the Saxon Parliament. He ran unsuccessfully in the Reichstag election of 1920 in the district 33.Sozialdemokratische Parlamentarier in den deutschen Reichs- und Landtagen 1876-1933
Fellisch served as Saxon Minister of economics from May 1921 to January 1924 and, after the dismissal of

Erich Zeigner Erich Zeigner (17 February 1886, in Erfurt – 5 April 1949, in Leipzig) was a German politician. He was Prime Minister of the German state of Saxony during the attempted communist uprising of 1923. In August 1921 Zeigner was Minister of Justi ...

by German President

Friedrich Ebert Friedrich Ebert (; 4 February 187128 February 1925) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party (SPD) who served as the first President of Germany (1919–1945), president of Germany from 1919 until ...

, Minister President from 31 October 1923 to 4 January 1924. From 1924 to 1933 he was the head of the regional administration (Amtshauptmann) of Annaberg. Following

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 ...

the

Soviet Military Administration in Germany The Soviet Military Administration in Germany (; ''Sovyetskaya Voyennaya Administratsiya v Germanii'', SVAG; , SMAD) was the Soviet military government, headquartered in Berlin- Karlshorst, that directly ruled the Soviet occupation zone in German ...

appointed him as "Regierungsrat" in

Stollberg Stollberg is a town in Saxony, Germany, in the district Erzgebirgskreis. It is situated 20 km east of Zwickau and 17 km southwest of Chemnitz. It was the site of the Hoheneck women's prison until 2001. References

Erzgebirgsk ...

and "Landrat" of the

Annaberg district Annaberg is a former district in Saxony, Germany. It was bounded by (from the south and clockwise) the Czech Republic and the districts of Aue-Schwarzenberg, Stollberg and Mittlerer Erzgebirgskreis. Its colors are pink, green, and blue. Histo ...

. With the merger of the Social Democrat Party and the

Communist Party of Germany The Communist Party of Germany (, ; KPD ) was a major Far-left politics, far-left political party in the Weimar Republic during the interwar period, German resistance to Nazism, underground resistance movement in Nazi Germany, and minor party ...

in the

Soviet occupation zone The Soviet occupation zone in Germany ( or , ; ) was an area of Germany that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a communist area, established as a result of the Potsdam Agreement on 2 August 1945. On 7 October 1949 the German Democratic Republ ...

he became a member of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany in April 1946. From May 1946 to March 1948 Fellisch was Secretary of State of economy and economic planning of Saxony. He followed Fritz Selbmann, who became deputy chairman of the

German Economic Commission The German Economic Commission () was the top administrative body in the Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany prior to the creation of the German Democratic Republic (). The DWK was established in June 1947 by the Soviet Military Administration in G ...

, as Minister of economy and economic planning of Saxony from April 1948 to September 1949. From 1949 until his retirement in 1952 he was the director of the

Saxon State Library The Saxon State and University Library Dresden (full name in ), abbreviated SLUB Dresden, is located in Dresden, Germany. It is both the regional library () for the German State of Saxony as well as the academic library for the Dresden Universi ...

. Fellisch died on 4 March 1973 in

Radebeul Radebeul (; ) is a town (''große Kreisstadt'') in the Elbe valley in the district of Meißen (district), Meißen in Saxony, Germany, a suburb of Dresden. It is well known for its viticulture, a Karl May Museum, museum dedicated to writer Karl ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fellisch, Alfred 1884 births 1973 deaths People from Wschowa Politicians from the Province of Posen Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians Independent Social Democratic Party politicians Minister-presidents of Saxony Ministers of the Saxony State Government Members of the Landtag of Saxony