Dr. Baldur Hendrik Hermans ( Essen-Borbeck 1938 - 16 November 2015) 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 ...

historian and a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

. He was Secretary General of the

International Catholic Conference of Scouting The International Catholic Conference of Scouting (ICCS) is an autonomous, international body committed to promoting and supporting Catholic Scout associations and to be a link between the Scout movement and the Catholic Church. Its headquarters ...

, and served as the International Commissioner of the

Ring deutscher Pfadfinderverbände The Ring deutscher Pfadfinderverbände (RdP; ''German Scout Federation'') was the German national Scouting organization within the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM). It served 115,944 members (as of 2011). The RdP was founded as R ...

, as well as the International Commissioner of the German Catholic Scouting

Deutsche Pfadfinderschaft Sankt Georg The Deutsche Pfadfinderschaft Sankt Georg (DPSG, ''German Scout Association Saint George'') is the largest of Scouting and Guiding in Germany, Germany's many Scouting organizations. The Roman Catholic Church, Catholic association has about 95,00 ...

(DPSG). Hermans began his university studies in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

in 1961, and subsequently obtained a doctorate in history. He joined the UNITAS Catholic Students Association at the beginning of his studies. In 1970 he became director of the Episcopal Youth Office in the diocese of Essen, in 1989 he was head of the social functions and international relations department of the diocese, retiring in 2004. A member of DPSG since 1949, between 1985 and 2004 he was the international commissioner, representing the association in Europe and around the world. He played an important role in the revival of Catholic Scouting in the countries of

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, 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 Mountain ...

and the

former Soviet Union The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union or the former Soviet republics, are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they ...

after 1989, by organizing international exchanges of young people and launching various international projects. In 2002, at the

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

World Scout Conference The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest and, after the Order of World Scouts (formed in 1911), is the second-oldest international organization in the Scout Movement, having been established in 1922. It has 176 members. ...

, Hermans was elected Secretary General of the International Catholic Conference of Scouting, and reconfirmed in his post in 2005 in Tunis and in 2008 in Rome. He was a member of the

Pontifical Council for the Laity The Pontifical Council for the Laity was a pontifical council of the Roman Catholic Curia from 1967 to 2016. It had the responsibility of assisting the Pope in his dealings with the laity in lay ecclesial movements or individually, and their ...

, the Lumen Gentium Foundation and the Central Committee of German Catholics for Evangelization. He collaborated for many years in the political work 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 ...

(CDU), and was author and publisher of numerous articles and books. In March 1998, Hermans was awarded the 264th ''

Bronze Wolf The Bronze Wolf Award is an award presented by the World Organization of the Scout Movement for outstanding service by an individual to the Scout Movement. Just over 400 people have received the Bronze Wolf since its creation in 1935. WOSM has r ...

'', the only distinction of the

World Organization of the Scout Movement The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest and, after the Order of World Scouts (formed in 1911), is the second-oldest international organization in the Scout Movement, having been established in 1922. It has 176 members. ...

, awarded by the World Scout Committee for exceptional services to world Scouting. In 2009, he became a member 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 ...

References

External links

Recipients of the Bronze Wolf Award Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 1938 births Scouting and Guiding in Germany 2015 deaths {{Germany-reli-bio-stub