Hartmut Holzapfel (born 5 September 1944 in
Röhrda,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
; died 21 December 2022), was a
Hessian
A Hessian is an inhabitant of the German state of Hesse.
Hessian may also refer to:
Named from the toponym
*Hessian (soldier), eighteenth-century German regiments in service with the British Empire
**Hessian (boot), a style of boot
**Hessian f ...
politician
A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
(
SPD
The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together wi ...
), former Hessian Minister of Culture, and former chairman of the Hessian Council on Literature.
Holzapfel finished High School in 1964 and studied
Sociology
Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...
at the
University of Frankfurt, MA equiv. 1969. Frankfurt was then the center of "liberal" sociology in Germany and of the second phase of the "
Frankfurt School
The Frankfurt School is a school of thought in sociology and critical theory. It is associated with the University of Frankfurt Institute for Social Research, Institute for Social Research founded in 1923 at the University of Frankfurt am Main ...
", often called the "German Berkeley". Holzapfel became active in Social Democratic party politics already in 1961, becoming the personal assistant of the Hessian Minister of Culture
Ludwig von Friedeburg
Ludwig von Friedeburg (21 May 1924 – 17 May 2010) was a German politician and sociologist and a German naval officer during World War II. He served as Minister for Education for the state of Hesse from 1969 until 1974. During that period he for ...
, the author of the most significant liberal education reforms in Germany of that period, in the key years from 1969 to 1974. 1972-1974 Holzapfel was also a member of the Frankfurt City Council.
In 1974, Holzapfel was elected to the Hessian Parliament, the ''Landtag'', and remained there until 2008, with an interruption in 1995-1999. Between 1991 and 1999, he was Minister of Culture (in charge primarily of schools but not of universities) and pursued a reformist agenda.
In 2004, Holzapfel became Chairman of the Hessian Council on Literature, a state foundation promoting and sponsoring literature and creative writing.
References
External links
Eine Lanze Für Die Literatur
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holzapfel, Harmut
Members of the Landtag of Hesse
Ministers of the Hesse State Government
1944 births
2022 deaths