Heinz Kuhrig (4 March 1929 – 13 September 2001) was an

East German East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

politician and party functionary of the

Socialist Unity Party The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (, ; SED, ) was the founding and ruling party of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from the country's foundation in 1949 until its dissolution after the Peaceful Revolution in 1989. It was a Ma ...

(SED). Kuhrig served as the East Germany's Agriculture Minister in the 1970s following Georg Ewald's death in a car accident. He was forced into retirement in 1982 and

committed suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or acad ...

after

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

Life and career

Early career

The son of a

working-class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

family, Kuhrig completed an

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in a regulat ...

as an industrial

electrician An electrician is a tradesman, tradesperson specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, transmission lines, stationary machines, and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the ...

from 1943 to 1945 after attending elementary school and worked as an agricultural machinery mechanic from 1945 to 1946. From 1946 to 1947, he attended a preparatory school and subsequently studied agriculture at

Leipzig University Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

, graduating in 1952 with a degree in

agricultural sciences Agricultural science (or agriscience for short) is a broad multidisciplinary field of biology that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. Professiona ...

( Diplomlandwirt). Kuhrig, who had joined the ruling

(SED) during his studies in 1946, thereafter worked in the Central Committee Agriculture Department. In 1961, he was made director of the Institute for Agricultural Engineering of the German Academy of Agricultural Sciences (now Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering) in Potsdam-Bornim. Two years later, in June 1963, he joined the Agriculture Council, successor of the Ministry of Agriculture, as first deputy chairman. From 1964 to 1968, he was also a member of the East German Council of Ministers. After studying at the CPSU Higher Party School "W. I. Lenin" in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

for a year, he returned to the now renamed Council for Agricultural Production and Food Economy as state secretary in 1968. He retained his role when the Ministry of Agriculture was reestablished as Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry and Food in January 1971. In June 1971 ( VIII. Party Congress), Kuhrig was also made a full member of the Central Auditing Commission of the SED.

Agriculture Minister

In September 1973, longtime Agriculture Minister and Kuhrig's superior

Georg Ewald Georg Ewald (30 October 1926 – 14 September 1973) was a German politician and high-ranking party functionary of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, Socialist Unity Party (SED). In the East Germany, German Democratic Republic, he briefly serv ...

died in a car accident. Kuhrig was chosen to succeed him, additionally becoming a full member of the Central Committee of the SED in May 1976 ( IX. Party Congress) (though also leaving the Central Auditing Commission), serving until its collective resignation in December 1989, and of the

Volkskammer The Volkskammer (, "People's Chamber") was the supreme power organ of East Germany. It was the only branch of government in the state, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs were subservient to it. The Volkskammer was initia ...

in October 1976, nominally representing rural constituencies, first in the western part of

Bezirk Halle The Bezirk Halle was a district (''Bezirk'') of East Germany. The administrative seat and the main town was Halle. History The district was established, with the other 13, on 25 July 1952, substituting the old German states. After 3 October 19 ...

, then in the northwest of

Bezirk Karl-Marx-Stadt The Bezirk Karl-Marx-Stadt, also known as Bezirk Chemnitz, was a district (''Bezirk'') of East Germany. The district existed from 1952 until the Reunification of Germany in 1990. The administrative seat and the main town was Karl-Marx-Stadt, ren ...

Long retirement

In November 1982, Kuhrig was dismissed as Agriculture Minister. He was replaced by Bruno Lietz, who had only been made head of the Central Committee Agriculture Department a year prior. While he had been officially relieved of their duties "at his own request", he was likely forced into retirement. Internally, he had been accused of having to import grain for animal feed purposes. Kuhrig was allowed to remain in the Central Committee and Volkskammer, but was transferred to a politically irrelevant position at the Society for German–Soviet Friendship, a SED-controlled

mass organization A communist front (or a mass organization in communist parlance) is a political organization identified as a front organization, allied with or under the effective control of a communist party, the Communist International or other communist organi ...

aiming to cultivate a positive image of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

among the East German public. Kuhrig initially joined the DSF as General Secretary in December 1982, additionally becoming Vice President in May 1983. After

, Kuhrig lived withdrawn as a retiree in his Berlin-Müggelheim mansion. The mansion had been built illegally in a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

in 1978 and was demolished in October 2022. Kuhrig suffered from health problems in his later years. He shot himself with his hunting rifle on 13 September 2001. He was the second former East German minister to die from an apparent suicide after Construction Minister Wolfgang Junker.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuhrig, Heinz 1929 births 2001 deaths Leipzig University alumni German politicians who died by suicide Suicides by firearm in Germany 20th-century German farmers Suicides in East Germany Politicians from Saxony Socialist Unity Party of Germany politicians Members of the 7th Volkskammer Members of the 8th Volkskammer Members of the 9th Volkskammer Members of the Volkskammer Government ministers of East Germany Members of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in silver Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit (honor clasp) Recipients of the Banner of Labor German communists