Herbert Ehrenberg (21 December 1926 – 20 February 2018) was a German politician. Ehrenberg was born in Kollnischken,

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

(today Kolniszki,

Gmina Gołdap __NOTOC__ Gmina Gołdap is an urban-rural gmina (administrative district) in Gołdap County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland, on the border with Russia. Its seat is the town of Gołdap, which lies approximately north-east of the ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

) and visited school (Staatliche Kantschule) in Goldap until 1943, when he was conscripted to the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

. He joined the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

on 20 April 1944. After his release as

Prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person 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 war for a ...

in 1947 he passed his

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

and studied national economy in

Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...

and at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

, where he took his doctorate in 1958. Ehrenberg joined the

Public Services, Transport and Traffic Union The Public Services, Transport and Traffic Union (, ÖTV) was a trade union representing transport and public service workers in West Germany. The union was founded in 1949, at a meeting in Stuttgart. Unlike the pre-war General Union of Public S ...

(ÖTV) in 1949 and the

Social Democratic Party of Germany 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 w ...

, or SPD, in 1955. In 1964 he became the head of the national economy branch at the chairman of ''IG Bau-Steine-Erden''-Union and in 1968 he started to work at the Federal Ministry of economics. In 1969 he switched to the

German Chancellery The Federal Chancellery (, ) is a Germany, German Federal agency (Germany), federal agency serving the executive office of the chancellor of Germany, the head of the Government of Germany, federal government, currently Friedrich Merz. The Chancel ...

and was a Secretary of State at the

Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (Germany) The Federal Ministry for Labour and Social Affairs (, ; abbreviated BMAS) is a Ministry (government department), federal ministry of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany headed by the Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs as a membe ...

in 1971–72 and its Minister in 1976–82. Ehrenberg was the vice-president of the Social Democratic Fraction in the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

in 1974–1976 and a member of the Federal Executive Board of the SPD in 1975–1984. In 1997–2001 he was the Chairman of the Honorary Executive Board and in 2001–2003 the first President of the ''Internationaler Bund Freier Träger der Jugend-, Sozial- und Bildungsarbeit'', afterwards its Honorary President. Ehrenberg died on 20 February 2018 at the age of 91.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ehrenberg, Herbert 1926 births 2018 deaths People from Gołdap Politicians from East Prussia Nazi Party members Members of the Bundestag for the Social Democratic Party of Germany Ministers of labor of Germany Social affairs ministers of Germany Members of the Bundestag 1972–1976 Members of the Bundestag 1976–1980 Members of the Bundestag 1980–1983 Members of the Bundestag 1983–1987 Members of the Bundestag 1987–1990 Members of the Bundestag for Lower Saxony University of Göttingen alumni German prisoners of war in World War II Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany