Markus Ludwig Martin (25 April 1909 – 31 March 2010) was a German lawyer. He served as

Attorney General of Germany The Public Prosecutor General at the Federal Court of Justice ( or ''GBA ) is the federal prosecutor of Germany, representing the federal government at the '' Bundesgerichtshof'', the federal court of justice. The office of the Public Prosecuto ...

from 7 April 1963 until 30 April 1974.

Early life and education

Born in Waltenhofen as the son of a dairy worker, Martin was able to take 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 ...

'' thanks to a teacher, despite his father's opposition. He subsequently went on to study law and economics at the

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

. From 1933 to 1934, he additionally studied philosophy at the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

in Rome. Martin earned his first and second ''

Staatsexamen The ("state examination" or "exam by state"; pl.: ''Staatsexamina'') is a German government licensing examination that future physicians, dentists, physical therapists, teachers, research librarians, archivists, pharmacists, food chemists, psyc ...

'' in 1932 and 1937 and joined the

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

n judiciary.

Career

In 1939, Martin was appointed an investigating judge, later a criminal judge and a scientific associate at the Reichsanwaltschaft. In October 1939, he was appointed

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

and

Fürth Fürth (; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Middle Franconia. It is the Franconia#Towns and cities, s ...

, and in February 1940 in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

. However, as he was conscripted into military service from 1939 to 1945, he never actually worked as a district attorney. In 1946, Martin was appointed a judge in

Sonthofen Sonthofen is the southernmost Town#Germany, town of Germany, located in the Oberallgäu region of the Bavarian Alps. Neighbouring Oberstdorf is situated 14 km farther south but is classified as a market town. In 2005, Sonthofen was awarded ...

, and in 1950, he was employed in the Federal Ministry of Justice. In 1951, he was appointed Oberstaatsanwalt in the Generalbundesanwaltschaft, and in June 1952, he was appointed Federal Attorney (Bundesanwalt). He was appointed a federal judge in 1953, serving for ten years until 1963, mostly as a criminal judge at the

Federal Court of Justice of Germany The Federal Court of Justice ( , ) is the highest court of civil and criminal jurisdiction in Germany. Its primary responsibility is the final appellate review of decisions by lower courts for errors of law. While, legally, a decision by the F ...

. In 1963, Martin was appointed Attorney General of Germany. During his term of service, the

Spiegel scandal The ''Spiegel'' affair of 1962 () was a political scandal in West Germany. It stemmed from the publication of an article in ''Der Spiegel,'' West Germany's weekly political magazine, about the nation's defense forces.. Several ''Spiegel'' staf ...

and the

Guillaume Affair The Guillaume affair () was an espionage scandal in Germany during the Cold War. The scandal revolved around the exposure of an East German spy within the West German government and had far-reaching political repercussions in Germany, the mo ...

took place.

Retirement

He retired in 1974 and was succeeded by

Siegfried Buback Siegfried Buback (3 January 1920, Wilsdruff, Saxony – 7 April 1977, Karlsruhe) was the Attorney General of West Germany from 1974 until his murder in 1977. Life and career Buback studied at the University of Leipzig. From 1940 to 1945, he ...

, who was murdered in 1977 by left-wing terrorists. Martin lived for the rest of his life in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

, where he celebrated his 100th birthday in 2009.

Honours

Martin was president and honorary president of the German section of the

International Commission of Jurists The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) is an international human rights non-governmental organization. It is supported by an International Secretariat based in Geneva, Switzerland, and staffed by lawyers drawn from a wide range of jurisdi ...

and honorary president of the German-Italian Lawyer's Association. He was also honorary president of the

International Society for Human Rights The International Society for Human Rights (ISHR) is an international non-governmental, non-profit human rights organization with Participative Status with the Council of Europe and is a member of the Liaison Committee of the Non-Governmental O ...

(IGFM). Martin advocated

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

. Armand Mergen (ed.): ''Dokumentation über die Todesstrafe''. Stoytscheff, Darmstadt, Nürnberg, Düsseldorf und Berlin 1963 As the IGFM's president of the board of trustees, the

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

an government of

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean military officer and politician who was the dictator of Military dictatorship of Chile, Chile from 1973 to 1990. From 1973 to 1981, he was the leader ...

considered him a "reliable friend". In 1987, Martin together with board member Lothar Bossle, warned the Chilean authorities that the relations between West Germany and Chile might deteriorate if the crimes in

Colonia Dignidad Colonia Dignidad (Dignity Colony' or 'Colony of Dignity') was an isolated colony established in post-World War II Chile by German Chileans, emigrant Germans which became notorious for the Human rights violations in Pinochet's Chile, internment, ...

became known.Mauricio Weibel:
Colonia Dignidad: Was wussten Pinochets Freunde am Rhein?
' Südwest-presse, 29 October 2012. He was a devout Catholic and a conservative, and a Knight of the

Order of the Holy Sepulchre Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre may refer to: * Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Catholic), chivalric order belonging to the Holy See (the Roman Catholic Church) * Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Orthodox), chivalric ...

and the pontifical

Order of St. Gregory the Great The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great (; ) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope. The order is one of the five Papal order of knighthood, orders of knighthood of th ...

. He also received the Great Cross of Merit with star.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Ludwig 1909 births 2010 deaths People from Oberallgäu People from the Kingdom of Bavaria German Roman Catholics Public Prosecutors General of Germany 20th-century German judges Jurists from Bavaria Knights of St. Gregory the Great Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre German men centenarians Lawyers awarded knighthoods