Richard Stücklen (20 August 1916 – 2 May 2002) was a German politician of the Christian Social Union (CSU). He had previously been a member of the NSDAP (1939–1945). From 1957 to 1966, he served as Federal Minister for Post and Communication. A member of the German parliament for more than 40 years, he served as the seventh

president of the Bundestag The president of the Bundestag ( or ; Grammatical gender in German#Professions, when the office is held by a man) presides over the sessions of the Bundestag, the federal parliament of Germany, with functions similar to that of a speaker (poli ...

from 1979 to 1983.

Early life and career

Stücklen was born in Heideck. After an apprenticeship, he worked as an electrician while studying engineering in a correspondence course. He was drafted into the

Reichsarbeitsdienst The Reich Labour Service (''Reichsarbeitsdienst''; RAD) was a major paramilitary organization established in Nazi Germany as an agency to help mitigate the effects of unemployment on the Economy of Nazi Germany, German economy, militarise the wo ...

in 1936 and later into 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 ...

, where he served as a soldier in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

from 1940 to 1943, when he was released as unfit for service due to a knee injury. He then worked in the electrical industry and was able to finish his training as an

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

in Mittweida, after which he became a departmental manager at

AEG The initials AEG are used for or may refer to: Common meanings * AEG (German company) ; AEG) was a German producer of electrical equipment. It was established in 1883 by Emil Rathenau as the ''Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft für angewandte El ...

. After 1945, he worked in his parents' locksmithery at Heideck. He co-founded the ''BMS Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG'' engineering company in 1952 and was a company associate until 1989.

Political career

Stücklen 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 ...

in 1939. After the end of World War II in 1945, Stücklen was one of the founders of the CSU in Heideck and in Hilpoltstein. He was elected to 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 1949 as representative of the electoral district of Weißenburg. He was the youngest member of the first BundestagSpeech
by Wolfgang Thierse on the occasion of Stücklen's death. and stayed a directly elected member of the Bundestag (first representing Weißenburg, later Roth) for eleven legislative periods until the end of 1990, longer than any other member before or after him. Stücklen was part of a group of parliamentarians who unsuccessfully proposed changing the German voting system to

plurality voting Plurality voting refers to electoral systems in which the candidates in an electoral district who poll more than any other (that is, receive a plurality) are elected. Under single-winner plurality voting, and in systems based on single-member ...

in 1955. After the 1957 Federal elections, Stücklen became Federal Minister for Post and Communication in

Konrad Adenauer Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman and politician who served as the first Chancellor of Germany, chancellor of West Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the first leader of th ...

's cabinet on 29 October 1957. He was the youngest German Federal minister at that time. He kept his post in the cabinets of

Ludwig Erhard Ludwig Wilhelm Erhard (; 4 February 1897 – 5 May 1977) was a German politician and economist affiliated with the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and Chancellor of Germany (1949–), chancellor of West Ge ...

. On 1 December 1966, Stücklen left office and was replaced by Werner Dollinger in Kurt Georg Kiesinger's

grand coalition A grand coalition is an arrangement in a multi-party parliamentary system in which the two largest political party, political parties of opposing political spectrum, political ideologies unite in a coalition government. Causes of a grand coali ...

cabinet. Between 1967 and 1976, he was chairman of the CSU parliamentary group and deputy chairman of the CDU/CSU group. After the 1976 Federal elections, where he ran as a potential minister in a possible

Helmut Kohl Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as chancellor of Germany and governed the ''Federal Republic'' from 1982 to 1998. He was leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to ...

cabinet, he was elected vice president of the Bundestag on 14 December 1976. Shortly after the Bundesversammlung had elected Karl Carstens as

President of Germany The president of Germany, officially titled the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international correspondence; the official English title is President of the F ...

, Stücklen became his successor as president of the Bundestag. After the 1983 elections, Rainer Barzel became president of the parliament, and Stücklen returned to his vice presidential post which he held until he quit parliament on 20 December 1990. One of the most famous Bundestag sessions presided over by Stücklen was that of 18 October 1984, when Stücklen excluded

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

member Jürgen Reents from the session for calling Helmut Kohl "bought by Flick". Christa Nickels then requested an interruption. Stücklen turned her microphone off, which prompted Joschka Fischer to address him, "With respect, Mr. President, you are an asshole", for which he in turn was excluded by Stücklen. Fischer apologized to Stücklen two days later. Günter Pursch,
Auch Abgeordnete sind nur Menschen
''.

Personal life and death

Stücklen was married and had two children. He died in 2002 in Weißenburg in Bayern from a

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is any disease involving the heart or blood vessels. CVDs constitute a class of diseases that includes: coronary artery diseases (e.g. angina pectoris, angina, myocardial infarction, heart attack), heart failure, ...

References

Works

* Stücklen, Richard: ''Mit Humor und Augenmaß''. (autobiography)

Literature

* Michael F. Feldkamp (ed.), ''Der Bundestagspräsident. Amt – Funktion – Person.'' 16. Wahlperiode, München 2007,

External links