Ursula Fischer ( Bätz; 6 September 1952 in Steinach) is a German former national politician ( PDS). In 1990, as a result of

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

's first (and as matters turned out last) free and democratic national election, she was elected a member of the country's national parliament (''Volkskammer''). Following

reunification A political union is a type of political entity which is composed of, or created from, smaller politics or the process which achieves this. These smaller polities are usually called federated states and federal territories in a federal govern ...

, she was a member of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Upper legislative assembly (''Bundestag'') between 1990 and 1994. She then pursued a career in regional politics before returning in 2004 to her earlier vocation as a physician.

Life

Ursula Bätz was born in Steinach in the

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 ...

Bezirk Suhl, a small but long established town in the

Thuringian Forest The Thuringian Forest (''Thüringer Wald'' in German language, German ) is a mountain range in the southern parts of the Germany, German state of Thuringia, running northwest to southeast. Skirting from its southerly source in foothills to a gorg ...

to the south of

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...

, today administratively part of the district of

Sonneberg Sonneberg () in Thuringia, Germany, is the seat of the Sonneberg district. It is in the Franconian south of Thuringia, neighboring its Upper Franconian twin town Neustadt bei Coburg. Sonneberg became known as the "world toy city", and is home ...

. Her parents both worked in middle management, her father in the commerce sector and her mother in sales. She attended primary school locally between 1959 and 1967, moving on to secondary school (''"Erweiterte Oberschule"'') in nearby

Neuhaus am Rennweg Neuhaus am Rennweg is a town in the district of Sonneberg, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated in the Thuringian Forest, 17 km north of Sonneberg, and 22 km southwest of Saalfeld. The former municipalities Lichte image:Wallendorfe ...

. Passing her school final exams (''Abitur'') in 1971 opened the way for university-level studies. Between 1971 and 1973 she studied

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

at the Karl Marx University (as it was known at the time) 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 ...

, moving on to the Erfurt Medical Academy from where she emerged with a degree in medicine in 1976, which was also the year in which she passed the national examination necessary to obtain her medical practicing certificate. In 1971, like many ambitious people, she had joined the country's ruling Socialist Unity Party (''"Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands"'' / SED), but available sources covering this part of Ursula Fischer's career are otherwise silent on the subject of any political involvement. She then, till 1982, undertook specialist medical training in

Pediatrics Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, Adolescence, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many o ...

Eisenach Eisenach () is a Town#Germany, town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia, and bordering northeastern Hesse, Hessian re ...

and

Nordhausen Nordhausen may refer to: *Nordhausen (district), a district in Thuringia, Germany ** Nordhausen, Thuringia, a city in the district ** Nordhausen station, the railway station in the city *Nordhouse, a commune in Alsace (German: Nordhausen) * Narost, ...

. Following successful completion of this, between 1982 and 1990, apart from two years working abroad, she remained in Nordhausen, employed as a

pediatrician Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their youth ...

. In the General election of March 1990, Fischer was elected as one of the 66 PDS members of the national parliament (''Volkskammer''). She later recalled that she had not even been present at the party conference at which her name was placed on the party's candidate list, but she had participated in the round table discussions that took place in the run up to

, and assumed that she had been selected as a candidate because others had found her contributions memorable. Following

, which took place formally in October 1990, new elections were held in

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 ...

. Under the

system A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its open system (systems theory), environment, is described by its boundaries, str ...

applied, the PDS (party) received only one seat based on its 2.4% share of the national vote, but they won a further 17 seats according to the regional vote, most of them in the "New Federal States" (former East Germany) where the party's overall vote share was 11.4%. Ursula Fischer was one of two elected Upper legislative assembly (''Bundestag'') candidates from the party list for the

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

electoral district. Within the chamber she was elected parliamentary leader of the PDS group. She did not contest her Bundestag seat at the next national election, in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

. Instead she successfully stood for election to the regional parliament (''Landtag'') in her home

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

. Five years later, when the PDS increased its share of the vote in the Thuringian regional election, she stood again. She sat as a member of the Landtag for ten years between 1994 and 2004. During this time she was also a membership of the regional

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...

executive in the

district. Within the Landtag she was a member of the parliamentary committee on social affairs, family and health. However, in 2000 she was among those who resigned from the PDS,Birgit Kummer: „Lebenskrisen oder psychische Erkrankungen traten erst Jahre später auf“.

Ostthüringer Zeitung The ''Ostthüringer Zeitung'' (OTZ) is a German newspaper covering eastern Thuringia with a head office in Gera. Together with the '' Thüringische Landeszeitung'' it has a daily circulation of 78,244 copies as of 2019, a 57.5% decrease since 1998. ...

, 25 April 2015, p. 7. and at the subsequent election, which took place in 2004, she was no longer a candidate.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fischer, Ursula 1952 births Living people People from Steinach, Thuringia People from Bezirk Suhl Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany) politicians Members of the 10th Volkskammer Members of the Bundestag for Thuringia Members of the Bundestag 1990–1994 Members of the Landtag of Thuringia Female members of the Volkskammer Female members of the Bundestag Members of the Bundestag for the Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany) 21st-century German women politicians