Burkhard Hirsch (29 May 1930 – 11 March 2020) was a German politician and civil liberties advocate. A member of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), Hirsch spent 21 years in the Bundestag (1972–1975, 1980–1998). He also served five years as Minister of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia (1975–1980).
Early life and career
Born in Magdeburg,[1] then part of the PrussianProvince of Saxony, Hirsch earned his Abitur in Halle. He studied law and political sciences (Rechts- und Staatswissenschaften) at the University of Marburg. He completed his first and second Staatsexamen in 1954 and 1959, respectively, and earned his Doctor of Laws in 1961[1][2] with a doctoral thesisDer Begriff des Bundesstaates in der deutschen Staatsrechtslehre. He worked as a lawyer at the Amts- und Landgericht Düsseldorf from 1964. He was a member of the Wirtschaftsvereinigung Eisen- und Stahlindustrie from 1960 to 1967.[2]
Political career
Hirsch joined the FDP in 1949 and was a member of their youth organisation Jungdemokraten until 1964.[2] He served on the city council of Düsseldorf from 1964 to 1972 and was president of the regional party from 1971 to 1977. He served on the party's board in North Rhine-Westphalia from 1971 to 2005, and then became its honorary chairman.[2] He first attained a seat in the Bundestag in the 1972 federal election.[1] From 1973 to 2005, he was on the FDP's national board and then became an honorary member.[2] Hirsch left the Bundestag in 1975 to become Minister of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia, serving as vice minister-president from 1979.[2] He returned to the Bundestag in 1980.[1] From 1994 to 1998, he was a vice president of the Bundestag.[1]
Hirsch gained a reputation as one of the most vocal advocates for civil liberties in Germany, which earned him the Arnold-Freymuth-Preis [de] in 1998 and the Fritz Bauer Prize in 2006.[1] Hirsch was also awarded an honorary doctorate by the Goethe University Frankfurt in 2006,[1] and was praised in a speech by Peter-Alexis Albrecht [de] as "a nonpartisan, relentless, and aggressive advocate of the rigorous rule of law".[3]
Later life and death
Hirsch in 2017
Hirsch was president of the council of the Hochschule Düsseldorf from 2008 to 2015, with a short interruption.[4] For his influential work for the academy, he was the first to be awarded an honorary citizenship, in May 2016.[4] He died on 11 March 2020.[4] The Hochschule wrote in an obituary:[4]
Er war gleichsam ein Brückenbauer zwischen den Menschen und Nationen – in der logischen Argumentation sachlich und konstruktiv; in seinem Handeln und Wirken stets menschlich zugewandt und wohlwollend.[4]
(He was, as it were, a bridge-builder between people and nations – practical and constructive in his logical argumentation and always humane and benevolent in his actions and influence.)
Speaker: Marieluise Beck-Oberdorf, Petra Kelly, Otto Schily until 3 April 1984; Annemarie Borgmann, Waltraud Schoppe, Antje Vollmer until 30./31. January 1985;
Sabine Bard, Hannegret Hönes, Christian Schmidt until 1 February 1986; Annemarie Borgmann, Hannegret Hönes, Ludger Volmer until 18 July 1986); Willi Hoss (8 September 1986)
Speaker: Thomas Ebermann, Bärbel Rust, Waltraud Schoppe until 26 January 1988; Helmut Lippelt, Regula Schmidt-Bott, Christa Vennegerts until 30 January 1989, Helmut Lippelt, Jutta Oesterle-Schwerin, Antje Vollmer until 15 January 1990; Willi Hoss, Waltraud Schoppe (until 21 June 1990), Marianne Birthler (from 4 October 1990), Antje Vollmer