Albert Osswald

Albert Osswald ( born May 16, 1919 in Gießen- Wieseck; † August 15, 1996 in Schwangau ) was a German politician ( SPD). From 1969 to 1976 he was state premier of Hesse.

Life and career

Osswald was born the son of a bricklayer. After attending elementary school and from middle school to trade school in Giessen, he completed a commercial apprenticeship. From 1939 to 1945 he took part as a soldier in World War II. Later, he was Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Hesse Landesbank ( Helaba).

Party

After the war Osswald joined the SPD in 1945. He took over in 1967 the chair of the SPD district Association of Hesse -south and was elected state chairman of the SPD Hesse 1969. In 1977 he resigned from all party posts.

Member of Parliament

Osswald was elected in 1949 the Council of the City of Giessen and was there since 1952, City Council President. From 1954 to 1978 he was a member of the Hesse Landtag.

Public offices

Osswald held office from 1954 to 1957 as mayor and treasurer from 1957 to 1963 and as Lord Mayor of the city of Giessen.

After the state elections in 1962 Osswald was appointed as the successor of the Gotthard Franke Hesse State Minister for Economy and Transport led by Prime Minister Georg August Zinn state government on 30 January 1963. He moved to the resignation of Wilhelm Conrad in the Office of the State Minister of Finance and was also appointed Deputy Prime Minister on 11 June 1969.

Following the resignation of Georg August Zinn Osswald was elected on October 3, 1969 Prime Minister of Hesse. He initially continued the SPD government alone, but had to enter into a social-liberal coalition with the FDP after loss of votes in the regional elections in 1970. 1975/76 he served as President of the Bundesrat as scheduled.

After several details about financial irregularities in the Hessian State Bank were known Osswald was criticized to the public and the parliamentary opposition. On 3 October 1976, the date of the general election, in which the SPD / FDP coalition a very narrow election victory achieved ( 42.6 % for the SPD and 7.9 % for the FDP, compared with 48.6 % for the CDU / CSU ), he said after the polls close his resignation as Prime Minister and assumed the political responsibility for the so-called Helaba scandal. His successor was the former national director of the SPD, Holger Börner.

With Albert Osswald numerous projects in casting and throughout Hessen were connected, for example, the Congress Hall in Giessen, Giessen ring, the foundation of Landesehrenpreis Briefs, partnering with the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the establishment of Hesse park in Neu-Anspach ( Taunus). The municipal reform in Hesse took place during his tenure 1972-1977. Counties were restructured or merged, from 2674 independent communities were only 421 The vision of the city Lahn between Giessen and Wetzlar, the persecuted Osswald persistently attracted many resistors and led to the loss of the absolute majority of the SPD in central Hesse.

Landesehrenpreis letter

1973 donated Albert Osswald the " Landesehrenpreis letter " of the state of Hesse for services to the common good. This drew volunteer from inactive citizens of Hesse, who had rendered outstanding mindestends twelve years in prominent position in clubs, social and cultural institutions.

Honors

Osswalds hometown casting honored him in 1989 with the awarding of Hedwig Castle Home medal and 2005 with the renaming of the Linde place in Albert Osswald Square in the district Wieseck where Osswald was born.

The AWO Hesse honored Osswald with the naming of the AWO 's home in pouring into Albert Osswald house.

Osswald is a carrier of the two highest Hessian Awards - the Wilhelm- Leuschner- medal and the Hessian Merit. In addition, the Federal Cross of Merit was awarded to him in 1975 with Star and Sash.