Heinz Kühn

Heinz Kühn ( born February 18, 1912 in Cologne, † March 12, 1992 ) was a German politician (SPD) and from 1966 to 1978 Minister President of North Rhine -Westphalia.

Youth, school, study

Heinz Kühn's youth was on one side of his socialist father, the carpenter Hubert Kuehn, and on the other side of his Catholic mother, Elisabeth, born sounds, embossed. However, his mother sat by baptism and Catholic education as well as a visit to a Catholic elementary school. The Kuhn family lived in the east of the Rhine Cologne Mülheim and Heinz could allow the visit of the local secondary school reform in the Adam Street, afterwards the Rhine -Gymnasium, which he left in an intermediate certificate in 1928.

The family moved into a " red complex" in Cologne- Mauenheim had become dominant since 1926, the ideological imprint of the Father. 1928, Kühn the Red Hawks, a youth organization of the SPD in and quickly rose to the head of a falcon group of students. Later, he managed to become the leading functionary of the Upper Rhine SAJ. After his 18th birthday he joined also the mother party SPD.

Easter 1931 put Kühn from the Abitur examination at the secondary school in Cologne-Kalk. In the summer semester 1931, he began studying political science and economics at the University of Cologne. He belonged to the Social Democratic Federation of Socialist Students. From this group changed in the autumn of 1931, many for the left split SAP, including Kuhn's best friend. Kühn himself went a different route and joined the Reichsbanner black-red- gold as that which it had set itself the goal of protecting the Weimar Republic from its enemies by law, such as links. Kühn was involved as a district leader of the youth organization Young Banner in massive clashes with the SA and SS of the Nazi Party and was in contact with the resistance group Red fighters.

Kuhn's distance to the SAP transformed under the impact of transfer of power to Hitler in 1933 in sympathy. Formally, however, he did not leave the SPD and was not a member of the SAP.

In exile

Due to the persecution of political pressure from the police, the SA and SS, he left Cologne. In 1933 he met his wife Marianne, whom he married in 1939. On 5 May 1933, he went with his wife first to the Saarland; additional stations of the emigrants were Prague, Brussels and finally Ghent. During this time he worked on underground magazines. He spent the war years in London.

Fresh start in Cologne after 1945

After his return to Germany he worked first as a journalist, and soon as a politician. From 1946 to 1950 he worked as editor of the Rheinische Zeitung. Heinz Kühn was the late 1950s, Chairman of the NWRV, the television broadcast institution of the North West German Radio. Kühn and his family lived first in a four -room apartment in Cologne- book forest until 1958 in Cologne Dellbrueck on Roteichenweg chose to build a house in which Marianne 1979 years opened her Naive Art Painting and into old age there also Exhibitions organized.

Political career

Kuehn began his deputies career in 1948 when he on 27 March for Willi Eichler in the state parliament of North Rhine -Westphalia, where he remained until 1954, nachrückte. From 1953 until 9 April 1963 he was a member of the German Bundestag. He was from 1953 to 1957 Deputy Chairman of the Committee on questions from the press, radio and film, and then until 1961 the Committee on Culture politics and journalism.

At times, Kühn was also a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council and the Assembly of Western European Union, where until 1963 he was head of the Socialist Group in each case from 1959.

In July 1962, Kuhn returned as leader of the SPD in North Rhine - Westphalia state, where he remained until 1978. Also in 1962 he became chairman of the SPD district Middle Rhine, in 1970 the first state chairman of the SPD in North Rhine -Westphalia. Within the SPD Kühn was one of the supporters of the electoral system.

After time as a Member of Parliament he remained politically active as a member of the European Parliament (1979 to 1984).

On his 70th birthday, his party colleague and successor Johannes Rau made ​​him the namesake founded in 1982, Heinz Kühn Foundation, whose objective is to promote talented young journalists from home and abroad. Kühn himself was also a member of the Foundation Board of Trustees.

In June 1983, he took over after the death of Alfred Nau the chairmanship of the SPD - affiliated Friedrich -Ebert -Stiftung (FES ), whose vice chairman, he had been since 1970. On December 4, 1987, he had the presidency for health reasons resign, but continued until his death in office in Bonn FES Center.

Public offices

From 1966 to 1978 he served as the successor of Franz Meyers (CDU ) and Minister-President of North Rhine -Westphalia. He was elected with the help of the FDP, thus founding the second social-liberal coalition in the country, this also worked at the federal level as a model. Meyers had after the formation of the grand coalition dismissed the FDP ministers at the federal level and the SPD proposed a grand coalition at the state level. However, the Social Democrats opted for the Liberals as a partner. The reorganization of the Ruhr, the academic and administrative reform were the main tasks he had set out to do and where he achieved considerable success. From 1 November 1971 to 31 October 1972, he was also President of the Bundesrat.

In the last years of his office as Prime Minister critics konstatierten increasingly apparent resignation and signs of weak leadership. A heavy burden were the circumstances of the resignation of the country bankers Ludwig Poullain, which also affected Kühns political responsibility in the spring of 1978. Although Kuhn originally wanted to stay until 1980 in office, but resigned for health reasons on 20 September 1978.

In November 1978 he was appointed by the Federal Government for Foreigners' Affairs and took office duties until the fall of 1980.

Honors

Heinz Kühn medal

The Middle Rhine region of the SPD National Association NRW lends since 30 March 1992 Each year, the Heinz Kühn medal on the following basis:

" The SPD District Board donates to mark the anniversary of the death of Heinz Kühn Heinz Kühn annually the medal. With it, individuals and groups should be excellent, engage for the coexistence of Germans and foreigners. These activities will be marked by exemplary individual initiative and forward-looking lift off of the normal course of work with foreigners. The Heinz- Kühn- medal may also be awarded to non-members. "

Heinz Kühn began in 1978 in North Rhine -Westphalia for the first time a Ausländerbeauftragten a (Kühn Memorandum ).

The Heinz- Kühn- medal have Hans -Gerd Ervens, Irene Westphal and the Music Forum Wesseling eV obtained in 2008.

Publications

• Resistance and emigration. The years 1928 to 1945. Hamburg 1980, ISBN 3-455-08842-2.
• Konrad Adenauer and Kurt Schumacher as a political orator. In: Bernd speech, Klaus Lompe, Rudolf von Thadden, idea and pragmatics in the political decision-making. Alfred Kubel 's 75th birthday. Bonn, 1984, pages 81 to 93
• The art of political speech. Dusseldorf, 1985.