Hans Hermann Matthöfer (25 September 1925 – 14 November 2009) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD).
Hans Matthöfer | |
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![]() Matthöfer in 1981 | |
Federal Minister of Post and Communications | |
In office 28 April 1982 – 4 October 1982 | |
Preceded by | Kurt Gscheidle |
Succeeded by | Christian Schwarz-Schilling |
Federal Minister of Finance | |
In office 16 February 1978 – 28 April 1982 | |
Preceded by | Hans Apel |
Succeeded by | Manfred Lahnstein |
Federal Minister of Research and Technology | |
In office 16 May 1974 – 16 February 1978 | |
Preceded by | Horst Ehmke |
Succeeded by | Volker Hauff |
Personal details | |
Born | Bochum, Prussia, German Reich | 25 September 1925
Died | 14 November 2009 Berlin, Germany | (aged 84)
Political party | Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) |
Between 1974 and 1978 Matthöfer served as secretary of research and technology. In 1978 he took over as secretary of finance and in 1982 he left that post and served briefly as secretary of telecommunication. After his party lost power in 1982 he gave up all positions in the German government.
Biography
editBorn in Bochum in 1925, Matthöfer served an apprenticeship in commercial science[1] before being drafted as a soldier in the Second World War between 1943 and 1945. In 1946 he passed his examination as an interpreter for the English language. Three years later Matthöfer studied successfully economics and social science at the University of Frankfurt/Main as well as Madison, Wisconsin. In 1953 he received his bachelor of economics.
After his return to Germany Matthöfer began work in the department of economics for the workers union IG Metall, followed by four years at the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation in Washington, D.C., and Paris. After his return to Germany he again worked for the IG Metall and developed a program for the education in companies as well as tariff policy. Between 1987 and 1997 he was president of the BGAG, an investment company owned by the workers union.
Matthöfer joined the Social Democratic party of Germany in 1950. Between 1973 and 1984 he belonged to the Social Democratic party's executive board, followed by a position as its treasurer between 1985 and 1987.
Literature
edit- Werner Abelshauser: Nach dem Wirtschaftswunder. Der Gewerkschafter, Politiker und Unternehmer Hans Matthöfer. Dietz, Bonn 2009, ISBN 978-3-8012-4171-1.
- Helmut Schmidt; Walter Hesselbach (Hrsg.): Kämpfer ohne Pathos: Festschrift für Hans Matthöfer. Bonn 1985.
References
edit- ^ Obituary, 28 December 2009, Hans Matthöfer. The Independent, retrieved: 19 January 2010.
External links
editMedia related to Hans Matthöfer at Wikimedia Commons