Klaus von Dohnányi

Klaus von Dohnanyi
Dohnanyi in 1978
First Mayor of Hamburg
In office
1981–1988
Preceded by Hans-Ulrich Klose
Succeeded by Henning Voscherau
Personal details
Born (1928-06-23) 23 June 1928
Hamburg, Germany
Nationality Germany German
Political party Social Democratic Party of Germany

Klaus von Dohnanyi (born 23 June 1928) is a German politician (Social Democratic Party).

Early life and career

Dohnanyi was born in Hamburg, the son of Hans von Dohnanyi, a lawyer, and a nephew of the Lutheran theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Both his father and uncle were executed in 1945 as members of the anti-Nazi German Resistance. His younger brother Christoph is a conductor. He also has a sister, Barbara.[1] After studying law at the University of Munich, and later in the United States at Columbia, Stanford and Yale universities, Dohnanyi started his career with the Max Planck Institute for International Private Law. He then moved to Ford Motor Company, the car manufacturer, working for the company in both Detroit and Cologne where he was head of the Planning Division. From 1960–67, he was a Managing Partner of the Institute for Market Research and Management Consulting in Munich.[1]

Political career

In 1969 Dohnanyi was elected to the German Federal Parliament (the Bundestag) from the state of Rhineland-Palatinate[2] and served in the Economics ministry as state secretary, and later as Federal Minister of Education and Science until 1981. In 1981, Dohnanyi was elected First Mayor of his home city, and thus Minister-President of Hamburg, one of the federal States of Germany. He served two terms as First Mayor, from 24 June 1981 until 8 June 1988.[1]

After the fall of the Berlin Wall and with German unification, Dohnanyi became involved with the restructuring programme in East Germany, and from 1993 to 1996 was a special adviser on Market Economy and State to the Board of the Treuhandanstalt and BvS, its successor company, responsible for privatising state-owned companies in the former East Germany.[1] Dohnanyi is a member of the Konvent für Deutschland, a cross-party think-tank of conservative-liberal orientation.[3]

In 2004, Dohnanyi co-chaired (alongside Edgar Most) a government-appointed commission which presented Minister Manfred Stolpe, then serving as cabinet minister charged with eastern reconstruction, with a 29-page report ("Recommendations for a Change in Direction for Development East").[4]

Other activities (selection)

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Thies, Jochen (2004). Die Dohnanyis. Eine Familienbiographie. Berlin: Propyläen. ISBN 3-549-07190-6.
  2. ↑ Handgestickt, mit Lust an der Nuance, Die Zeit, 16 February 1979, in German
  3. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2011-04-19.
  4. ↑ Stefan Berg, Steffen Winter and Andreas Wassermann (September 5, 2005), Germany's Eastern Burden The Price of a Failed Reunification Der Spiegel.
  5. ↑ Board of Trustees AIESEC Germany.
  6. ↑ Board of Trustees Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
  7. ↑ Board of Trustees Hamburger Theaterfestival.
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