Hildegard Hamm-Brücher facts for kids
Hildegard Hamm-Brücher (born May 11, 1921 – died December 7, 2016) was an important liberal politician from Germany. She held high-level government jobs, serving as a state secretary from 1969 to 1972 and again from 1977 to 1982. She was also a candidate for president of Germany in 1994, representing the Free Democratic Party.
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Early Life and Education
Hildegard Hamm-Brücher was born in Essen, Germany. She grew up with four brothers and sisters in a regular family. Her father was in charge of an electric company, and her mother took care of their home.
Sadly, both of her parents passed away within a year of each other when she was only ten and eleven years old. After this, she and her siblings were raised by their grandmother in Dresden. Her grandmother's family came from a background in industry.
Hildegard finished high school in 1939. She then went on to study chemistry in Munich. She earned her special degree in chemistry in 1945. After that, she started working as a science journalist for the Neue Zeitung. This was an American-run newspaper in Germany, which was still occupied by other countries at the time.
Political Career
Hildegard Hamm-Brücher joined the Free Democratic Party in 1948. She quickly became active in politics. She was elected to the city council in Munich and served there from 1948 to 1954.
Serving in State and Federal Parliaments
She was also elected to the Landtag of Bavaria, which is like a state parliament, from 1950 to 1966. She returned to the Landtag from 1970 to 1976. Later, she became a member of the Bundestag, Germany's national parliament, serving from 1976 to 1990.
Hildegard focused a lot of her work on education. She was appointed as a secretary of state for education in the state of Hesse in 1967. In 1969, she became a secretary of state for education at the federal level.
From 1977 to 1982, she served as a Minister of State in the German Foreign Office. This happened when her party was working with the Social Democratic Party in a coalition government.
Changing Coalitions and Presidential Candidacy
In 1982, the Free Democratic Party decided to leave their partnership with the Social Democrats. They chose to form a new government with the Christian Democratic Union. This change happened without new elections. Instead, the Free Democrats supported a special vote to replace the current Chancellor, Helmut Schmidt, with Christian Democrat Helmut Kohl.
Hildegard Hamm-Brücher strongly disagreed with this decision. She did not like the new partnership or the way it was formed without an election. Because of her opposition, she lost her job as Minister of State. However, she continued to serve as a member of the national parliament until 1990.
In 1994, her party chose her as their candidate for the German presidential election. But the Free Democratic Party was still working with the much larger Christian Democratic Union. In the end, her party decided to support the Christian Democrat candidate, Roman Herzog. Herzog won the election with the combined support of both parties.
Later Political Life
In 2002, Hildegard Hamm-Brücher left the Free Democratic Party. This happened after a disagreement with another politician, Jürgen Möllemann, about his election campaign. She later served as a delegate for the Green Party in 2012. This was for the special meeting that elects the President of Germany.
Hildegard Hamm-Brücher passed away on December 7, 2016, at the age of 95.
Other Activities
Hildegard Hamm-Brücher wrote several books and articles. She often wrote about the state of modern democracy and how politics connects with important ethical questions. She was also a member of the Goethe Institute's general meeting, which happens twice a year.
Recognition
- 1992 – Buber Rosenzweig Medal (shared with Annemarie Renger)
See also
In Spanish: Hildegard Hamm-Brücher para niños
