Diether Posser was a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

, representative of the Social Democratic Party

Social Democratic Party of Germany

The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...

.

Life

During his childhood in Essen he was influenced by the Lutheran church. After serving in the military for the required time Posser studied law and became a lawyer in 1951. In 1952 he founded, with the former Secretary of the Interior Gustav Heinemann

Gustav Heinemann

Gustav Walter Heinemann, GCB was a German politician. He was Mayor of the city of Essen from 1946 to 1949, West German Minister of the Interior from 1949 to 1950, Minister of Justice from 1966 to 1969 and President of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1969 to 1974.-Early years and professional...

 (previously of the CDU

Christian Democratic Union (Germany)

The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...

), Hans Bodensteiner

Hans Bodensteiner

Hans Bodensteiner was a German politician, representative of the Christian Social Union of Bavaria and the GVP.-References:...

 (from the CSU

Christian Social Union of Bavaria

The Christian Social Union in Bavaria is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It operates only in the state of Bavaria, while its sister party, the Christian Democratic Union , operates in the other 15 states of Germany...

), Thea Arnold, Helene Wessel (both from the Zentrumspartei), Hermann Etzel (Bayernpartei), and the future President Johannes Rau

Johannes Rau

Johannes Rau was a German politician of the SPD. He was President of Germany from 1 July 1999 until 30 June 2004, and Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia from 1978 to 1998.-Education and work:...

 the Gesamtdeutsche Volkspartei, of which he was made General Secretary after the 1953 resignation of Bodensteiner.

After the party's collapse in 1957, he became a member of the SPD, for whom he joined the State Parliament of Nordrhein-Westfalen in 1966. In 1968 he was named the Minister for Federal Affairs. In 1972 he switched to the Judicial Department, before he became Finance Minister in 1978. He held this position until 1988 in the second and third cabinets of President Rau. He was also an advisor to the Premier.

Posser was the Godfather of actor Diether Krebs

Diether Krebs

Diether Krebs was a German actor, cabaret artist and comedian.-Youth and initial success:...

.

Works

• Rapallo, nicht Tauroggen; in “Stimme der Gemeinde”, Issue 4, 1954, Page 87.
• Politik ohne Solidarität; in “Gesamtdeutsche Rundschau”, Issue 24, 1955.
• Anwalt im Kalten Krieg. Ein Stück deutscher Geschichte in politischen Prozessen 1951–1968. Munich: C. Bertelsmann Verlag, 1991; ISBN 3-570-02347-8 (und weitere Auflagen).
• Gustav Heinemann, in: Protestantische Profile. Lebensbilder aus fünf Jahrhunderten, Ed. by Klaus Scholder and Dieter Kleinmann, Königstein/Ts. 1983, S.382-396.
• Die Hauptsache ist, daß die Hauptsache die Hauptsache bleibt, in: Begegnungen mit Wilhelm Busch, ed. by Karl-Heinz Ehring and Ulrich Parzany, Neukirchen-Vluyn 1997, S.67-71.