Maria Probst was a German politician of the Christian Social Union of Bavaria

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...

.

Biography

Daughter of the diplomat

Diplomat

A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...

 Dr Wilhelm Mayer, Maria Probst studied German

German literature

German literature comprises those literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German part of Switzerland, and to a lesser extent works of the German diaspora. German literature of the modern period is mostly in Standard German, but there...

 and history

History

History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

 for her doctorate, which she earned in 1930. She had two daughters of her own from her marriage to Dr Alphonse Probst, who was killed towards the end of the Second World War. After the war, she worked as a teacher in Hammelburg

Hammelburg

Hammelburg is a town in the district of Bad Kissingen, in Lower Franconia, Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Franconian Saale, 25 km west of Schweinfurt...

.

She joined the Christian Social Union of Bavaria

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...

 (CSU) as a member of the Bavarian Landtag (state parliament of Bavaria

Bavaria

Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

) in 1946. She was a member of the Bundestag

Bundestag

The Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...

 from its inception in 1949, representing the Karlstadt constituency. From 1 October 1952 until 26 June 1953 she led the Parlamentarischen Untersuchungsausschuss zur Prüfung der unzulänglichen Einstellungen von Schwerbeschädigten bei den Bundesdienststellen (roughly, "Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry to Examine Demoralisation in Heavily Damaged Areas in the Federal Departments"). From 1957 to 1965 she was Deputy Chairman of the Bundestagsausschuss für Kriegsopfer- und Heimkehrerfragen (roughly, "Committee for Questions of War Victims and Returnees"). From 9 December 1965 until her death she was the first woman to occupy the Vice-President's office in the Bundestag. On 10 May 1967 the Bundestag officially mourned her.

In 1961 she was one of a number of politicians behind an unsuccessful attempt to introduce an Act on academic freedom.

From 27 February 1958 until 21 December 1965 she was also a member of the European Parliament

European Parliament

The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

.

Honours

On 3 July 1959 she was awarded the Bavarian Order of Merit

Bavarian Order of Merit

The Bavarian Order of Merit is the order of merit of the Free State of Bavaria. It is awarded by the Minister-President of Bavaria as a "recognition of outstanding contributions to the Free State of Bavaria and the Bavarian people"....

. At least ten Frankish communities appointed her an honorary citizen, and a hall, a school, a college and a senior citizens' home were named after her.

Sources and links

Translator's note: These are in German.

• Biography
• This page was translated from :de:Maria Probst in the German Wikipedia on 25 March 2008