Otto Graf Lambsdorff
Encyclopedia
Otto Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr
von der Wenge Graf
Lambsdorff, known as Otto Graf Lambsdorff, (20 December 1926 – 5 December 2009) was a German politician of the Free Democratic Party
.
(Rhineland
) to Herbert Graf Lambsdorff and Eva, née von Schmidt. He attended school in Berlin
and Brandenburg an der Havel and became an officer cadet in the Wehrmacht
in 1944. In April 1945 he was severely wounded in an Allied strafe
attack and lost his lower left leg. Lambsdorff was a prisoner of war until 1946. After World War II
he passed his Abitur
and studied law at the Universities of Bonn
and Cologne
where he obtained a PhD. In 1951 he became member of the liberal FDP, and from 1972 to 1998 he represented this party in the Federal Diet, the Bundestag
. He was also chairman of the FDP from 1988 until 1993.
Within and outside his party he was known as a representative of the market liberals
; a mocking name was der Marktgraf ("the market count", a play on Markgraf, "margrave
"). From 1977 until 1982, and again from 1982 until 1984, Graf Lambsdorff was the West German
Federal Minister of Economics, when he was forced to resign over the Flick Affair
. On 16 February 1987, he was convicted by the Bonn State Court of tax evasion.
In 1999 Lambsdorff was appointed as the federal envoy to the negotiations for the compensation of the victims of forced labor in Germany during World War II
by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder
, which led to the establishment of the Foundation "Remembrance, Responsibility and Future"
.
He was a member of the scientific advisory board of the Centre Against Expulsions
and a jury member of the Franz Werfel Human Rights Award
.
had been in coalition with the Socialist SPD
, it changed direction in the early 1980s. Lambsdorff led the FDP to adopt the market-oriented "Kiel Theses" in 1977; it rejected the Keynesian emphasis on consumer demand, and proposed to reduce social welfare spending, and try to introduce policies to stimulate production and facilitate jobs. Lambsdorff argued that the result would be economic growth, which would itself solve both the social problems and the financial problems. As a consequence switched allegiance to the CDU, and Schmidt lost his parliamentary majority in 1982. For the only time in West Germany's history, the government fell on a vote of no confidence.
n aristocratic descent, but settled for centuries in the Baltic countries
and was hence closely connected to Tsarist and Imperial
Russia (see Baltic Germans). Lambsdorff's father served as a tsarist cadet in St. Petersburg and the former Russian foreign minister Vladimir Lambsdorff
is one of his relatives.
Since 2004, his nephew Alexander Graf Lambsdorff
has represented the FDP in the European Parliament
.
Lambsdorff married Renate Lepper in 1953; they had two daughters and a son. He was married to Alexandra von Quistorp from 1995 until his death. He is survived by all three children.
Freiherr
The German titles Freiherr and Freifrau and Freiin are titles of nobility, used preceding a person's given name or, after 1919, before the surname...
von der Wenge Graf
Graf
Graf is a historical German noble title equal in rank to a count or a British earl...
Lambsdorff, known as Otto Graf Lambsdorff, (20 December 1926 – 5 December 2009) was a German politician of the Free Democratic Party
Free Democratic Party (Germany)
The Free Democratic Party , abbreviated to FDP, is a centre-right classical liberal political party in Germany. It is led by Philipp Rösler and currently serves as the junior coalition partner to the Union in the German federal government...
.
Biography
Lambsdorff was born in AachenAachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
(Rhineland
Rhineland
Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....
) to Herbert Graf Lambsdorff and Eva, née von Schmidt. He attended school in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and Brandenburg an der Havel and became an officer cadet in the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
in 1944. In April 1945 he was severely wounded in an Allied strafe
Strafing
Strafing is the practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons. This means, that although ground attack using automatic weapons fire is very often accompanied with bombing or rocket fire, the term "strafing" does not specifically include the...
attack and lost his lower left leg. Lambsdorff was a prisoner of war until 1946. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he passed his Abitur
Abitur
Abitur is a designation used in Germany, Finland and Estonia for final exams that pupils take at the end of their secondary education, usually after 12 or 13 years of schooling, see also for Germany Abitur after twelve years.The Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife, often referred to as...
and studied law at the Universities of Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
and Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
where he obtained a PhD. In 1951 he became member of the liberal FDP, and from 1972 to 1998 he represented this party in the Federal Diet, 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...
. He was also chairman of the FDP from 1988 until 1993.
Within and outside his party he was known as a representative of the market liberals
Market liberalism
The term market liberalism is used in two distinct meanings.Especially in the United States, the term is often used as a synonym to classical liberalism...
; a mocking name was der Marktgraf ("the market count", a play on Markgraf, "margrave
Margrave
A margrave or margravine was a medieval hereditary nobleman with military responsibilities in a border province of a kingdom. Border provinces usually had more exposure to military incursions from the outside, compared to interior provinces, and thus a margrave usually had larger and more active...
"). From 1977 until 1982, and again from 1982 until 1984, Graf Lambsdorff was the West German
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
Federal Minister of Economics, when he was forced to resign over the Flick Affair
Flick Affair
The Flick Affair was a German political scandal of the early 1980s relating to political contributions by the Flick company, a major German conglomerate, to various political parties "for the cultivation of the political landscape"...
. On 16 February 1987, he was convicted by the Bonn State Court of tax evasion.
In 1999 Lambsdorff was appointed as the federal envoy to the negotiations for the compensation of the victims of forced labor in Germany during World War II
Forced labor in Germany during World War II
The use of forced labour in Nazi Germany and throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II took place on an unprecedented scale. It was a vital part of the German economic exploitation of conquered territories. It also contributed to the mass extermination of populations in German-occupied...
by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder
Gerhard Schröder
Gerhard Fritz Kurt Schröder is a German politician, and was Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany , he led a coalition government of the SPD and the Greens. Before becoming a full-time politician, he was a lawyer, and before becoming Chancellor...
, which led to the establishment of the Foundation "Remembrance, Responsibility and Future"
Foundation "Remembrance, Responsibility and Future"
The Foundation "Remembrance, Responsibility and Future" , is a German Federal organisation with the purpose of making financial compensation available "to former forced laborers and to those affected by other injustices from the National Socialist period"...
.
He was a member of the scientific advisory board of the Centre Against Expulsions
Centre Against Expulsions
The Centre Against Expulsions was a planned German documentation centre for expulsions and ethnic cleansing, particularly the expulsion of Germans after World War II. Since March 19, 2008 the name of the project is Sichtbares Zeichen gegen Flucht und Vertreibung...
and a jury member of the Franz Werfel Human Rights Award
Franz Werfel Human Rights Award
The Franz Werfel Human Rights Award is an international human rights award in Europe. It is awarded to individuals or groups who, through political, artistic, philosophical or practical work, have opposed breaches of human rights by genocide, ethnic cleansing and the deliberate destruction of...
.
Policies
The pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP)Free Democratic Party (Germany)
The Free Democratic Party , abbreviated to FDP, is a centre-right classical liberal political party in Germany. It is led by Philipp Rösler and currently serves as the junior coalition partner to the Union in the German federal government...
had been in coalition with the Socialist SPD
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
, it changed direction in the early 1980s. Lambsdorff led the FDP to adopt the market-oriented "Kiel Theses" in 1977; it rejected the Keynesian emphasis on consumer demand, and proposed to reduce social welfare spending, and try to introduce policies to stimulate production and facilitate jobs. Lambsdorff argued that the result would be economic growth, which would itself solve both the social problems and the financial problems. As a consequence switched allegiance to the CDU, and Schmidt lost his parliamentary majority in 1982. For the only time in West Germany's history, the government fell on a vote of no confidence.
Family
The Lambsdorff family is of old WestphaliaWestphalia
Westphalia is a region in Germany, centred on the cities of Arnsberg, Bielefeld, Dortmund, Minden and Münster.Westphalia is roughly the region between the rivers Rhine and Weser, located north and south of the Ruhr River. No exact definition of borders can be given, because the name "Westphalia"...
n aristocratic descent, but settled for centuries in the Baltic countries
Baltic countries
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
and was hence closely connected to Tsarist and Imperial
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
Russia (see Baltic Germans). Lambsdorff's father served as a tsarist cadet in St. Petersburg and the former Russian foreign minister Vladimir Lambsdorff
Vladimir Lambsdorff
Count Vladimir Nikolayevich Lamsdorf was a Russian statesman of Baltic German descent who served as Foreign Minister of the Russian Empire from 1900 1906, a crucial period which included the Russo-Japanese War and the Russian Revolution of 1905.- Early career :Like so many other Russian diplomats,...
is one of his relatives.
Since 2004, his nephew Alexander Graf Lambsdorff
Alexander Graf Lambsdorff
Alexander Graf Lambsdorff is a German politician and Member of the European Parliament with the Free Democratic Party of Germany, part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and sits on the European Parliament’s Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection.Lambsdorff is a...
has represented the FDP in 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...
.
Lambsdorff married Renate Lepper in 1953; they had two daughters and a son. He was married to Alexandra von Quistorp from 1995 until his death. He is survived by all three children.