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Helmut Rohde

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Helmut Rohde
Rohde in 1975
Federal Minister of Education and Science
In office
16 May 1974 – 16 February 1978
PremierHelmut Schmidt
Preceded byKlaus von Dohnanyi
Succeeded byJürgen Schmude
Personal details
Born(1925-11-09)9 November 1925
Hanover, Germany
Died16 April 2016(2016-04-16) (aged 90)
Sankt Augustin, Germany
Political partySocial Democratic Party (SPD)
Alma materUniversity of Göttingen

Helmut Rohde (9 November 1925 – 16 April 2016) was a German politician who served as federal minister of education and science from 1974 to 1978.[1]

Early life and education

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Rohde was born in Hanover on 9 November 1925.[2] His father, August, was a welder and a social democrat member of the independent trade union.[2] Helmut Rohde fought in the German army in World War II and was a POW until 1945 when he was freed.[2]

He studied journalism following the war and graduated in 1947.[3] In 1950, he began to study politics and business in a higher education institution in Wilhelmshaven, which later became part of the University of Göttingen.[4]

Career

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In 1945, Rohde became a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD).[3] After graduation he began to work as an editor at the German Press Agency's Hannover branch.[2] His pseudonym in his writings was Achilles, the name of his grandfather.[2] He served in the party's local organizations in Hannover in the 1950s[3] and later served in its "working group for workers' questions".[5] In 1957, he was elected to the Bundestag with the SPD from Hannover.[4] From 1964 to 1965 he was also a member of the European Parliament.[2]

He was appointed federal minister of education and science on 16 May 1974, replacing Klaus von Dohnanyi in the post.[6] He served in the cabinet led by Prime Minister Helmut Schmidt.[5] In 1975, Rohde became a member of the SPD's executive committee.[3] Rohde's cabinet post ended on 16 February 1978 and another SPD politician, Jürgen Schmude, replaced him in the post.[5] After leaving office he concentrated on his work in the SPD's working group for workers' questions.[7]

In 1985, Rohde began to work as a lecturer at Leibniz University Hannover and the University of Bochum.[4] In 1994, he was named as an honorary professor of the University of Bremen.[4]

Later years

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Rohde lived in a nursing home near Bonn.[4] He died on 16 April 2016, aged 90.[1][8]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung: Archiv der sozialen Demokratie" (in German). fes.de.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Helmut Rohde". Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. Archived from the original on 22 January 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d "Helmut Rohde". Niedersachsen. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Helmut Rohde". SPD. Retrieved 13 September 2013.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ a b c Heinrich August Winkler (2007). Germany. The Long Road West: 1933-1990. Vol. 2. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. p. 318. ISBN 978-0-19-926598-5.
  6. ^ "Ministers since 1955" (PDF). Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Retrieved 13 September 2013.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ "German defense minister resigns". The Montreal Gazette. Bonn. UPI. 2 February 1978. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  8. ^ "Helmut Rohde: Unternehmensnachruf". Frankfurter Allgemeine (in German). Retrieved 28 April 2016.
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