The former Saxon Prime Minister Kurt Biedenkopf is dead. He fell asleep peacefully with his family on Thursday evening at the age of 91, the State Chancellery in Dresden announced on Friday on behalf of the family. The CDU politician made a career in both parts of Germany and led Saxony as head of government from 1990 to 2002.
Biedenkopf was born on January 28, 1930 in Ludwigshafen. In 1973 the law professor became general secretary of the CDU at the suggestion of the party leader at the time, Helmut Kohl. He later became Kohl’s rival.
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In the 1980s he only made a name for himself with the CDU North Rhine-Westphalia, at the end of the decade Biedenkopf’s political career was basically over. But the turning point in the GDR gave him the chance for a comeback.
The CDU politician Lothar Späth persuaded him to go to the East and apply for the office of Prime Minister in Saxony. Biedenkopf later gave the reason that he wanted to serve the country together with his wife Ingrid.
The end of Biedenkopf’s tenure was less glorious
Saxony experienced a start-up period under his leadership in the 1990s. He obtained an absolute majority in state elections for the Union in the Free State three times. The Saxons called him “King Kurt”.
However, the end of Biedenkopf’s term of office was less laudable. Affairs such as discount purchases at the Ikea furniture store accelerated his case. The conflict over his successor had already broken out openly beforehand. Ultimately, Biedenkopf succumbed to his former Finance Minister Georg Milbradt in an internal party power struggle.
He left office in 2002 at the age of 72
In April 2002, Biedenkopf left office at the age of 72. Nevertheless, he remained present in the Saxony CDU – especially when things weren’t going well in the party. He later worked again as a lawyer and published. He also remained involved in politics, for example as an ombudsman for Hartz IV complaints.
Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) praised Biedenkopf as a great German personality of the 20th century. “A big Saxon has passed away,” said the CDU politician on Friday. “As Prime Minister from 1990 to 2002, he laid the foundations for the successful development of our homeland.”
Under the aegis of Biedenkopf, the Saxon administration was rebuilt and universities and science were fundamentally reformed. Kretschmer also recalled the politician’s commitment to the settlement of companies as well as important decisions for infrastructure, culture and art.
Kretschmer: Gifted speaker and explainer of the world situation
Kretschmer described Biedenkopf as a “gifted speaker and explainer of the world situation.” “We have all lost a great person. Kurt Biedenkopf will be missed. In the long run it will have a place in Saxon history, ”said Saxony’s head of government.
The CDU chairman Armin Laschet called Biedenkopf an “exceptional politician”. He was also “a statesman and a father in the best sense,” said Laschet on Friday in Berlin. He had succeeded in making Saxony a flourishing landscape and a high-tech location. As Secretary General of the CDU, he modernized the party in the 1970s. (dpa)
