Colonel William A. Phillips

Franz-Josef Wuermeling (8 November 1900 - 7 March 1986) was a West German CDU politician and minister who served as Federal Minister for Family Affairs from 1953 to 1962.[1]

Early life and education

Wuermeling was born in Charlottenburg, Berlin in 1900. His father, Bernhard, worked at the Reichsamt des Innern and the Reichsarbeitsamt, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Labour in the German Empire.[2] Wuermeling attended school in Berlin and studied law and economics at Münster University, Hamburg University and Freiburg University.[3] He served in the German Navy in the First World War.[4]

Political career

Wuermeling was the mayor of Linz for a year in 1945 before being elected to the Rhineland Landtag (Parliament) where he served as a Secretary in the State Ministry of the Interior from 1947 to 1949.[5] In the 1949 German federal election, Wuermeling was elected to the West German Bundestag.[4]

Adenauer cabinet

A campaign poster featuring Wuermeling c. 1957

After the 1953 election, Wuermeling was appointed the first Federal Minister for Family Affairs.[6] Wuermeling would stay in the post through Adenauer's second, third and fourth ministries until December 1962.[7][8]

He introduced the so-called "Wuermeling pass" which enabled families with children to travel at a discounted price.[9]

Honours

Wuermeling received the following honours:[4]

National orders

International orders

See also

References

  1. ^ "Wuermeling, Franz-Joseph". Pressemappe 20. Jahrhundert. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  2. ^ Marx, Stefan. "Franz-Josef Wuermeling". Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (in German). Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  3. ^ "Franz-Josef Wuermeling". Munzinger. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  4. ^ a b c "Wuermeling, Franz-Josef / 1900-1986". Rheinland-Pfälzische Personendatenbank. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  5. ^ "Wuermeling, Franz Josef". Das Bundesarchiv (in German). Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  6. ^ "Franz-Josef Wuermeling 1900 - 1986". 20 Lemo Jahre. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  7. ^ "Franz-Josef Wuermeling, Federal Minister of Family Affairs (September 1954)". German History in Documents and Images. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  8. ^ Childs, David; Johnson, Jeffrey (2014). West Germany (RLE: German Politics): Politics and Society. Routledge. ISBN 9781317537595.
  9. ^ "Geschichte des Ministeriums". Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz-Josef_Wuermeling