Burkhard Hirsch

Burkhard Hirsch
Hirsch at a FDP convention in 1981.
Vice President of the Bundestag (on proposal of the FDP-group)
In office 10 November 1994 – 26 October 1998
Preceded by	Dieter-Julius Cronenberg
Succeeded by	Hermann Otto Solms
Member of the German Bundestag
In office 1980–1998
Minister of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia
In office 28 May 1975 – 4 June 1980
Preceded by	Willi Weyer
Succeeded by	Herbert Schnoor
Member of the German Bundestag
In office 1972 – 28 May 1975
Personal details
Born	(1930-05-29) 29 May 1930 Magdeburg, Saxony
Nationality	German
Political party	Free Democratic Party
Alma mater	University of Marburg
Profession	Lawyer

Burkhard Hirsch (born 29 May 1930) is a German politician and civil liberties advocate. A member of the Free Democratic Party, Hirsch spent 21 years in the German Bundestag (1972–1975, 1980–1998). He also served five years as Minister of the Interior of Northrhine-Westphalia (1975–1980).

Born in Magdeburg, then part of Prussian Province of Saxony, Hirsch earned his Abitur in Halle (Saale), and went on to attend the University of Marburg, majoring in legal studies. He received his first and second Staatsexamen in 1954 and 1959, respectively, and earned his Doctor of Laws in 1961 (Doctoral thesis: Der Begriff des Bundesstaates in der deutschen Staatsrechtslehre).

A member of the FDP since 1949, Hirsch first attained in a seat in the Bundestag in the German federal election, 1972. He left to become Minister of the Interior of Northrhine-Westphalia in 1975, but returned in 1980. He has gained a reputation as one of the most vocal advocates for civil liberties in Germany, which earned him the Arnold Freymuth Prize (1998) and the Fritz Bauer Prize (2006). Hirsch was also awarded an honorary doctorate by the Goethe University Frankfurt (2006), and praised in the laudatory speech by Peter-Alexis Albrecht as "a nonpartisan, relentless, and aggressive advocate of rigorous rule of law".

External links

• Official bio at the German Bundestag