Bernhard Raestrup

Bernhard Raestrup (25 January 1880 – 20 July 1959) was a German businessman and politician. He was successively a member of the Centre Party, the Nazi Party and the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He was a long-serving deputy, and later the presiding officer, in the provincial Landtag of the Prussian Province of Westphalia. He then served as a deputy in the Landtag of Prussia during the last days of the Weimar Republic, and in the national Bundestag in the early years of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Early life and career Raestrup was born the son of a factory owner who ran a malt factory in Oelde. After attending high school in Münster and obtaining his Abitur, he attended a vocational school and completed a commercial apprenticeship. He then worked in his parents' business. In 1906, he also founded the stamping and enameling works Krone Raestrup & Co. in Oelde. During the Weimar Republic, he was chairman of the Association of West German Enamel Works. He also served as a commercial judge until 1933.

Party memberships Raestrup joined the Centre Party in 1919, initially serving as a district chairman from 1920, and as party chairman of the Province of Westphalia in 1931. On 1 April 1940, he applied for membership in the Nazi Party and was admitted on 1 July (membership number 8,073,697). After the end of the Second World War, he joined the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU). From 1945, he was chairman of the Beckum CDU district association.

Elected offices Raestrup became a city councilor in Oelde. He was a member of the provincial parliament of the Province of Westphalia from 1921 to 1933 and served as its president from 1931 to 1933. In March 1933, he was elected as a deputy of the Landtag of Prussia, serving until its dissolution by the Nazis in October 1933. He represented the Bekum-Warendorf constituency as a directly elected member of parliament and was reelected at the 1953 federal election, receiving 67.5% of the first votes in 1953.

Honors 1955: Grand Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Bernhard-Raestrup-Platz in Oelde