Hans-Joachim Heusinger

Hans-Joachim Heusinger (7 April 1925 – 26 June 2019) was a German politician and party functionary of the Liberal Democratic Party of Germany (LDPD).

In the German Democratic Republic, he served as the longtime Minister of Justice until having to step down during the Peaceful Revolution.

Life and career Early career The son of a worker, he completed training as an electrician from 1939 to 1942 after attending elementary school and was a soldier in the Wehrmacht until 1945.

From 1945 to 1951, he worked as an electrician and cable fitter.

Heusinger initially became active in local politics. From 1951 to 1952, he was a member of the council of the Leipzig-Mitte district. From 1952 to 1957, he was a secretary of the Bezirk Leipzig LDPD. From 1953 to 1959, he was a deputy of the Bezirk Leipzig and Bezirk Cottbus district assemblies and a member of the Bezirk government. earning a degree in law (Dipl.-Jur.). From 1957 to 1959, Heusinger subsequently served as chairman of the Bezirk Cottbus LDPD and as director of the Cottbus Chamber of Industry and Commerce. Since 1957, he additionally was a member of the central board of the LDPD and its political committee. Heusinger initially was a member of the legal committee, and from 1963 to 1973 a member of the committee for industry, construction, and transport. succeeding his party colleague Kurt Wünsche, who was fired for being critical of SED leader Erich Honecker's push for a complete nationalization of the GDR's remaining small businesses.

He additionally became Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers, However, Heusinger's previous loyalty to the SED proved to be a problem, prompting Modrow to fire him in January 1990. His successor was Wünsche, who continued to head the Justice Ministry even in the GDR's last government, the only freely elected one. Heusinger left the BFD in April 1990.