Heinrich Rickert

Heinrich Edwin Rickert (; 27 December 1833 – 3 November 1902) was a German journalist and liberal politician. He was the father of the philosopher Heinrich Rickert.

Biography

Rickert was born in Putzig, West Prussia (Puck, Poland), his father was the head of the local post office and later a customs officer. Rickert attended school in Danzig (Gdańsk) and Thorn (Toruń) and studied economics at the Universities of Breslau (Wrocław) and Berlin.

In 1858, he started to work as a journalist for the newfounded Danziger Zeitung and soon became its editor and owner. In 1863, Rickert became a member of the City council of Danzig, he was a Co-founder of the National Liberal Party in 1866 and, next to Max von Forckenbeck, Ludwig Bamberger and Eduard Lasker, member of the party executive in 1867 and from 1877 to 1880.

Parliamentarian Rickert was elected a member of the Prussian House of Representatives in 1870 and a member of the German Parliament in 1874. From 1875 to 1878 Rickert was also member and president of the diet of the Province of Prussia until the separation of the province into East and West Prussia in 1878.

In a political conflict about the defense budget, fiscal bills and the Kulturkampf policy Rickert left his party and founded the left-liberal Liberal Union ("Secessionists") in 1880, Rickert led the party and published their "Reichsblatt" since 1882. In 1892, Rickert was a founding member of the German Peace Society.

Rickert strongly supported the foundation of the Technical University of Danzig, which was completed in 1904, and was the chairman of the supervisory board of the Danzig Bank Association (Danziger Bankverein).