Horst Ehmke

Horst Paul August Ehmke (4 February 1927 – 12 March 2017) was a German lawyer, law professor and politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He served as Federal Minister of Justice, Chief of Staff at the German Chancellery and Federal Minister for Special Affairs (1969–1972) and Federal Minister for Research, Technology, and Post (1972–1974).

Life Ehmke was born in the Free City of Danzig, where he passed his Abitur. In 1944, at the age of 17, Ehmke was enrolled as a member of the Nazi Party, although when this became public knowledge in 2007 as part of a media investigation of Nazi archives, he stated that he had made no application and was previously unaware of the enrollment. Following the Expulsion of Germans after World War II he came as a refugee to western Germany. He studied Law and Economics in Göttingen and Political science and History at Princeton University (US) from 1949 to 1950. In 1952, he promoted as Dr. iur., and in 1956, he passed his final examinations. In these years, he was the assistant of Adolf Arndt, member of the Bundestag (SPD).

From 1956 to 1960, Ehmke became a member of the Ford Foundation in Cologne and Berkeley. After passing his Habilitation in 1960, he became professor of public law at the University of Freiburg, where he became the Dean. Ehmke died on 12 March 2017 at the age of 90.

Writings Grenzen der Verfassungsänderung, 1953 Politik der praktischen Vernunft – Aufsätze und Referate, 1969 Politik als Herausforderung. Reden – Vorträge – Aufsätze 1968–1974, 1974 Politik als Herausforderung. Reden – Vorträge – Aufsätze 1975–1979, 1979 Beiträge zur Verfassungstheorie und Verfassungspolitik, 1981 Mittendrin – Von der Großen Koalition zur Deutschen Einheit, 1994 After retiring, Ehmke also wrote detective stories revolving around politics: Global Players, 1998 Der Euro-Coup, 1999 Himmelsfackeln, 2001 Privatsache, 2003 Im Schatten der Gewalt, 2006