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| Hans Katzer | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Katzer in 1981 at the 30th Federal Party Congress of the CDU | |
| Federal Minister for Labour and Social Affairs (West Germany) | |
| In office 26 October 1965 (1965-10-26) – 29 October 1969 (1969-10-29) | |
| Chancellor | Ludwig Erhard Kurt Georg Kiesinger |
| Preceded by | Theodor Blank |
| Succeeded by | Walter Arendt |
| Member of the Bundestag for Cologne III | |
| In office 15 October 1957 (1957-10-15) – 4 November 1980 (1980-11-04) | |
| Preceded by | Johannes Albers |
| Succeeded by | Aenne Brauksiepe |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1919-01-31)31 January 1919 Cologne, Free State of Prussia, German Reich |
| Died | 18 July 1996(1996-07-18) (aged 77) Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany |
| Political party | Christian Democratic Union |
| Spouse |
Elisabeth Kaiser (m. 1949) |
| Children | 1 |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Nazi Germany |
| Branch/service |  German Army |
| Years of service | 1939-1945 |
| Rank | Leutnant |
Hans Katzer (31 January 1919 – 18 July 1996) was a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He served as Federal Minister for Labour and Social Affairs of West Germany from 1965 to 1969 under Ludwig Erhard and Kurt Georg Kiesinger. During his time as minister, he helped improve war victims' pensions and helped pass the Employment Promotion Act/Labor Promotion Act (Arbeitsförderungsgesetz, AFG) in 1969, which was meant to upskill workers in addition to creating the Federal Institute of Labour. It was replaced in 1997 with the Third Book of the Social Code upon the implementation of the Employment Promotion Reform Act.
He was also a Member of the Bundestag for Cologne III from 1957 to 1980.
Early life
Political career
Member of Bundestag
Minister for Labour and Social Affairs
His plans during the start of his ministry largely corresponded with the ideas of the SPD, which included higher child benefit subsidies, an investment wage for employees, and more codetermination. He helped pass the Savings Premium Act and the issuance of shares to the general public at a discounted rate.
In 1967, he threatened to resign alongside Gerhard Schröder if his budget was cut. That same year unemployment reached a record high in the within the last decade, and he said it was a "decisive goal" of his administration's policy. Unemployment would remain a huge issue during his time as minister, as endangered areas like the Saarland and the Bavarian Forest had significantly higher rates of unemployment. Prior to his term, miners were referred to the Ruhr for work, but they would later not move and layoff figures rose.
In 1969 Katzer started pushing the Labour Promotion Act, which introduced an active labour market policy in an attempt to fight unemployment and inferior employment. The act was praised across the spectrum of parties after the preceding crisis of unemployment in 1967. After the 1969 West German federal election, he and his followers who were generally considered leftists, attempted to ally with SPD in an attempt to push his social policy but they were rejected by Helmut Schmidt.
Later political work
Katzer headed the Jakob Kaiser Foundation, and in this role pushed for German reunification. Starting in 1980 he also helped lead the German chapter of the European Union of Christian Democratic Workers alongside Alfred Bertrand.
Personal life
His father-in-law was Jakob Kaiser, who was the Federal Minister of All-German Affairs, and Katzer inherited much of his estate after Kaiser's death.
Honours and awards
On 19 January 1973, he was awarded the Grand Cross with Star and Sash on behalf of then President of West Germany, Gustav Heinemann. In 1987 he was awarded the Hans Böckler Prize, which was organized by the German Trade Union Confederation, and in 1988 he received the Ludger Westrick Prize. In 1989 he was awarded with the Order of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia by Johannes Rau.
References
- ^ "HANS KATZER". Der Spiegel (in German). 1 October 1963. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- "Fate of Kiesinger regime depends on economics moves". Jefferson City News And Tribune Newspaper. Associated Press. 9 July 1967.
- "West Germans Promised Jobs". Albuquerque Tribune Newspaper. Associated Press. 2 January 1967.
- ^ "Katzers Parole: Schulung". Die Zeit (in German). 5 January 1968. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- Pühringer, Stephan; Griesser, Markus (19 October 2020). "From the 'planning euphoria' to the 'bitter economic truth': the transmission of economic ideas into German labour market policies in the 1960s and 2000s". Critical Discourse Studies. 5: 476–493. doi:10.1080/17405904.2019.1681283. ISSN 1740-5904. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- Griesser, Markus (1 May 2018). "Images and imaginaries of unemployed people: Discursive shifts in the transition from active to activating labour market policies in Germany". Critical Social Policy. 38 (2): 387–406. doi:10.1177/0261018317727481. ISSN 0261-0183. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- "Bißchen Siegen". Der Spiegel (in German). 21 September 1969. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- Kreuz-Katzer, Marietheres; Röttgen, Norbert (18 July 2011). "Hans Katzer – Erfinder der Sozialpartnerschaft". Rhienische Post (in German). Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- Jansen, Thomas; Van Hecke, Steven (2011). "Chapter Ten: Working Groups and Member Associations". At Europe's Service: The Origins and Evolution of the European People's Party. Springer. pp. 173–185. ISBN 978-3-642-19414-6. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- "Hans Katzer". Der Spiegel (in German). 10 June 1984. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- "Verleihungsurkunde - 1973". www.kas.de. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- "Personen". www.bundeskanzler-helmut-kohl.de (in German). Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- "Verleihungsurkunde - 1989". www.kas.de. Retrieved 4 January 2025.