Dr. Baldur Hendrik Hermans ( Essen-Borbeck 1938-November 16, 2015) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

historian and a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. He was Secretary General of the

International Catholic Conference of Scouting The International Catholic Conference of Scouting (ICCS) is an autonomous, international body committed to promoting and supporting Catholic Scout associations and to be a link between the Scout movement and the Catholic Church. Its headquarters ...

, and served as the International Commissioner of the

Ring deutscher Pfadfinderverbände The Ring deutscher Pfadfinderverbände (RdP; ''German Scout Federation'') is the German national Scouting organization within the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM). It serves 115,944 members (as of 2011). The RdP was founded as Ri ...

, as well as the International Commissioner of the German Catholic Scouting

Deutsche Pfadfinderschaft Sankt Georg The Deutsche Pfadfinderschaft Sankt Georg (DPSG, ''German Scout Association Saint George'') is the largest of Germany's many Scouting organizations. The Catholic association has about 95,000 members of both genders.http://www.dpsg.de/dpsg/zahle ...

(DPSG). Hermans began his university studies in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität in 1961, and subsequently obtained a doctorate in history. He joined the UNITAS Catholic Students Association at the beginning of his studies. In 1970 he became director of the Episcopal Youth Office in the

diocese of Essen The Diocese of Essen is a bishopric of the Catholic Church in Germany, founded on 1 January 1958. The Bishop of Essen is seated in Essen Cathedral (''Essener Dom'' or ''Essener Münster''), once the church of Essen Abbey, and over one thousand yea ...

, in 1989 he was head of the social functions and international relations department of the diocese, retiring in 2004. A member of DPSG since 1949, between 1985 and 2004 he was the international commissioner, representing the association in Europe and around the world. He played an important role in the revival of Catholic Scouting in the countries of

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

and the former Soviet Union after 1989, by organizing international exchanges of young people and launching various international projects. In 2002, at the

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

World Scout Conference The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest international Scouting organization. WOSM has 173 members. These members are recognized national Scout organizations, which collectively have around 43 million participants. WOSM ...

, Hermans was elected Secretary General of the International Catholic Conference of Scouting, and reconfirmed in his post in 2005 in Tunis and in 2008 in Rome. He was a member of the

Pontifical Council for the Laity The Pontifical Council for the Laity was a pontifical council of the Roman Catholic Curia from 1967 to 2016. It had the responsibility of assisting the Pope in his dealings with the laity in lay ecclesial movements or individually, and their co ...

, the Lumen Gentium Foundation and the Central Committee of German Catholics for Evangelization. He collaborated for many years in the political work of the

Christian Democratic Union of Germany The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (german: link=no, Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands ; CDU ) is a Christian democratic and liberal conservative political party in Germany. It is the major catch-all party of the centre-right ...

(CDU), and was author and publisher of numerous articles and books. In March 1998, Hermans was awarded the 264th '' Bronze Wolf'', the only distinction of the

World Organization of the Scout Movement The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest international Scouting organization. WOSM has 173 members. These members are recognized national Scout organizations, which collectively have around 43 million participants. WOS ...

, awarded by the World Scout Committee for exceptional services to world Scouting. In 2009, he became a member of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

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Recipients of the Bronze Wolf Award Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 1938 births Scouting and Guiding in Germany 2015 deaths {{Germany-reli-bio-stub