Ernst Mecklenburg (born 3 June 1927) is a former

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

politician who served as Chairman of the

Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany The Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany (german: Demokratische Bauernpartei Deutschlands, DBD) was an East German political party. The DBD was founded in 1948. It had 52 representatives in the Volkskammer, as part of the National Front. The DBD ...

(DFD).

Biography

Mecklenburg was born in Blöcken (now in

Guryevsky District Guryevsky District is the name of several administrative and municipal districts in Russia. *Guryevsky District, Kaliningrad Oblast, an administrative district of Kaliningrad Oblast *Guryevsky District, Kemerovo Oblast, an administrative and muni ...

) in

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

in 1927 to a farming family. He attended school to be trained as a teacher in Memel during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and was recruited into the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

shortly before the war's end in January 1945. After the war, Mecklenburg was active in both agriculture and mining in the newly-formed

German Democratic Republic 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 ...

. In 1950 he joined the

and the

Free German Youth The Free German Youth (german: Freie Deutsche Jugend; FDJ) is a youth movement in Germany. Formerly, it was the official youth movement of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany. The organization was meant ...

. His first political office was that of Mayor of the town of

Rehna Rehna () is a town in the Nordwestmecklenburg district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated 26 km southeast of Lübeck, and 28 km northwest of Schwerin. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. References

...

from 1950 to 1952. In 1954, he became district secretary of the DFD in

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, c ...

and in 1963 was made a member of the executive committee of the party. He was elected to the Volkskammer as a member of the DFD in 1971. In 1982, Mecklenburg succeeded Ernst Goldenbaum as Chairman of the party and served in this capacity until his own retirement from politics due to health reasons.

References

1927 births Living people People from Guryevsky District, Kaliningrad Oblast People from East Prussia Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany politicians Members of the 6th Volkskammer Members of the 7th Volkskammer Members of the 8th Volkskammer Members of the 9th Volkskammer Mayors of places in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania German military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Order of Karl Marx Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold Recipients of the Banner of Labor {{Germany-politician-stub