Freimut Duve (26 November 1936 – 3 March 2020) was a German journalist, writer, politician and human rights activist. From 1980 to 1998 he was a member of the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Comm ...

for the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been ...

(SPD). He was the first OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media from 1998 to 2003. Duve was also a well-known personality in the German literary scene.

Life

Born in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg ...

on 26 November 1936, Duve grew up in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

. He studied history, English literature and sociology at the

University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (german: link=no, Universität Hamburg, also referred to as UHH) is a public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('' Allgemeines Vo ...

. In 1961, he studied Britain's colonial history in South Africa and Zimbabwe. He was the supervisor of foreign students at the University of Hamburg in 1965. In 1966, Duve joined the

(SPD) and became a personal assistant of , the Hamburg senator for business. He campaigned for the party together with

Günter Grass Günter Wilhelm Grass (born Graß; ; 16 October 1927 – 13 April 2015) was a German novelist, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor, and recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was born in the Free City of D ...

and

Siegfried Lenz Siegfried Lenz (; 17 March 19267 October 2014) was a German writer of novels, short stories and essays, as well as dramas for radio and the theatre. In 2000 he received the Goethe Prize on the 250th Anniversary of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's bi ...

. He worked as a political journalist for ''

Stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Or ...

'' magazine from 1969, and as an editor for

Rowohlt Verlag Rowohlt Verlag is a German publishing house based in Hamburg, with offices in Reinbek and Berlin. It has been part of the Georg von Holtzbrinck Group since 1982. The company was created in 1908 in Leipzig by Ernst Rowohlt. Divisions * Kinder * ...

from 1970 to 1989, responsible for a series of political books, among others. He published political writings by

Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then ...

, a manifesto against dictatorship in Portugal by

Mário Soares Mário Alberto Nobre Lopes Soares, GColTE, GCC, GColL (; 7 December 1924 – 7 January 2017) was a Portuguese politician, who served as prime minister of Portugal from 1976 to 1978 and from 1983 to 1985, and subsequently as the 17th pres ...

, and yearbooks on human rights in Central and East Europe, among others. Duve was a member of the

for the SPD, directly elected by the Hamburg-Mitte electoral district, from 1980 to 1998. He was the first OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media until 2003, being succeeded by Miklós Haraszti. Duve died in Hamburg on 3 March 2020.

Publications

Duve's publications include: As author * ''Der Rassenkrieg findet nicht statt. Entwicklungspolitik zwischen Angst und Armut.'' Econ, Düsseldorf 1971, . * ''Vom Krieg in der Seele. Rücksichten eines Deutschen.'' Rowohlt, Reinbek 1998, . * ''Kulturpolitik, auswärtig''. In:

Robert Picht Robert Picht (27 September 1937 in Berlin; 24 September 2008 in Hinterzarten) was a German academic. Biography Son of Professor Georg Picht and his wife Edith Axenfeld, Robert Picht studied sociology and Romance studies at the universities o ...

u. a. (ed.): ''Fremde Freunde. Deutsche und Franzosen vor dem 21. Jahrhundert.'' Piper, München 2002, , pp. 377–383. As editor * ''Kap ohne Hoffnung oder Die Politik der Apartheid.'' Rowohlt, Reinbek 1965.
''Zwischen Hoffen und Bangen. Südafrika im Blick westdeutscher Intellektueller der 1960er-Jahre.''
In: ', 13 016 pp. 360–364. * ''Die Restauration entläßt ihre Kinder oder Der Erfolg der Rechten in der Bundesrepublik.'' Rowohlt, Reinbek 1968. * ''Technologie und Politik. Das Magazin zur Wachstumskrise.'' Reinbek No. 1/1975 to No. 16/1980. * ''Aufbrüche. Die Chronik der Republik 1961 bis 1986.'' (together with ). Rowohlt, Reinbek 1988, .

Awards

Duve was presented the Hannah Arendt Award for Political Thought in 1997, together with Joachim Gauck. He was awarded 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 ...

in 2004.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Duve, Freimut 1936 births 2020 deaths Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe United Nations special rapporteurs Politicians from Würzburg Members of the Bundestag for Hamburg Members of the Bundestag 1994–1998 Members of the Bundestag 1990–1994 German officials of the United Nations Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Members of the Bundestag for the Social Democratic Party of Germany