Hans Loch (2 November 1898 in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

– 13 July 1960 in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

) was Chairman of the

Liberal Democratic Party of Germany The Liberal Democratic Party of Germany (german: Liberal-Demokratische Partei Deutschlands, LDPD) was a political party in East Germany. Like the other allied bloc parties of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) in the National Front, it ...

and Finance Minister of the

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 ...

Life

After his secondary education Loch was drafted for military service in 1917. From 1918 to 1923 he studied law at the Universities of

and

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 ...

and then worked as a legal adviser and tax counsellor. In 1936 he emigrated to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, but returned to Germany in 1938 and from 1939 to 1945 was a soldier of 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 ...

. In 1945 Loch was a co-founder of the Liberal Democratic Party in the district of

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...

. From 1947 he was Chairman of the municipal policy subcommittee of the Central Board, and from 1949 deputy chairman of the party. In 1951 he became party chairman, first jointly with Karl Hamann, and then alone, following the arrest of the latter in December 1952. From 1946 to 1948 he was mayor of Gotha, then until 1950 Minister of Justice of

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

, and then till 1955 Minister of Finance of the GDR. As

finance minister A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

, he was a member of the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

. From 1949 he was a member of the (provisional)

Volkskammer __NOTOC__ The Volkskammer (, ''People's Chamber'') was the unicameral legislature of the German Democratic Republic (colloquially known as East Germany). The Volkskammer was initially the lower house of a bicameral legislature. The upper house ...

(People's Chamber), from 1950 Vice Chairman of the Council of Ministers and from 1954 a member of the Presidium of the National Council of the National Front. In 1954 Loch was awarded the

Patriotic Order of Merit The Patriotic Order of Merit (German: ''Vaterländischer Verdienstorden'', or VVO) was a national award granted annually in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was founded in 1954 and was awarded to individuals and institutions for outstanding ...

Written works

* ''Ein Bürger sieht die Sowjetunion'', Leipzig 1953 * ''Auf seltsamen Pfaden. Streifzüge durch das Russland von gestern und heute'', Berlin 1955 * ''In eine neue Epoche. Ein Buch für den Mittelstand'', Berlin 1958 * ''Von der Elbe bis zum Gelben Meer'', Berlin 1958 * ''Wir sind dabei gewesen'', Berlin 1959

Sources

*
Wer war wer in der DDR?

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loch, Hans 1898 births 1960 deaths Politicians from Cologne People from the Rhine Province Liberal Democratic Party of Germany politicians Finance ministers of East Germany Government ministers of East Germany Members of the Provisional Volkskammer Members of the 1st Volkskammer Members of the 2nd Volkskammer Members of the 3rd Volkskammer Mayors of places in Thuringia German military personnel of World War I German military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold Recipients of the Banner of Labor