Hans Ritter von Lex (1893-1970) was a German political figure and the President of the
German Red Cross (german: Deutsches Rotes Kreuz) from 1961 to 1967. He was born Hans Lex on October 27, 1893, in
Rosenheim
Rosenheim is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is an independent city located in the centre of the district of Rosenheim (Upper Bavaria), and is also the seat of its administration. It is located on the west bank of the Inn at the confluence of the ...
,
Upper Bavaria
Upper Bavaria (german: Oberbayern, ; ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany.
Geography
Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat o ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. He died February 26, 1970, in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
Biography
After graduation from a
Gymnasium in 1912, Lex began the study of law at the
University of Munich. In 1914, shortly after taking his first state exam, his studies were interrupted by the outbreak of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Lex volunteered to serve in the Bavarian Army and served with the Infantry Life Regiment, Bavaria's elite bodyguard regiment. He was commissioned a reserve lieutenant in March 1915 and in September 1915 he went to the Bavarian 18th Reserve Infantry Regiment. For his bravery on July 31, 1916, during the
Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...
, Lex was decorated with the
Military Order of Max Joseph
The Military Order of Max Joseph (german: Militär-Max-Joseph-Orden) was the highest military order of the Kingdom of Bavaria. It was founded on 1 January 1806 by Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, the first king of Bavaria. The order came in t ...
, Bavaria's highest bravery decoration. The order conferred a patent of nobility, and the title "Ritter von" was added to Lex's name. Lex returned to the Infantry Life Regiment in late 1916 as a company commander, but in 1918 he was transferred to an office in the
Bavarian War Ministry after his three brothers were killed in action.
After the war, Ritter von Lex resumed his legal studies, and upon completion of the second state exam, he became a lawyer in the Bavarian state government. He was a civil servant in the Bavarian Culture Ministry from 1921 to 1923 and from 1927 to 1932, with an interlude from 1923 to 1927 as a district attorney in his hometown of Rosenheim. From 1932 to 1933, he was a member of the Reichstag, the parliament of the Weimar Republic, for the Bavarian People's Party. His party negotiated with the
Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...
over power-sharing in a coalition government, but after
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
took power, he and the other leaders of the Bavarian People's Party were briefly imprisoned. After his release, Ritter von Lex became a civil servant in the Reich Ministry of the Interior, responsible for sports affairs. He helped plan the 1936 Winter and Summer Olympics which took place in Germany.
After World War II, in 1946, Ritter von Lex became a senior civil servant in the Bavarian Interior Ministry. In October 1949 he became a state secretary in the West German Federal Ministry of the Interior. He retired from government service in October 1960.
Hans Ritter von Lex was elected President of the German Red Cross in 1961. He served as president until 1967, after which he became an honorary president until his death in 1970.
Honors
*
(1955)
*
Bavarian Order of Merit
* Honorary Knight Commander of the
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
(1961)
* Knight's Cross of the
Military Order of Max Joseph
The Military Order of Max Joseph (german: Militär-Max-Joseph-Orden) was the highest military order of the Kingdom of Bavaria. It was founded on 1 January 1806 by Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, the first king of Bavaria. The order came in t ...
(1916, conferred 1920)
* Grand Cross of the
Order of St. Gregory the Great
The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great ( la, Ordo Sancti Gregorii Magni; it, Ordine di San Gregorio Magno) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope.
The order is one of ...
(Vatican)
*
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...
, 1st and 2nd Class
* Honorary citizen of Rosenheim
After his death, the German border guard (''Grenzschutz'') renamed its barracks in Rosenheim the "Grenzschutzunterkunft Hans Ritter von Lex"
References
Präsidenten und Generalsekretäre des DRK - Hans Ritter von Lex(Presidents and Secretaries General of the German Red Cross - Hans Ritter von Lex) - Biographical Information and photographs
* Rudolf von Kramer, Otto Freiherr von Waldenfels und Dr. Günther Freiherr von Pechmann: ''Virtuti Pro Patria: Der königlich bayerische Militär-Max-Joseph-Orden'', München 1966 - Biography (in German).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lex, Hans Ritter von
1893 births
1970 deaths
People from Rosenheim
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni
Bavarian People's Party politicians
Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Knights of the Military Order of Max Joseph
Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Gregory the Great
Members of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic
German Red Cross personnel
German Army personnel of World War I