Helmut Haussmann (born 18 May 1943) is a German academic and politician. He served as minister of economy from 1988 to 1991.

Early life and education

Haussmann was born in

Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in three ...

on 18 May 1943. He holds a degree in economics and social sciences from the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-W� ...

and from 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 ...

. He received a PhD in business management from

University of Erlangen–Nuremberg University of Erlangen–Nuremberg (german: Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, FAU) is a public research university in the cities of Erlangen and Nuremberg in Bavaria, Germany. The name Friedrich–Alexander comes from the univ ...

in 1976.

Career

Haussmann worked in family business in

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

until 1979 when he became a member of the Bundestag in 1976 with the Free Democratic Party (FDP). He was the secretary-general of the party from 1984 to 1988. On 9 December 1988, he was appointed economy minister, replacing

Martin Bangemann Martin Bangemann (15 November 1934 – 28 June 2022) was a German politician and a leader of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) from 1985 to 1988. He was German Federal Minister of Economics and European Commissioner. Life and career Bangemann ...

in the post. Haussmann served in the coalition cabinet led by

Helmut Kohl Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to 1998. Kohl's 16-year tenure is the longes ...

during the reunification process of West and

East Germany 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 ...

. Haussmann was reelected to the Bundestag from Baden-Wurttemberg state on 2 December 1990. He resigned from his ministerial post on 4 December 1990, but remained in office until 18 January 1991 and Jürgen W. Möllemann succeeded him as economy minister. Since 1996, he has been an honorary professor and teaching international management at University of Erlangen–Nuremberg. In 2001, he became chairman of the advisory board of GEMINI Executive Search. He has also been adjunct professor at the University of Tübingen where he has been teaching international business since 2010.

Personal life

Haussmann is a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

. He was criticized due to his lavish life-style when he was economy minister and was referred to as the "yuppie minister."

References