Lorenz Bock (born August 12, 1883 in Nordstetten; died August 3, 1948 in

Rottweil Rottweil (; Alemannic: ''Rautweil'') is a town in southwest Germany in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Rottweil was a free imperial city for nearly 600 years. Located between the Black Forest and the Swabian Alps, Rottweil has nearly 25,000 in ...

) was a German lawyer and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. He was first with the Center Party, later with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

Life and career

Lorenz Bock was born on August 12, 1883, in Nordstetten, (today district of Horb am Neckar). After visiting the schools in

Horb am Neckar Horb am Neckar is a town in the southwest of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river, between Offenburg to the west (about away) and Tübingen to the east (about away). It has around 25,000 inhabitants, of whom ...

and Rottweil he studied from 1902 to 1907 jurisprudence at the

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 ...

and at 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-Wü ...

. He graduated from the clerkship at the Amtsgericht in

Riedlingen Riedlingen () is a town in the district (''Kreis'') of Biberach, Baden-Württemberg, in the south-west of Germany. It is one of the destinations of the Upper Swabian Baroque Route. Riedlingen has approximately 10,000 inhabitants. Geography ...

, the Landgericht in

Ravensburg Ravensburg ( Swabian: ''Raveschburg'') is a city in Upper Swabia in Southern Germany, capital of the district of Ravensburg, Baden-Württemberg. Ravensburg was first mentioned in 1088. In the Middle Ages, it was an Imperial Free City and an impo ...

and with the public prosecution in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

. He worked since 1910 as a lawyer in Rottweil. From 1915 to 1918 he was a participant in the

First World War 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 ...

. After the war Bock continued his career as a lawyer. In August 1944 he was arrested by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

. Lorenz Bock died on the evening of August 3, 1948, in Rottweil from the effects of intestinal paralysis.

Politics

Bock joined already before the First World War, the Centre Party and was from 1919 to 1933 a member of the local council in Rottweil. He was in 1919 in the constituent assembly of the

Free People's State of Württemberg The Free People's State of Württemberg (german: Freier Volksstaat Württemberg) was a state in Württemberg, Germany, during the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. 1918 revolution With the German revolution near the end of World War I, the Ki ...

. He co-worked in the formation of the new constitution. In the same year he was elected to the Parliament of Württemberg, where he stayed till 1933. From 1928 to 1933 he was chairman of the center faction in the parliament. After

Second World War 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 ...

Bock participated in the founding of the CDU in

Rottweil (district) Rottweil is a Districts of Germany, ''Landkreis'' (district) in the middle of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is part of the Schwarzwald-Baar-Heuberg region in the Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald regional district. Neighboring districts are (from north c ...

. He was a member of the ''Advisory State Assembly Württemberg-Hohenzollern'' in 1946 and was elected in 1947 to the ''Parliament of Württemberg-Hohenzollern'', where he was a member to his death. On July 8, 1947, he was elected

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of Würtemberg-Hohenzollern. He then formed a coalition of CDU,

SPD 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 t ...

and

DVP DVP may refer to: * ''decessit vita patris'', "died in the lifetime of his father", term used by genealogists to denote a child who pre-deceased his or her father and did not live long enough to inherit the father's title or estate. * Delivery versu ...

. He also overtook the management of the treasury. Bock died later during his tenure. His successor as president was

Gebhard Müller Gebhard Müller (17 April 1900 – 7 August 1990) was a German lawyer and politician ( CDU). He was President of Württemberg-Hohenzollern (1948–1952), Minister President of Baden-Württemberg (1953–1958) and President of the Federal Constitu ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bock, Lorenz Ministers-President in Germany Christian Democratic Union of Germany politicians Centre Party (Germany) politicians 1883 births 1948 deaths

Life and career

Politics

Further reading

References