Manfred Bochmann (15 March 1928 – 18 November 2011) was an

East German 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 ...

politician who served as his country's Minister for Geology for fifteen years.

Life

Bochmann was born into a working-class family in a mining region of

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

, in a small town some 5 km (3 miles) outside

Aue Aue may refer to: * Aue (toponymy), a frequent element in German toponymy meaning "wetland; river island; river" Places * Aue, Saxony, a mining town in Saxony, Germany * Aue (Samtgemeinde), a collective municipality in Uelzen District, Lower Sax ...

. In 1945 he was called up for national service and joined the army, before being captured and interned as a prisoner of war by the

Americans Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many Multi ...

in May/June of that year. In 1945/46 he trained as a toolmaker. He then undertook further education at the local Technical College, and at the

Freiberg University of Mining and Technology The Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg (abbreviation: TU Bergakademie Freiberg, TUBAF) is a public university of technology with currently 3655 students in the city of Freiberg, Saxony, Germany. Its focus is on exploration, mining & ...

. He obtained a degree in

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

and became a full-time functionary of the country's ruling SED (party) which he had joined in 1946. Between 1962 and 1967 he was Secretary for Economics for the Wismut region leadership. In 1967 he was awarded a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

for a dissertation which he had prepared jointly with Günther Lingott entitled "Ways to optimize management of labour collectives through the complex rationalisation of work operations through the development of Best practise and its application as standard practise. Example researched:

SDAG Wismut SAG/SDAG Wismut was a uranium mining company in East Germany during the time of the Cold War. It produced a total of 230,400 tonnes of uranium between 1947 and 1990 and made East Germany the fourth largest producer of uranium ore in the world ...

The Wismut mining operation where Bochmann had worked on his doctorate was militarily, and therefore also politically important because it was a major source of

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

Zschorlau Zschorlau () is a community in the district of Erzgebirgskreis in Saxony, Germany. Geography Location Zschorlau lies nestled in the gentle hills in the western Ore Mountains some 5 km from Aue and is overhung in the south by the ''Stei ...

, where Bochmann was born and where Wismut had a facility, has been economically focused on mining for several centuries. From 1967 till 1974 he was secretary of State for Geology, following which, under a decision of the Ministerial Council dated 13 June 1974,Gesetzblatt der DDR, Teil I/1974, Nr. 33 he was appointed East Germany's Minister for Geology, retaining the position till 1989.

Awards

* 1974

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 ...

in Silver * 1978

Banner of Labor The Banner of Labor () was an order issued in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was given for "excellent and long-standing service in strengthening and consolidating the GDR, especially for achieving outstanding results for the national e ...

* 1984

in Gold * 1988

Star of People's Friendship The Star of People's Friendship (german: Stern der Völkerfreundschaft), Star of Nations' Friendship, was an Order (decoration), order awarded by the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR). Established 20 August 1959, it was given to i ...

References

1928 births 2011 deaths People from Erzgebirgskreis Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians Socialist Unity Party of Germany politicians Government ministers of East Germany German Army personnel of World War II German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold Recipients of the Banner of Labor Child soldiers in World War II {{Germany-SED-politician-stub