Ernst Albrecht (politician)
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Ernst Carl Julius Albrecht (29 June 1930 – 13 December 2014) was a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union and a former high-ranking European civil servant. He was one of the first European civil servants appointed in 1958 and served as Director-General of the
Directorate-General for Competition The Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP) is a Directorate-General of the European Commission, located in Brussels. The DG Competition employs around 850 officials, as well as a number of seconded national officials, among other from nation ...
from 1967 to 1970. He served as
Minister President A minister-president or minister president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments with a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government where they preside over the council of ministers. I ...
of the
state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...
of
Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
from 1976 to 1990. He was the father of the politician
Ursula von der Leyen Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen (; Albrecht, born 8 October 1958) is a German politician who has been serving as the president of the European Commission since 2019. She served in the German federal government between 2005 and 2019, holding suc ...
, the President of the European Commission.


Background

Ernst Albrecht was born in
Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
, the son of the psychologist, psychotherapist and medical doctor Carl Albrecht, who was known for developing a new method of
meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...
; the
Albrecht family The Albrecht family is a North German family whose members have been prominent as civil servants, politicians and businesspeople. The family is descended from Barthold Albrecht (born 1557), who was a pastor in Bodenwerder. Numerous of his descenda ...
had been among the '' hübsche'' ("genteel") families of the Electorate of Hanover as doctors, jurists and civil servants since the 17th century, but his immediate ancestors had been wealthy cotton merchants in Bremen and members of the city-state's
Hanseatic The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=German language, Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Norther ...
elite in the 19th and 20th centuries. His grandmother Mary Ladson Robertson was an American of prominent
planter class The planter class, known alternatively in the United States as the Southern aristocracy, was a racial and socioeconomic caste of pan-American society that dominated 17th and 18th century agricultural markets. The Atlantic slave trade permitted ...
origin from Charleston, South Carolina, and a descendant of James H. Ladson and several colonial governors.


European Commission, 1958–1970

Ernst Albrecht studied law and economics. In 1958 he moved to
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
where he became one of the first European civil servants. He initially served as the
Chef de Cabinet In several French-speaking countries and international organisations, a (French; literally 'head of office') is a senior civil servant or official who acts as an aide or private secretary to a high-ranking government figure, typically a minist ...
to the European Commissioner for Competition
Hans von der Groeben Hans von der Groeben (14 May 1907 – 6 March 2005) was a German diplomat, lawyer and journalist and member of the European Commission. Von der Groeben was born in Langheim (today Łankiejmy, Poland) near Rastenburg, East Prussia. A son ...
in the
Hallstein Commission The Hallstein Commission is the European Commission that held office from 7 January 1958 to 30 June 1967. Its president was Walter Hallstein and held two separate mandates. Work It was the first commission on the European Economic Community and ...
, and in 1967, at the age of 37, he became the Director-General of the
Directorate-General for Competition The Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP) is a Directorate-General of the European Commission, located in Brussels. The DG Competition employs around 850 officials, as well as a number of seconded national officials, among other from nation ...
.


Business and political career

Albrecht entered politics in his native Germany when he was elected to the Lower Saxon Landtag (parliament) in 1970, and moved to Hanover with his family the following year. From 1971 to 1976, he was CEO of Bahlsen. When
Alfred Kubel Alfred Kubel (25 May 1909 in Braunschweig – 22 May 1999 in Bad Pyrmont) was a German politician; in his later career, he was a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). In 1928, after attending Middle School, Kubel became an in ...
resigned from the office of State Premier in 1976, Albrecht was unexpectedly elected as his successor. Since he received three more votes than his party had representatives in the Legislative Assembly, some members of the governing coalition
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 FDP must have secretly voted for him. He was re-elected in state parliament elections in 1978, 1982 and 1986. Albrecht is known for the decision to make the County of
Lüchow-Dannenberg Lüchow-Dannenberg is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany, which is usually referred to as Hanoverian Wendland (''Hannoversches Wendland'') or Wendland. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the districts of Uelzen and Lüneburg and the s ...
the state's "nuclear district"; only a radioactive waste dump at
Gorleben Gorleben is a small municipality ('' Gemeinde'') in the Gartow region of the Lüchow-Dannenberg district in the far north-east of Lower Saxony, Germany, a region also known as the Wendland. Gorleben was first recorded as a town by the rulers of ...
was realized, however. During his tenure Albrecht was embroiled in an unusually large number of political scandals; most famously, the Celle Hole. In 1980, Albrecht launched a campaign for election as Chancellor, but he lost out to fellow conservative
Franz-Josef Strauß Franz Josef Strauss ( ; 6 September 1915 – 3 October 1988) was a German politician. He was the long-time chairman of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU) from 1961 until 1988, member of the federal cabinet in different positions between ...
. Albrecht did not contest the 1990 state elections. Instead, then-
President of the Bundestag The president of the Bundestag (german: Präsident des Deutschen Bundestages or ) presides over the sessions of the Bundestag, the federal parliament of Germany, with functions similar to that of a speaker in other countries. In the German orde ...
and
Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911. General information The ori ...
Member of the German Bundestag
Rita Süssmuth Rita Süssmuth ( ''née'' Kickuth; ; born 17 February 1937) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). She served as the 10th President of the Bundestag. From 1985 to 1988, she served as Federal Minister for Youth, Family ...
was lead candidate. They had an agreement whereby, if re-elected, Albrecht would continue as Minister-President until 1992, then Süssmuth would take over. Süssmuth lost the 1990 state elections to
Gerhard Schröder Gerhard Fritz Kurt "Gerd" Schröder (; born 7 April 1944) is a German lobbyist and former politician, who served as the chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. From 1999 to 2004, he was also the Leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germa ...
, who later became Chancellor.


Personal life

Albrecht married Heidi Adele Stromeyer (1928–2002) in 1953. They had seven children, among them politician
Ursula von der Leyen Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen (; Albrecht, born 8 October 1958) is a German politician who has been serving as the president of the European Commission since 2019. She served in the German federal government between 2005 and 2019, holding suc ...
and
Hans-Holger Albrecht Hans-Holger Albrecht (born 29 July 1963) is a German businessman. He was CEO of Deezer until 2021, one of the largest music streaming services worldwide. Deezer offers more than 53 million tracks in over 180 countries to currently more than 14 mil ...
, President & CEO of the international telecom and media group
Deezer Deezer is a French online music streaming service. It allows users to listen to music content from record labels, as well as podcasts on various devices online or offline. Created in Paris, Deezer currently has 90 million licensed tracks in ...
. A daughter died at age 11 and one son at age 49 of cancer. His brother was
George Alexander Albrecht George Alexander Albrecht (15 February 1935 – 21 December 2021) was a German conductor and composer, who also worked as a musicologist and academic teacher. A prolific composer at a young age, he was Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) of the Staatsope ...
, a conductor. Ernst Albrecht had Alzheimer's disease since 2003, which was announced to the public in 2008. He died at the age of 84 in Burgdorf in December 2014.


Ancestry


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albrecht, Ernst 1930 births 2014 deaths People from Osterholz People from the Province of Hanover Presidents of the German Bundesrat German Lutherans Christian Democratic Union of Germany politicians Ministers-President of Lower Saxony Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Cornell University alumni German people of American descent German people of English descent 20th-century Lutherans Albrecht family