Lothar Späth (16 November 1937 – 18 March 2016) was a German politician of the CDU.

Life

Späth was born in

Sigmaringen Sigmaringen ( Swabian: ''Semmerenga'') is a town in southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Situated on the upper Danube, it is the capital of the Sigmaringen district. Sigmaringen is renowned for its castle, Schloss Sigmaring ...

. From 30 August 1978 to 13 January 1991 Späth was the 5th Minister President of

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 ...

and chairman of the

CDU Baden-Württemberg The CDU Baden-Württemberg is the political party with the most members in the German state of Baden-Württemberg and the second largest state party (in German, ''Landespartei'' or ''Landesverband'') of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany ...

, serving as the 36th

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 ...

of the Bundesrat in 1984/85. After leaving politics, Späth headed the

Jenoptik Jenoptik AG is a Jena, Germany-based integrated photonics group. The company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and is included in the TecDAX stock index. History The group can trace its heritage back to the original Carl Zeiss AG comp ...

company, one of the few former Eastern German state owned enterprises, which survived the transformation into a market economy in a united Germany. He stayed there until 2003. Then he became president of the Industrie- und Handelskammer East-Thuringia in Gera. In order to support medium-sized companies in opening up foreign markets, he set up the "Baden-Württemberg Export Foundation" in 1984, today Baden-Württemberg International. In 1989, he sponsored the publication of an art portfolio called Kinderstern, featuring original drawings by

Sol LeWitt Solomon "Sol" LeWitt (September 9, 1928 – April 8, 2007) was an American artist linked to various movements, including conceptual art and minimalism. LeWitt came to fame in the late 1960s with his wall drawings and "structures" (a term he pref ...

, Jörg Immendorff, Sigmar Polke,

Max Bill Max Bill (22 December 1908 – 9 December 1994) was a Swiss architect, artist, painter, typeface designer, industrial designer and graphic designer. Early life and education Bill was born in Winterthur. After an apprenticeship as a silversmit ...

Heinz Mack Heinz Mack (born March 8, 1931) is a German artist. Together with Otto Piene he founded the ZERO movement in 1957. He exhibited works at documenta in 1964 and 1977 and he represented Germany at the 1970 Venice Biennale. He is best known for h ...

, Keith Haring and Imi Knoebel, to benefit children cancer patients. Along with Rupert Neudeck, he is also a patron of the "German Economic Foundation for Humanitarian Help". In September 1992 Späth was awarded the title of ''Royal Norwegian Honorary Consul General for

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

and

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making i ...

.'' From 1998–2001, Späth hosted a TV talk show broadcast in Germany called "Späth am Abend", delivering weekly political commentaries beginning in 2002. (The title is a play on words between "Late at night" (''Spät am Abend'') and "Späth in the evening", a reference to the host's name.)

Literature

* Marlis Prinzing: ''Lothar Späth – Wandlungen eines Rastlosen''. Orell Füssli Verlag, Zürich 2006, . * Stefan Wogawa: ''Lothar Späth. Blick hinter eine (Selbst-)Inszenierung''. OWUS e. V., Bad Salzungen 2010. (Reihe Wirtschaft & Politik, Bd. 1) * Marlis Prinzing, Lothar Späth: ''"Wir schaffen das" – Antworten auf die Krise – Perspektiven für die Zukunft. Marlis Prinzing trifft Lothar Späth.'' Kaufmann, Lahr 2009, .

References

External links

Catalogue of Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
1937 births 2016 deaths People from Sigmaringen Presidents of the German Bundesrat Members of the Landtag of Baden-Württemberg Christian Democratic Union of Germany politicians People from the Province of Hohenzollern Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg Ministers-President of Baden-Württemberg {{Germany-CDU-politician-stub