Ernst Benda (15 January 1925 – 2 March 2009) was a German legal scholar, politician and judge. He served as the fourth president of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany from 1971 to 1983. Benda briefly served as Minister of the Interior of Germany (1968 to 1969). Ernst Benda was born in Berlin, the son of an engineer. Following school, he served in the

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

from 1943 to 1945. After the war, he studied law at the Humboldt University of Berlin in East Berlin, but in 1948 moved to the University of Wisconsin and then to the Free University of Berlin in West Berlin. 1956 he started to work as a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

in Berlin. From 1946 Benda was a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He was one of the founders, in 1948, of the

Kampfgruppe gegen Unmenschlichkeit The Kampfgruppe gegen Unmenschlichkeit (KgU) (German for "Combat Group against Inhumanity") was a German anti-communist resistance group based in West Berlin. It was founded in 1948 by Rainer Hildebrandt, Günther Birkenfeld, and Ernst Benda, and ...

(KgU) ("Combat Group against Inhumanity"), an anti-communist organization operating in the

GDR 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 ...

and which received financial support from various Western intelligence agencies and the FGR government. From 1954 to 1957 he was a member of the

Abgeordnetenhaus von Berlin The Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin (House of Deputies) () is the state parliament (''Landtag'') of Berlin, Germany according to the city-state's constitution. In 1993 the parliament moved from Rathaus Schöneberg to its present house on Niederkirchne ...

, the parliament of Berlin. 1957 he was elected to the Bundestag, the West German parliament. In 1965 he was involved in bringing significant changes to West Germany's

statutes of limitations A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In mo ...

for

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

. Without these changes, it would not have been possible to bring charges of murder against erstwhile National Socialists. Since 1967 he was Secretary of State in the German

interior ministry An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

and since 1968 Minister of the Interior. 1969 he was appointed as a judge to the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany. From 1971 to 1983 he was president of the court. From 1984 Benda was a professor of law at the University of Freiburg.

Awards and honours

:1974 Grand Cross of Merit of the Italian Republic :1975 Grand Gold Medal with Ribbon for Services to the Republic of Austria :1983 Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany :1974 Honorary Doctorate from the Faculty of Law, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg :1978 Honorary Professor at the University of Trier :1978 Pipe smoker of the year :1987

References

External links

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benda, Ernst 1925 births 2009 deaths Members of the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin German Protestants Jurists from Berlin University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Free University of Berlin alumni Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Recipients of the Grand Decoration with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria Interior ministers of Germany Justices of the Federal Constitutional Court Members of the Bundestag for Berlin Members of the Bundestag 1969–1972 Members of the Bundestag 1965–1969 Members of the Bundestag 1961–1965 Members of the Bundestag 1957–1961 20th-century German judges Members of the Bundestag for the Christian Democratic Union of Germany Kriegsmarine personnel of World War II