Hans Tietmeyer – The last Keeper of the D-Mark is dead – Süddeutsche.de

Hans Tietmeyer played a defining role in German reunification and the introduction of the Euro.

A man like him has it not given. A legend, the man says quickly, therefore, if a is assumed, since decades, in his field is important, in many people’s lives is a fixed point. Hans Tietmeyer, born on 18. August 1931 Westphalia in Metelen/, is an economic and monetary policy to legend, a German politician and a civil servant and a Central banker, to his time as a player known and respected throughout the world. Be Constantly spun from Ludwig Erhard to the 21st century. Century, from the D-Mark to the Euro, and in between, the German was unification. Theo Waigel, 77, Federal Minister of Finance from 1989 to 1998, and father of the Euro, which he has been working for a long time, one calls the Older one “solitaire”.

Ludwig Erhard, The father of the economic miracle, and his Minister was, as Hans Tietmeyer, in the year of 1962 in the Federal economic policy started in the Ministry as an auxiliary officer for questions of principle of the economy, in the Grand coalition, the social Democrat Karl Schiller, who supported the CDU-politician who was not also for functions in the local branch of Bad Godesberg to shame, and carried followed. Tietmeyer experienced three CDU-Chancellor, and the change to the social Democrats Willy Brandt. In the social-liberal coalition, he was regarded as the political Conscience of the government. On change of partner, the FDP from the SPD to the CDU and the fall of Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, he, was, we say: do not be indifferent.

The fall of the Chancellor, Schmidt, he, was, we say: do not be indifferent

Although it is not entirely true, if it is like that Tietmeyer is the author of the famous “turning paper” from 1982, with the FDP Minister of Economics, Otto Graf Lambsdorff heralded the end of the social-liberal coalition, but it is not entirely wrong. Tietmeyer has not written the paper alone, but he was, you could say, in terms of content involved. What is not liked at all surprising given the fact that the official Tietmeyer has always recognized the primacy of the policy, but if one considers his CV and his views into consideration.

in Münster, Bonn and Cologne-trained PhD economist was an Economist of the classical school: a staunch supporter of the market economy, stability-oriented, with view on the supply side, i.e. the framework conditions for enterprises and skeptical of too much government influence and excessive social benefits. In such a way and equipped with one of the origin owed Westphalian Thick-headedness Tietmeyers involvement in the turnaround time of the late eighties is impressed to understand.

In the new CDU/CSU/FDP-coalition under Helmut Kohl joined Tietmeyer as one of the two permanent secretaries of state to the Minister of Finance, Gerhard Stoltenberg (CDU). He was now for the hard stuff responsible for privatisation, money and banking, and the complicated international financial and monetary relations. As a Sherpa, he prepared for Chancellor Kohl, the annual G-7 Meeting of the largest economies. In the case of important agreements for the stabilization of the global exchange rate system (the experts speak from the Plaza and the Louvre agreements), he played the role internationally-a key.

He escaped the RAF’s with shot tires

these tasks could bring one back in the crosshairs of terrorism, but Tietmeyer was more fortunate as an employer President Hanns-Martin Schleyer: During this kidnapped in the German autumn of 1977 by the RAF and later was murdered, escaped Tietmeyer and his driver in an attack in September 1988, with shot tires.

As in the following year, the CSU-man and cabbage-Familiar, Theo Waigel, Minister of Finance, the dissolution of the GDR, new power relations between East and West and the changing international constellations, extremely demanded, made him Tietmeyer in day – and night sessions for the task fit. Waigel recalls how he einnickte in the evening in the private house of his Secretary of state, about all the information on the chair, Tietmeyer but inexorably recited before the young Minister awoke again and had to deal with A repeat of the missed passages was out of the question.