From 1976 to 1990, the CDU politician Ernst Albrecht governed the state of Lower Saxony. Economically and socio-politically he drove his development forward. But there were also scandals in his era. A portrait.
Ernst Albrecht was born in Heidelberg on June 29, 1930 and grew up near Bremen. The doctor's son first studied philosophy and theology - among others with Karl Jaspers in Basel. After graduation, he studied law and economics again, which he completed in 1953 with a degree in economics. Six years later, Albrecht received his doctorate.
From 1954 to 1970 he worked in various positions at the Montanunion and the European Economic Community (EEC) - most recently as Director General for Competition at the EEC Commission in Brussels. In 1970 he returned to Lower Saxony. The CDU politician is elected to the Lower Saxony state parliament and takes on a leading position in the Bahlsen biscuit factory in Hanover.
Prime Minister election a political bang
Albrecht's election as Prime Minister of Lower Saxony in 1976 was a political sensation:in the middle of the legislative period, he was elected by votes from the social-liberal majority in the state parliament to succeed Alfred Kubel (SPD), who had resigned for reasons of age. After the state elections in 1978 he can govern with an absolute majority.
During his reign, Albrecht promoted the country's economic and social development. This is how he manages to reduce the new debt and initiates the nationwide establishment of social stations. Another focus is the strengthening of rural regions.
Gorleben:big bang of the anti-nuclear movement in Lower Saxony
One of the most controversial decisions made during Albrecht's tenure was the selection of Gorleben as the location for a "nuclear disposal center".
Ernst Albrecht's commitment to nuclear energy also has consequences for media policy:he and his Schleswig-Holstein colleague Gerhard Stoltenberg (CDU) are bothered by the NDR's reporting on protests against the Brokdorf nuclear power plant and terminate the NDR state contract in 1978. Due to a formal error, however, the termination is invalid.
Ernst Albrecht supports boat people from Vietnam
Albrecht received international recognition for his commitment to Vietnamese refugees, the so-called boat people. Due to Lower Saxony's willingness to take in boat refugees, the Federal Republic becomes the first western country to take on the Asian refugee catastrophe.
Albrecht is considered popular with the citizens. The CDU wants to benefit nationwide from his popularity:in 1979 the federal executive of the party nominated him as candidate for chancellor. However, the Union's parliamentary group then decides in favor of the CSU chairman, Franz Josef Strauss.
"Celler Loch" remains without personnel consequences
Albrecht's reign was not only marked by successes, but also by scandals:in 1986 it became known that a bomb attack on the Celle prison in 1978 was faked by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. The intelligence service wanted to infiltrate informants into the terrorist scene. Albrecht boasts that the campaign "prevented serious crimes". However, a parliamentary committee of inquiry cannot confirm this. The affair has no personal consequences. Because of the hole with a diameter of around 40 centimeters, which was torn by the detonation in the outer wall of the prison, the case went down in Lower Saxony history under the name "Celler Loch".
Casino affair cost Albrecht's interior minister his office
The Albrecht government also got into trouble as a result of the so-called casino affair:after the bankruptcy of the casinos in Hanover and Bad Pyrmont, the suspicion arose that the private casino operators had bought political goodwill with hidden party donations to the CDU. The suspicion cannot be confirmed, but a false statement in the parliamentary investigative committee costs Albrecht's Minister of the Interior, Wilfried Hasselmann, his office.
Commitment to the East
In the following state elections in 1990, Albrecht was defeated by his SPD challenger, Gerhard Schröder. He withdraws from state politics and gets involved in economic development in the new federal states. Albrecht takes over the chairmanship of the supervisory board of the ailing ironworks in Thale (Saxony-Anhalt), later acquires the company for the symbolic price of one Deutschmark and is able to ward off the closure of the former state-owned company. As an advisor to the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan, he is also committed to the unification of Europe after the fall of the Iron Curtain on an international level.
Ursula von der Leyen:Politics stays in the family
Like her father, Ursula von der Leyen, currently head of the EU Commission, was drawn to politics at an early age - and to the CDU:After Albrecht's resignation, his daughter Ursula von der Leyen, a CDU member since 1990, remained politically active and pursued a straightforward political career. As Federal Minister in various departments, she is continuing the tradition of her father, but also adding new accents. At times she is even being discussed as a candidate for the office of Federal President. She has been President of the EU Commission since 2019.
withdrawal from the public
The long-standing father of the country, Ernst Albrecht, spent the last years of his life withdrawn on the family farm in Beinhorn (Hanover region).On the occasion of his 80th birthday in the summer of 2010, the then Prime Minister of Lower Saxony, Christian Wulff (CDU), gave Ernst Albrecht a reception in the guest house of the state government in Hanover. Albrecht says:"I'm just filled with gratitude. I'm grateful for my whole life." He spends the last years of his life withdrawn with his family.
Ernst Albrecht, who suffered from dementia in the last years of his life, died on December 13, 2014 after a long illness at the age of 84 on the family estate in Burgdorf-Beinhorn.