Alois Mertes

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Alois Mertes, 1983

Alois Mertes (born October 29, 1921 in Gerolstein ; † June 16, 1985 in Bonn ) was a German diplomat , politician ( CDU ) and from 1982 until his death Minister of State in the Foreign Office .

Memorial plaque in honor of Mertes in his hometown Gerolstein .

Life and work

Mertes was born as the fifth child of Michael Mertes and Anna Mertes, geb. Feldges born. After graduating from the Regino-Gymnasium in Prüm in 1940 , Mertes took part as a soldier in the Second World War. After his release from captivity , Mertes completed a degree in law , history and Romance studies at the universities in Bonn and Paris . In 1948 he completed his studies with the state examination in history and French and received his doctorate in 1951 at the University of Bonn with the thesis France's position on the German revolution in 1848 for Dr. phil.

In 1952 Mertes joined the diplomatic service of the Federal Republic of Germany, for which he worked at the Consulate General in Marseille and at the embassies in Paris (1958–1963) and Moscow (1963–1966). He completed an official study visit in 1968/69 at the Center for International Affairs at Harvard University , headed by Henry Kissinger , with the study Reflections on Détente: Russia, Germany, and the West . After his return to Bonn, he took over the European Security and Regional Disarmament Department in the Foreign Office .

From 1969 to 1971 he was chairman of the Catholic Association of New Germany .

From 1969 to 1972 he held a teaching position for political science at the University of Cologne .

Alois Mertes had been with Hiltrud Mertes since 1951. Becker married. The marriage produced five children, including Michael Mertes and the Jesuit Klaus Mertes .

Mertes died 4 days after a severe stroke that he suffered during a panel discussion.

After Mertes' death, Heinrich Böll wrote to his widow Hiltrud that her husband was "one of the few, if not the only politician in his party with whom I could and still could have talked". Hans-Dietrich Genscher remarked about Mertes in his memoirs: “His death hit me particularly hard, and the memory of this cosmopolitan, knowledgeable and sincere man, who was firmly rooted in his faith, his family and his homeland, will always be be characterized by the highest appreciation and human connection. "

In a series of eight “Alois Mertes Memorial Lectures” (1991–1999), the German Historical Institute Washington had Mertes' diverse conceptual contributions to German foreign and security policy recognized by well-known historians , political scientists and scholars in the humanities .

Political party

Mertes had been a member of the CDU since 1961.

MP

From 1972 until his death he was a member of the German Bundestag . From 1980 to 1982 he was chairman of the foreign policy working group of the CDU / CSU parliamentary group .

Alois Mertes has always entered the Bundestag as a directly elected member of the Bitburg constituency .

Public offices

In 1972 Mertes was State Secretary and authorized representative of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate at the federal level.

On October 4, 1982, he was Minister of State at the Foreign Office in the of Chancellor Helmut Kohl led government appointed. Mertes died in office.

Cabinets

Publications (selection)

Own publications

  • The Union and Poland. In: Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder and Hubertus Zuber (Hrsg.): Union alternativ. Seewald Verlag, Stuttgart 1976, ISBN 3-512-00423-7
  • Soviet Criteria of Security and Arms Control - Conceptual Contrasts and Differences to the West. In: Erhard Forndran and Paul J. Friedrich: Arms control and security in Europe. Europa Union Verlag, Bonn 1979, ISBN 3-7713-0113-0
  • Make deterrence visible. In: Josef Joffe (Ed.): Peace without weapons? The dispute over retrofitting. Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, Munich 1981, ISBN 3-453-01524-X
  • The Holy Doctor of Moscow Friedrich Joseph Haass. In: Three Germans in Russia. Ostermann - Cancrin - Haass (together with Hans Dietrich Mittorp and Dieter Wellenkamp). Turris-Verlag, Darmstadt 1983, ISBN 3-87830-016-6
  • Agostino Casaroli - Witness to the Church's mission for peace. In: Herbert Schambeck (Ed.): Pro Fide et Iustitia. Festschrift for Agostino Cardinal Casaroli on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1984, ISBN 3-428-05678-7
  • Europe's Role in Central America: A West German Christian Democratic View. In: Andrew J. Pierre (Ed.): Third World Instability. Central America as a European-American Issue. Council on Foreign Relations Books, New York 1985, ISBN 0-87609-005-6
  • Nuclear Weapons and the Preservation of Peace (together with Karl Kaiser , Georg Leber and Franz-Josef Schulze). In: William P. Bundy (Ed.): The Nuclear Controversy. New American Library, New York 1985, ISBN 0-452-00736-4

About Alois Mertes

Web links

Commons : Alois Mertes  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The German translation appeared posthumously in: Günter letter: Alois Mertes - Der Primat des Politischen, Düsseldorf 1994, pp. 1-61.
  2. ^ Rudolf Vierhaus (ed.): Biographical manual of the members of the German Bundestag 1949–2002. KG Saur Verlag, Munich 2002, p. 558.
  3. ^ AP: Alois Mertes Is Dead at 63; Bonn Foreign Ministry Aide , New York Times , June 18, 1985
  4. ^ Georg Schneider: Alois Mertes , Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung , undated
  5. ↑ Quoted after Jürgen Aretz : The ethical in politics. Memory of Alois Mertes , in: Die Politische Demokratie No. 386/02, p. 92.
  6. ↑ Hans-Dietrich Genscher : Memories. Wolf Jobst Siedler Verlag, Berlin 1995/1999, ISBN 3-88680-680-4 , p. 1022f.
  7. ↑ See German Historical Institute Washington DC (Ed.): Occasional Papers No. 3, 5, 10, 11, 14, 16, 21, 23 .
personal data
SURNAME Mertes, Alois
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German diplomat, politician (CDU) and Minister of State in the Foreign Office from 1982 until his death
DATE OF BIRTH October 29, 1921
PLACE OF BIRTH Gerolstein
DATE OF DEATH June 16, 1985
Place of death Bonn