Gerhard Weiser

Candidate poster for the state election in Baden-Württemberg in 1996

Gerhard Weiser (* 11. January 1931 in Heidelberg , † 10. September 2003 in Sinsheim ) was a German politician of the CDU .

Life and work

Weiser attended elementary and technical school in Wiesloch and learned to be a farmer . In 1948 he made his assistant examination and in 1956 he passed the master craftsman examination. He then ran his parents-in-law's business as a farmer in Mauer in the Rhein-Neckar district , where he was also involved in association work. So he was first a youth officer, then from 1952 managing director of the district farmers' association Heidelberg-Sinsheim and in 1959 its district chairman (until 1976). Despite Weiser's later political obligations, his family continued to run the farm for years.

Party and ministerial office

Weiser was politically active in the CDU, where he became district chairman in North Baden in the 1960s. At times he was also a member of the state executive committee of his party in Baden-Württemberg .

In 1962, Weiser was elected mayor of his home town of Mauer . He held this office for two electoral terms until 1976. During this time, he entered the state parliament of Baden-Württemberg for the first time in 1968 as a member of which he was a member until 2001.

In 1976, Prime Minister Hans Filbinger brought him into his cabinet as Minister of Agriculture . Weiser continued this office under Filbinger's successors Lothar Späth and Erwin Teufel , most recently in the grand coalition (from 1992). From 1980 he was also Deputy Prime Minister under Lothar Späth and from 1991 under Erwin Teufel. After the state elections in 1996, Weiser resigned from his ministerial office, but stayed in the state parliament, where he was elected vice-president. When he left, he was the longest serving minister in Germany with 20 years in office. In the 2001 state elections, Weiser decided not to run again.

Work and honors

The market relief and cultural landscape compensation program (MEKA) and the so-called water penny go back to Weiser .

Weiser received honorary doctorates from the University of Hohenheim and the Agricultural University of Timisoara (Romania). In 1997 he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit with a star and shoulder ribbon. In 1985 he also received the Baden-Württemberg Medal of Merit .

Honorary positions

Weiser also volunteered for various associations. Among other things, he was President of the Federal Association of German Wind and Folk Music Associations. V. and the Brass Music Association Baden-Württemberg e. V. Furthermore, he was chairman of the board of the Diakonisches Werk of the Evangelical Church in Baden .

He lived in his home parish of Mauer until his death. He died of a stroke on September 10, 2003 in the hospital in Sinsheim . Weiser was married to Johanna and had two sons and a daughter.

literature

• Elke Brunnemer: Gerhard Weiser (1931–2003) . In: Kraichgau. Contributions to landscape and local research , volume 18/2003, pp. 243–244, published by Heimatverein Kraichgau , Eppingen 2003, ISBN 3-921214-28-9 [not evaluated]

Web links

• Literature by and about Gerhard Weiser in the catalog of the German National Library