Paul Mehnert

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Karl Paul Mehnert (born May 7, 1852 in Klösterlein near Aue , † July 18, 1922 in Norway ) was a German manor owner and politician of the Conservative State Association in Saxony . He was a member of the Saxon state parliament from 1885 to 1918 and President of the Second Chamber from 1899 to 1909. He was also a member of the Reichstag from 1890 to 1893 .

Live and act

The son of the Landtag member Karl Mehnert (1811-1885) was born and raised on the manor Klösterlein , which his father owned from 1848 to 1874. After attending the local elementary school , his further education finally led to the Vitzthumsche Gymnasium in Dresden via a private school . As a one-year volunteer , he then did his military service and was a reserve officer in the 1st Saxon Hussar Regiment even after it had ended.

He began studying law at the University of Leipzig in 1873 , briefly moved to the University of Bonn in 1874 and finally passed his exam in 1875 after his return to Leipzig . In Leipzig he became a member of the Grimensia country team . After successfully completing his doctorate , he worked as an accessist at the local court in Schandau from October 1876 to March 1877 , before he was able to take his legal traineeship. In May 1877 he was appointed authorized representative by the board of directors of the Agricultural Credit Union , which his father presided over. At the same time he worked for a lawyer in Dresden. Through his marriage to Katharina Ackermann (1854–1934) he became the son-in-law of the member of the state parliament and later chamber president Karl Gustav Ackermann . In 1883 he joined his father-in-law's law firm.

In October 1885 he took over the chairmanship of the Agricultural Credit Association from his father, which he held until his death. As a representative of the 27th rural constituency (Roßwein, Waldheim, Hainichen, Oederan) he was elected for the Conservative State Association in the II Chamber of the Saxon State Parliament, to which he belonged from 1885 to 1909. From 1890 to 1893 he was also a member of the Reichstag as a member of the Döbeln constituency , where he joined the German conservative faction . In 1895 he took over the chairmanship of the conservative parliamentary group in the second chamber of the Saxon state parliament. In addition to Georg von Metzsch-Reichenbach, he decisively pushed the introduction of the three-class suffrage in Saxony, with which the rising influence of the social democrats should be curbed. He is considered to be the most influential protagonist of the Saxon conservatives around the turn of the century and is referred to as the "uncrowned king of Saxony".

Mehnert gave up the chairmanship of the parliamentary group when he succeeded his father-in-law as President of the Second Chamber in 1899. In the same year he gave up his admission to the bar. After the plural suffrage was introduced in Saxony in 1909 , the Conservatives suffered a severe electoral defeat and lost half of their seats. A re-election for the presidency became impossible. The Saxon King Friedrich August III. Mehnert thereupon appointed for life in the First Chamber, of which he belonged until the last session of this House of Parliament on November 6, 1918.

Mehnert's grave in the Inner Neustädter Friedhof in Dresden

Mehnert owned the manors Klösterlein, Medingen and Drebach near Wolkenstein . His fortune was estimated at 1.2 million marks in 1912. In addition to his parliamentary career, he was active as president or board member in various agricultural interest groups, was a member of the supervisory board of the Vogtland machine factory (VOMAG) and the life insurance bank Arminia AG.

Mehnert died in 1922 while traveling in Norway. He is buried in the family grave in the Inner Neustädter Friedhof in Dresden.

His brother Maximilian Mehnert (1861–1941) was also a member of the Saxon state parliament from 1915 to 1918.

Honors

During his work in the Kingdom of Saxony he was awarded the titles of Hofrat and Real Privy Councilor , which allowed him to be addressed as Excellency .

literature

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personal data
SURNAME Mehnert, Paul
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Mehnert, Karl Paul (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German politician, MdL, MdR
DATE OF BIRTH May 7, 1852
PLACE OF BIRTH Little monastery near Aue
DATE OF DEATH July 18, 1922
Place of death Norway