Hans Friderichs

{{Infobox officeholder

| image = Hans Friderichs (cropped).jpg

| imagesize =

| caption = Hans Friderichs in 2017

| office = Minister of Economy

| chancellor = {{ubl|Willy Brandt|Helmut Schmidt}}

| predecessor = Helmut Schmidt

| successor = Otto Graf Lambsdorff

| term_start = 15 December 1972

| term_end = 7 October 1977

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1931|10|16}}

| birth_place = Wittlich, Germany

| death_date =

| death_place =

| restingplace =

| party = Free Democratic Party

| alma_mater =

| spouse =

| children =

}}

Hans Friderichs (born 16 October 1931) is a German politician who served as the minister of economy in the period 1972–1977. He is also a jurist and businessman.

Early life and education

Friderichs was born in Wittlich in 1931.{{cite web|title=Hans Friderichs

|url=http://www.politik-fuer-die-freiheit.de/webcom/show_page.php/_c-215/_nr-1/i.html|publisher=F. Neumann Stiftung|access-date=5 July 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140124124803/http://www.politik-fuer-die-freiheit.de/webcom/show_page.php/_c-215/_nr-1/i.html|archive-date=24 January 2014}} He received a bachelor's degree in law and political science and also, holds a PhD.{{cite news|title=Executive Profile|work=Bloomberg Businessweek|url=http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=7794837&ticker=ADS:GR&previousCapId=92816&previousTitle=adidas+AG|archive-date=5 July 2013|access-date=5 July 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130705145602/http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=7794837&ticker=ADS:GR&previousCapId=92816&previousTitle=adidas+AG|url-status=dead}}

Career

Friderichs was a member and leader of the Free Democrats.{{cite book|author=John Benjamin Goodman

|title=Monetary Sovereignty: The Politics of Central Banking in Western Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D8LlK4DjpykC&pg=PA67

|year=1992|publisher=Cornell University Press|isbn=978-0-8014-8013-3|pages=67|location=Ithaca, NY}} Until 1964 he was the deputy chairman of the party in North Rhine-Westphalia and then he became the chairman. He served as a member of the German Bundestag twice, from 1965 to 1969 and from 1972 to 1977.{{cite web|title=Selektives Erinnerungsvermögen durch selektive Vorbereitung?|url=http://www.gruene-bundestag.de/?id=393892|publisher=Gruene Bundestag|access-date=5 July 2013}} He was the minister of economy from 15 December 1972 to 7 October 1977. He first served in the cabinet led by Prime Minister Willy Brandt.{{cite news|author=Wellington Long|title=First woman president for German parliament|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=E1AxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4qEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3686,5173999&dq=dr+hans+friderichs&hl=en|access-date=5 July 2013|newspaper=Montreal Gazette|date=December 1972|agency=UPI|location=Bonn}}

After leaving office, Friderichs worked in various capacities at different firms and institutions, including Adidas AG. In October 1977 he was named as the board member of the Dresdner Bank, replacing Jürgen Ponto who had been murdered.{{cite book

|author=Heinrich August Winkler|title=Germany: The Long Road West 1933-1990|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gXflC2Ipo_QC&pg=PA318|year=2007

|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-926598-5|page=318|location=Oxford}} Until March 1985, he served as the head of the bank.{{cite news|title=Friderichs of Dresdner bank to quit|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/02/07/business/friderichs-of-dresdner-bank-to-quit.html|access-date=5 July 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=7 February 1985}} He was the deputy chairman of the supervisory board of Adidas AG until 2007.{{cite news|author=Thomas Mulier|title=Adidas Profit Gains on Cost Savings after Reebok Buy|newspaper=Bloomberg

|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=auHpgCDFyKJ0&refer=home|access-date=5 July 2013|date=8 November 2007}} On 7 November 2007, he was appointed chairman of the board and served in the post until 2009.{{cite news|title=Adidas extends CEO Hainer's contract|url=http://www.just-style.com/news/adidas-extends-ceo-hainers-contract_id104077.aspx|access-date=5 July 2013|newspaper=Just Style|date=7 May 2009}}

=Controversy=

Friderichs, together with other German politicians, was convicted and heavily sentenced for tax evasion, known as Flick affair, in 1985.{{cite news|title=Barzel Resigns over Flick Affair|url=http://www.today-in-history.de/index.php?what=thmanu&manu_id=1624&tag=25&monat=10&year=2019&dayisset=1&lang=en|access-date=5 July 2013|work=Deutsche Welle}}{{cite news

|title=Key figure in 1980s Flick corruption affair commits suicide with wife|url=http://www.thelocal.de/article.php?ID=29757&print=true|access-date=5 July 2013|newspaper=The Local|date=11 September 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130705145649/http://www.thelocal.de/article.php?ID=29757&print=true|archive-date=5 July 2013}}