Helmut Semmelmann
{{Short description|German politician (born 1934)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Helmut Semmelmann
| honorific_suffix =
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| order =
|office = Secretary for Agriculture of the
Central Committee Secretariat
|1blankname = {{nowrap|General Secretary}}
|1namedata = {{ubl|Egon Krenz}}
| term_start = 10 November 1989
| term_end = 3 December 1989
| predecessor = Johannes Chemnitzer
| successor = Position abolished
| office2 = Head of the Agriculture Department of the Central Committee
|1blankname2 = {{nowrap|Secretary}}
|1namedata2 = {{ubl|Werner Felfe|Werner Krolikowski|Johannes Chemnitzer}}
| deputy3 = {{ubl|Heinz Besser|Heinz Drescher}}
| term_start2 = 25 November 1982
| term_end2 = 3 December 1989
| predecessor3 = Bruno Lietz
| successor3 = Position abolished
{{Collapsed infobox section begin |last=yes |Volkskammer
|titlestyle=border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes
| office3 = Member of the Volkskammer
for Brandenburg-Stadt, Brandenburg-Land, Belzig, Rathenow
| term_start3 = 16 June 1986
| term_end3 = 5 April 1990
| predecessor3 = Heinz Hofmann
| successor3 = Constituency abolished{{Collapsed infobox section end}}}}
| birth_name = Helmut Semmelmann
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1934|08|08|df=y}}
| birth_place = Gera, State of Thuringia, Nazi Germany (now Germany)
| residence =
| occupation = {{hlist|Politician|Party Functionary|Farmer}}
| death_date =
| death_place =
| spouse =
| children =
| party = Socialist Unity Party
(1955–1989)
| alma_mater = {{Plainlist|
}}
| awards = {{hlist|Patriotic Order of Merit, 1st class|Banner of Labor}}
| website =
| module2 = {{collapsible list
| title = Central institution membership
| bullets = on
| 1986–1989: Full member,
Central Committee
}}
----
{{collapsible list
| title = Other offices held
| bullets = on
| 1981–1982: First Secretary, Socialist Unity Party in Central Organs of Agriculture and Food Industry
}}
}}
Helmut Semmelmann (born 8 August 1934) is a former German farmer, politician and party functionary of the Socialist Unity Party (SED).
In the German Democratic Republic, he served as the longtime head of the powerful Agriculture Department of the SED Central Committee. During the Wende, he also briefly served in the Central Committee Secretariat as Secretary responsible for Agriculture.
Life and career
=Early career=
The son of a worker, after attending elementary and secondary school and graduating from high school, he studied at the Timiryazev Academy of Agriculture in Moscow from 1953 to 1958, earning a degree in agricultural sciences (Diplomlandwirt).{{Cite web |year=2009 |title=Semmelmann, Helmut |url=https://www.bundesstiftung-aufarbeitung.de/de/recherche/kataloge-datenbanken/biographische-datenbanken/helmut-semmelmann |access-date=2024-06-08 |website=www.bundesstiftung-aufarbeitung.de |series=Wer war wer in der DDR? |publisher=Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship |language=de}}{{Cite web |date=1989-11-11 |title=Helmut Semmelmann |url=https://www.nd-archiv.de/artikel/1951840.helmut-semmelmann.html |access-date=2024-06-08 |website=www.nd-archiv.de |publisher=Neues Deutschland |language=de}}
Semmelmann, who joined the ruling Socialist Unity Party (SED) in 1955 during his studies, initially worked from 1958 to 1961 as a scientific assistant at the Machine-Tractor Station (MTS) Brahmenau, and then for a short time as the director of the MTS Schlöben.
In 1961, he became a staff member of the SED district leadership in Gera, where he was head of the agriculture department from 1962 to 1963. In 1963, he moved to the Central Committee of the SED as a political staff member.
From 1972 to 1973, he attended the "Karl Marx" Party Academy and then was sector head in the Central Committee of the SED from 1974 to 1981.
From 1981 to 1982, he was the First Secretary of the SED district leadership for central organs of agriculture and the food industry, succeeding Fritz Klopprogge.
=SED Central Committee=
In November 1982, he was appointed head of the Agriculture Department of the Central Committee of the SED, succeeding Bruno Lietz, who replaced Heinz Kuhrig as Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Food. Semmelmann held this position until the dissolution of the SED in 1989.{{Cite web |year=2007 |editor-last=Schlüter |editor-first=Bernd |title=Abteilung Landwirtschaft im ZK der SED |url=http://www.argus.bstu.bundesarchiv.de/dy30aland/index.htm?kid=cdc9cb14-3365-41e8-b75c-7df0f80be906 |access-date=2024-06-08 |website=www.argus.bstu.bundesarchiv.de |publisher=German Federal Archives |language=de |publication-place=Berlin}}
Semmelmann was elected as a full member of the Central Committee of the SED in April 1986 (XI. Party Congress), serving until its collective resignation in December 1989. He additionally became member of the Volkskammer in 1986, nominally representing a constituency in southwestern Bezirk Potsdam.{{Cite book |url=https://www.gvoon.de/art/dokumente/1986/volkskammer-ddr-9-wahlperiode-1986-1990/pdf/volkskammer-ddr-9-wahlperiode-1986-1990-seite_039.pdf |title=Volkskammer der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik 1986-1990 |publisher=VEB Staatsverlag der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik |year=1987 |pages=39 |language=de}} He was the first deputy chairman of the Committee for Agriculture, Forestry and Food.
In 1974, Semmelmann was awarded the Patriotic Order of Merit in bronze, in 1984 in Gold and the Banner of Labor.
=Peaceful Revolution=
During the Peaceful Revolution, on 10 November 1989, Semmelmann was elected to the Central Committee Secretariat as Secretary responsible for Agriculture, succeeding Johannes Chemnitzer,{{Cite web |year=2006 |title=Übersicht über die gewählten Mitglieder des Sekretariats des ZK der SED (1949-1989) |url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/sed-fdgb-netzwerk/html/gremien.html?mode=SED&cat=26 |access-date=2024-06-10 |website=www.bundesarchiv.de |publisher=German Federal Archives |language=de}} who was forced to resign only two days after being elected.{{Cite web |last=Hertle |first=Hans-Hermann |year=1999 |title=9./10. November 1989: Handlungsunfähigkeit des SED-Zentralkomitees |url=https://www.chronik-der-mauer.de/material/180373/hans-hermann-hertle-9-10-november-1989-handlungsunfaehigkeit-des-sed-zentralkomitees |access-date=2024-06-08 |website=www.chronik-der-mauer.de |language=de |publication-place=Berlin}}
Semmelmann's career advancement would prove to be short-lived, as the SED quickly lost power. At its last session on 3 December 1989, the Central Committee elected Semmelmann to a commission tasked with analyzing the causes of the crisis in the SED and in society.{{Cite web |title=Protokoll der 12. Tagung des SED-Zentralkomitees, 3. Dezember 1989 (Abschrift eines Tonmitschnitts) |url=https://www.chronik-der-mauer.de/material/180403/protokoll-der-12-tagung-des-sed-zentralkomitees-3-dezember-1989-abschrift-eines-tonmitschnitts |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=www.chronik-der-mauer.de |language=de}}
References
Category:Socialist Unity Party of Germany politicians
Category:Members of the 9th Volkskammer
Category:Members of the Volkskammer
Category:Members of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany
Category:Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in bronze
Category:Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold