Lore Maria Peschel-Gutzeit
{{Short description|German judge and politician (1932 – 2023)}}
{{good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Lore Maria Peschel-Gutzeit
| image = Flickr - boellstiftung - Lore Marie Peschel-Gutzeit (1).jpg
| caption = Lore Maria Peschel-Gutzeit in 2010
| office1 = Senator for Justice of Hamburg
| term_start1 = 1991
| term_end1 = 1993
| nominator1 = SPD
| predecessor1 =
| successor1 =
| office2 = Senator for Justice of Berlin
| term_start2 = 1994
| term_end2 = 1997
| nominator2 = SPD
| predecessor2 = Jutta Limbach
| successor2 = Michael Müller
| office3 = Senator for Justice of Hamburg
| term_start3 = 2001
| term_end3 = 2001
| nominator3 = SPD
| predecessor3 =
| successor3 =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1932|10|26|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Hamburg, Germany
| death_date = {{death date and age |2023|9|2|1932|10|26 }}
| death_place = Berlin, Germany
| spouse = Terminally ill colleague (first marriage, ended due to his death in 1958)
Horst Peschel (m. 1961, div. 1973)
| children = 3
| occupation = Jurist, Politician
| alma_mater = University of Hamburg
Albert-Ludwigs University (Freiburg)
| party = Social Democratic Party (SPD)
}}
Lore Maria Peschel-Gutzeit (26 October 1932 – 2 September 2023) was a German judge and politician. Born in Hamburg, she became an advocate for family law, children's rights, and gender equality. As the first female president of a family senate{{efn|The term {{lang|de|Senat}} (senate) can refer to the bench in higher courts of appeal or to the executive branch in Bundesländer which form a City State (Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg).|name=senate}}, she served as Senator for Justice in Hamburg and Berlin. She implemented key legislation promoting gender equality. Recognized with the Marie Juchacz {{ill|Marie Juchacz Women's Prize|de|Marie Juchacz-Frauenpreis|lt=Women's Prize}} in 2019, she continued her legal career until her death in Berlin on 2 September 2023, at the age of 90.
Early life
Peschel-Gutzeit was born in Hamburg as the daughter of a teacher and a major general.{{Cite news |date=31 October 2016 |title=Lore Maria Peschel-Gutzeit: Leben für den Erfolg |url=https://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/lore-maria-peschel-gutzeit-leben-fuer-den-erfolg-fotostrecke-141813.html |access-date=30 May 2024 |work=Der Spiegel |language=de |issn=2195-1349}}{{disputed inline|talk=Talk:Lore Maria Peschel-Gutzeit#Fathers|date=May 2024}} Her mother's family, which suffered during World War I, also hailed from Hamburg. Peschel-Gutzeit's biological father didn't play a significant role in her life. In her autobiography, she referred to her adoptive father, former Nazi General Hans Gutzeit,{{Cite web |last=deutschlandfunk.de |title=Ehemalige Justizsenatorin Peschel-Gutzeit - "So was macht man mit einem Mann nicht" |url=https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/ehemalige-justizsenatorin-peschel-gutzeit-so-was-macht-man-100.html |access-date=21 November 2023 |website=Deutschlandfunk |language=de |archive-date=16 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231116055741/https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/ehemalige-justizsenatorin-peschel-gutzeit-so-was-macht-man-100.html |url-status=live }} as her biological father. However, he formally adopted her only after she reached adulthood. Until then, she bore her mother's name, Brüggmann.{{Cite journal |title=Familienbuch |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0248_edn_dum_262977 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231122021420/https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/enzyklopaedie-der-neuzeit/*-DUM_262977 |archive-date=22 November 2023 |access-date=21 November 2023 |website=Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit Online |doi=10.1163/2352-0248_edn_dum_262977}} She had a half-sister who was four years older from her mother's first marriage. After the bombing of Hamburg and being sent away as part of the children's evacuation, she returned to Hamburg in 1946 with her half-sister.{{Cite web |title=Dr. Lore Maria Peschel-Gutzeit – Peschel-Gutzeit & Fahrenbach |url=https://famlaw.berlin/dr-lore-maria-peschel-gutzeit/ |access-date=21 November 2023 |language=de-DE |archive-date=24 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230924072950/https://famlaw.berlin/dr-lore-maria-peschel-gutzeit/ |url-status=live }}
Career
Peschel-Gutzeit studied law from 1951 at the University of Hamburg and the Albert-Ludwigs University in Freiburg, completing her legal education in 1959 with the Second State Examination in Law.{{Cite web |last=LTO |title=Frühere Justizsenatorin Peschel-Gutzeit gestorben |url=https://www.lto.de/recht/nachrichten/n/lore-peschel-gutzeit-tot-gleichstellung-feminismus-buergerrechte/ |access-date=21 November 2023 |website=Legal Tribune Online |language=de |archive-date=29 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929204807/https://www.lto.de/recht/nachrichten/n/lore-peschel-gutzeit-tot-gleichstellung-feminismus-buergerrechte/ |url-status=live }} Following this, she briefly practiced as a lawyer before assuming the role of a judge at the Regional Court of Hamburg. Early in her career, Peschel-Gutzeit focused on family law, children's rights, and gender equality. She served as the chairwoman of the German Association of Women Lawyers ({{ill|Deutscher Juristinnenbund|de}}) from 1977 to 1981 and joined the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in 1988.
Starting in 1972, she served as a family judge at the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Hamburg. In 1984, following some internal conflicts, she became the first woman appointed as the chair of a family senate. In 1990, she earned her Doctor of Juridical Science (Dr. jur.) from the University of Freiburg with her thesis titled 'The Right to Access to One's Own Child: A Systematic Presentation.'
In 1988, as part of Emma magazine's PorNO campaign, a legislative proposal aiming to establish a German law against pornography, developed in collaboration with Peschel-Gutzeit, was published; however, it did not get implemented.Alice Schwarzer: Pornografie ist geil ..., EMMA, Nr. 5, 2007
In 1991, she was elected by the Hamburg Parliament to the Senate (government) and became the Senator for Justice. She held this position until the end of 1993, when the SPD lost the absolute majority and formed a coalition with the STATT Party ({{ill|Voscherau III Senate|qid=Q2269795}}).{{Cite web |date=13 September 2023 |title=Wir trauern um Lore Maria Peschel-Gutzeit |url=https://www.eaf-berlin.de/en/was-uns-bewegt/news/artikel/wir-trauern-um-lore-maria-peschel-gutzeit |access-date=21 November 2023 |website=www.eaf-berlin.de |language=en-GB |archive-date=22 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231122021420/https://www.eaf-berlin.de/en/was-uns-bewegt/news/artikel/wir-trauern-um-lore-maria-peschel-gutzeit |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=deutschlandfunk.de |title=Vorkämpferin für Frauenrechte - SPD-Politikerin Lore Maria Peschel-Gutzeit im Alter von 90 Jahren gestorben |url=https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/spd-politikerin-lore-maria-peschel-gutzeit-im-alter-von-90-jahren-gestorben-100.html |access-date=21 November 2023 |website=Die Nachrichten |language=de |archive-date=15 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230915133141/https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/spd-politikerin-lore-maria-peschel-gutzeit-im-alter-von-90-jahren-gestorben-100.html |url-status=live }}
In 1994, she succeeded Jutta Limbach as the Senator for Justice in Berlin under the Eberhard Diepgen Senate (Diepgen III Senate).
She left this office in 1997 to once again assume the position of Senator for Justice in Hamburg, this time under Ortwin Runde (SPD) in a coalition with the Alliance 90/The Greens. After the government lost its majority in the parliamentary election on 23 September 2001, Peschel-Gutzeit left office and retired from politics. She implemented corresponding legislative proposals, such as the 'Lex Peschel' (§ 92 BBG), which stipulated that civil servants could work part-time for family reasons.{{Cite news |last=Kutter |first=Kaija |date=8 September 2023 |title=Nachruf auf Lore Maria Peschel-Gutzeit: Vorkämpferin für Frauenrechte |language=de |work=Die Tageszeitung: taz |url=https://taz.de/!5955272/ |access-date=21 November 2023 |issn=0931-9085 |archive-date=22 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231122021529/https://taz.de/Nachruf-auf-Lore-Maria-Peschel-Gutzeit/!5955272/ |url-status=live }} She also advocated for the 'right to vote from birth,' allowing parents to exercise this right on behalf of their children until they reached adulthood, as discussed in the Neue Juristische Wochenschrift.Jakob Augstein: Wählerschicht in Windeln, in: Süddeutsche Zeitung, 23. Oktober 1997, S. 5. Vgl. auch Manfred Günther: Hilfe! Jugendhilfe. Rheine 2018, S. 69{{Cite journal |last=Peschel-Gutzeit |first=Lore Maria |date=1999 |title=Das Wahlrecht von Geburt an: Ein Plädoyer für den Erhalt unserer Demokratie |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24231340 |journal=Zeitschrift für Parlamentsfragen |volume=30 |issue=2 |pages=556–563 |jstor=24231340 |issn=0340-1758}}
She advocated for joint parental custody and children's rights. In 2019, she founded the family and inheritance law firm Peschel-Gutzeit, Fahrenbach & Breuer on Berlin's Kurfürstendamm, where she continued practicing law until her death at the age of 90.{{Cite news |title=Im Alter von 90 Jahren: Berlins frühere Justizsenatorin Peschel-Gutzeit ist tot |language=de-DE |work=Der Tagesspiegel Online |url=https://www.tagesspiegel.de/im-alter-von-90-jahren-berlins-fruhere-justizsenatorin-peschel-gutzeit-ist-tot-10416034.html |access-date=27 November 2023 |issn=1865-2263 |archive-date=29 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129000746/https://www.tagesspiegel.de/im-alter-von-90-jahren-berlins-fruhere-justizsenatorin-peschel-gutzeit-ist-tot-10416034.html |url-status=live }}
In 2019, she was honored with the Marie Juchacz Women's Prize of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate for her pioneering work in the field of women's rights.{{cite web|access-date=8 February 2019|date=6 February 2019|language=de|publisher=SWR|title=Lore Maria Peschel-Gutzeit erhält den 1. Frauenpreis des Landes Rheinland-Pfalz|url=https://swrmediathek.de/player.htm?show=82c3f5d0-2a33-11e9-b7ee-005056a12b4c|archive-date=9 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190209124403/https://swrmediathek.de/player.htm?show=82c3f5d0-2a33-11e9-b7ee-005056a12b4c|url-status=live}}
Personal life
Her first marriage, to a terminally ill colleague, ended in 1958 due to his death and they remained childless. She remarried and had three children with her second husband. Peschel-Gutzeit published her autobiography, 'Naturally Equal', in 2012.Lore Maria Peschel-Gutzeit: Selbstverständlich gleichberechtigt. Hoffmann und Campe, Hamburg 2012 She died on 2 September 2023, in Berlin.{{Cite web |last=Gesley |first=Jenny |date=23 October 2023 |title=Lore Maria Peschel-Gutzeit – "Naturally Equal" |url=https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2023/10/lore-maria-peschel-gutzeit-naturally-equal |access-date=30 May 2024 |website=In Custodia Legis |via=The Library of Congress}}{{Cite news |last=dpa |date=4 September 2023 |title=Todesfall: Frühere Justizsenatorin Peschel-Gutzeit gestorben |language=de-DE |work=Die Zeit |url=https://www.zeit.de/news/2023-09/04/fruehere-justizsenatorin-peschel-gutzeit-gestorben |access-date=21 November 2023 |issn=0044-2070 |archive-date=4 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230904164012/https://www.zeit.de/news/2023-09/04/fruehere-justizsenatorin-peschel-gutzeit-gestorben |url-status=live }}
Awards and recognitions
| class="wikitable"
|+ {{sronly|Awards and recognitions}} !scope="col" | Year !scope="col" | Award !scope="col" | References |
| 2004
|Senior citizen of Berlin |
| 2004
|Order of Merit 1st Class of the Federal Republic of Germany |
| 2014
|Hammonia Prize of the State Women's Council Hamburg |
| 2019
|{{ill|Marie Juchacz Women's Prize|de|Marie Juchacz-Frauenpreis|lt=Marie Juchacz Women's Prize of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate}} |
Publications
- {{Cite book |title=Verfahren und Rechtsmittel in Familiensachen|trans-title=Procedures and Remedies in Family Matters |date=1988 |publisher=Beck |isbn=978-3-406-33070-4 |series=Seminarschriften der Deutschen Anwaltsakademie |location=München|language=de|oclc=22555081}}
- {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CalEzgEACAAJ |title=Das Recht zum Umgang mit dem eigenen Kinde: Eine systematische Darstellung. Kommentar|trans-title=The Right to Access to One's Own Child: A Systematic Presentation |date=1989 |location=Berlin |publisher=De Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-241891-8 |language=de | oclc=1238210028 }}
- As editor: {{Cite book |url=https://lawcat.berkeley.edu/record/485007?ln=en |title=Das Nürnberger Juristen-Urteil von 1947: historischer Zusammenhang und aktuelle Bezüge|trans-title=The Nuremberg Jurists' Trial of 1947: Historical Context and Current References |date=1996 |publisher=Nomos |isbn=978-3-7890-4528-8 |edition=1st |location=Baden-Baden |oclc=38598869|language=de }}
- {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vwt1tgAACAAJ |title=Aufarbeitung von Systemunrecht durch die Justiz |trans-title=Dealing with Systemic Injustice through the Judiciary |date=1996 |publisher=Presse- und Informationsstelle der Freien Universität |isbn=978-3-930208-07-4 |language=de | oclc= 44737830}}
- {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jz2MGQAACAAJ |title=Unterhaltsrecht aktuell: die Auswirkungen der Unterhaltsreform auf die Beratungspraxis |trans-title=Current Maintenance Law: The Effects of Maintenance Reform on Advisory Practice |date=2008 |publisher=Nomos |isbn=978-3-8329-2220-7 |language=de | oclc=239519222 }}
- Autobiography written with {{Cite book |title=Selbstverständlich gleichberechtigt: eine autobiographische Zeitgeschichte|trans-title=Naturally Equal: Hoffmann and Campe |last1=Brüdgam |first1=Nele-Marie |date=2013 |publisher=Hoffmann und Campe |isbn=978-3-455-50248-0 |edition=2nd |location=Hamburg|language=de |oclc=864593889 }}
Notes
{{Notelist}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peschel-Gutzeit, Lore Maria}}
Category:Politicians from Berlin
Category:German women's rights activists
Category:Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians
Category:Justices of the Federal Constitutional Court
Category:Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Category:Children's rights activists
Category:Constitutional court women judges
Category:20th-century German women politicians
Category:21st-century German judges
Category:20th-century German women judges
Category:21st-century German women lawyers
Category:Politicians from Hamburg