Wilhelm Niklas

{{Infobox Officeholder

| image =

| imagesize =

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| office = Minister of Food, Agriculture and Forestry

| primeminister = Konrad Adenauer

| predecessor = Office established

| successor = Heinrich Lübke

| term_start = 20 September 1949

| term_end = 20 October 1953

| birth_date = 24 September 1887

| birth_place = Traunstein, German Empire

| death_date = {{death date and age|1957|4|12|1887|9|24|df=y}}

| death_place = Munich, West Germany

| restingplace =

| party = {{ubl|Bavarian People's Party (before 1933)| Christian Social Union in Bavaria (1946–57)}}

| alma_mater = Technical University of Munich

| spouse =

| nationality = German

| children =

}}

Wilhelm Niklas (24 September 1887 – 12 April 1957) was a German academic and politician, who was the first minister of food, agriculture and forestry in Konrad Adenauer's first cabinet.

Early life and education

Niklas was born in Traunstein, southern Bavaria, on 24 September 1887.{{cite book|title=Elections and Political Parties in Germany, 1945–1952|year=1952|publisher=Documentary Publications|location=Salisbury, NC|page=25|chapter=Niklas, Wilhelm|url-status=dead

|chapter-url=https://www.questia.com/read/98327347/elections-and-political-parties-in-germany-1945-1952|archive-date=23 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723064150/https://www.questia.com/read/98327347/elections-and-political-parties-in-germany-1945-1952}} He studied law and political science for two semesters and then he studied agriculture and veterinary medicine. He graduated from Technical University of Munich with a degree in veterinary medicine. In 1914, he received a PhD in veterinary science with the thesis "The development of the Bavarian cattle insurance office in the first 15 years of its existence".

Career

Niklas began his career at his alma mater as a research assistant and worked there until 1912. Then he moved to state veterinary service. He was the department chief for livestock breeding and animal products in the Bavarian ministry of agriculture from 1925 until 1935 when he was fired by the Nazis. Then he dealt with the management of large estates, and bought and ran a farm in southern Bavaria. He was a member of the Bavarian People's Party before 1933. From 1945 to 1947 he was the state secretary at the Bavarian ministry of food, agriculture and forestry. He was a member of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU) which he joined in 1946. From 1947 to 1949 he served as the deputy director of the department for food, agriculture and forestry at the united economic area. He was also an academic{{cite news|title=Egg, meat prices down|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18140105|access-date=12 July 2013|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=18 January 1950}} and became professor at the Veterinary Faculty of Munich University in 1947.

From 1948 to 1949 he was the deputy director of the Bizonal food and agriculture administration. He served as the minister of food, agriculture and forestry in the cabinet led by Konrad Adenauer.{{cite book|author=Hans-Peter Schwarz|title=Konrad Adenauer: A German Politician and Statesman in a Period of War, Revolution and Reconstruction: The Statesman: 1952–1967|publisher=Berghahn Books

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T4vQw1RNkQ8C&pg=PA19|year=1995|isbn=978-1-57181-960-4|page=19|volume=2|location=Providence; Oxford}}{{cite web|title=Composition of the first government of Konrad Adenauer (Bonn, 20 September 1949)|date=8 December 2011

|url=http://www.cvce.eu/obj/en-79d121ef-b09a-4065-b79f-588ec6ea7fd3|publisher=CVCE|access-date=12 July 2013}} Niklas was in office from 20 September 1949 to 20 October 1953.{{cite web|title=Angaben zur Regierungszeit|publisher=BMELV|access-date=12 July 2013|url=http://www.bmelv.de/SharedDocs/Standardartikel/Ministerium/Themen/Historie/DieBundesminister.html|language=de|archive-date=19 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130919025328/http://www.bmelv.de/SharedDocs/Standardartikel/Ministerium/Themen/Historie/DieBundesminister.html|url-status=dead}} He was replaced by Heinrich Lübke in the post. In a May 1951 by-election in Bavaria he was elected to the Bundestag.

Personal life and death

Niklas was a Catholic.{{cite book|title=Neue Deutsche Biographie 19|year=1998|page=260|author=Karl-Ulrich Gelberg

|chapter-url=http://www.deutsche-biographie.de/pnd124729592.html|chapter=Niklas, Wilhelm|language=de}} He died in Munich on 12 April 1957 due to complications following a car accident.

Legacy

The federal ministry of agriculture has been awarding "Professor-Niklas-Medal” for his memory.{{cite web|title=Michael Windfuhr was awarded for his fight against hunger|url=https://fsc.uni-hohenheim.de/en/news/michael-windfuhr-was-awarded-for-his-fight-against-hunger

|work=University of Hohenheim|access-date=12 July 2013|date=2 November 2012}}{{cite web|title=Professor-Niklas-Medaille|publisher=BMELV|access-date=12 July 2013|language=de|url=http://www.bmelv.de/SharedDocs/Standardartikel/Ministerium/Professor-Niklas-Medaille.html;jsessionid=9378C707D9BE93FD5ED21E09D1F13BAF.2_cid288|archive-date=13 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200213223245/http://www.bmel.de/SharedDocs/Standardartikel/Ministerium/Professor-Niklas-Medaille.html;jsessionid=9378C707D9BE93FD5ED21E09D1F13BAF.2_cid288|url-status=dead}} It is the highest award given by the ministry.