Hans Lenz
Hans Lenz | |
|---|---|
Lenz in 1964 | |
| Federal Minister for Scientific Research | |
| In office 14 December 1962 – 26 October 1965 | |
| Chancellor | Konrad Adenauer Ludwig Erhard |
| Preceded by | Siegfried Balke |
| Succeeded by | Gerhard Stoltenberg |
| Federal Minister of the Treasury | |
| In office 14 December 1961 – 19 November 1962 | |
| Chancellor | Konrad Adenauer |
| Preceded by | Hans Wilhelmi |
| Succeeded by | Werner Dollinger |
| Member of the Bundestag for Baden-Württemberg | |
| In office 6 September 1953 – 5 November 1967 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 July 1907 Trossingen, Kingdom of Württemberg, German Empire |
| Died | 28 August 1968 (aged 61) Trossingen, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany |
| Political party | NSDAP (1933–1945) FDP (1948–1968) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Nazi Germany |
| Branch/service | Abwehr |
| Years of service | 1942–1945 |
| Rank | Leutnant |
Hans Lenz (12 July 1907 – 28 August 1968) was a German politician of the FDP. He was Federal Minister of the Treasury for a brief period under Konrad Adenauer in 1962 and was then Federal Minister for Scientific Research from 1962 to 1965. Lenz also served as a Member of the Bundestag from 1953 to 1967.
Lenz was born in Trossingen into the family behind the musical instrument manufacturing company Hohner. After studying abroad, Lenz completed an apprenticeship in bookselling. He was then a publishing director for different publishing houses in Germany and Brno. Lenz joined the Nazi Party in 1933, and was drafted into the Wehrmacht, whereupon he worked in the Abwehr as an intelligence agent. In this position he rose to the rank of Leutnant and was awarded the Iron Cross twice, but sustained a lifelong injury in Poland. After the war, he joined the DVP, which merged soon after to create the FDP/DVP. He was then elected to the Bundestag in 1953, staying there until 1967 when he left for health reasons and was succeeded by Gustav Freiherr von Gemmingen-Hornberg.
Lenz was first appointed minister as Federal Minister of the Treasury in Konrad Adenauer's fourth cabinet as part of a black-yellow coalition. During his time as minister, he primarily worked on organizing the departments within the ministry after Franz Josef Strauss annexed part of it. He also worked on privatizing companies like Preussag and Vereinigte Industrieunternehmungen AG (VIAG). He resigned in 1962 due to the Spiegel affair, but a few months later was appointed Federal Minister for Scientific Research. Lenz was appointed during an important time in science, when the Space Race was at its height along with the nuclear arms race between the Soviet Union and the United States. In this role, he tried to secure funding for the ministry, declaring it must be doubled as Germany had lagged behind other nations. West Germany took a leading part in European Launcher Development Organisation (ELDO) during his term and he secured an agreement with NASA to launch German satellites into space in 1968. He left on 26 October 1965.