Memorial Page for Otto Graf Lambsdorff

Otto Graf Lambsdorff (born 20 December 1926 in Aachen; died 5 December 2009 in Bonn) was a German Free Democratic Party politician, lawyer and federal minister of economics. He represented the FDP in the Bundestag from 1972 to 1998, advocated a market-liberal course and belonged for many years to the party's leadership.

Aachen, war and profession

Lambsdorff was born in Aachen. During the Second World War he served as a soldier and lost a leg in action. After the war he studied law and political science. Before entering federal politics, he worked in banking, insurance and business-related roles. That experience informed his later view of competition, investment and business policy.

Bundestag and economics ministry

Lambsdorff joined the FDP in 1951 and entered the German Bundestag in 1972. On 7 October 1977 he became federal minister of economics. He remained in office after the change of government from Helmut Schmidt to Helmut Kohl. His economic policy emphasized market opening, budget discipline, reduced state intervention and a closer tie between the FDP and ordoliberal positions.

Lambsdorff paper

In 1982 Lambsdorff presented an economic policy paper that later became known as the Lambsdorff paper. It called for cuts, more flexibility and a different social and economic policy. The paper became one trigger of the coalition crisis between the SPD and FDP and stood at the transition to the Kohl government.

Flick affair

The Flick party-donations affair burdened Lambsdorff's political career. In 1984 he resigned as federal minister of economics. Later he was fined for tax evasion in connection with the affair. The case remained a fixed part of his public history, alongside his role as a market-liberal programmatic figure.

Later years

From 1988 to 1993 Lambsdorff was federal chairman of the FDP and later honorary chairman of the party. After leaving the Bundestag, he served as a negotiator in talks on compensation for former Nazi forced laborers. Otto Graf Lambsdorff died in Bonn on 5 December 2009. He was 82 years old.