Hans Misselwitz

Hans-J Misselwitz, Dr. rer. nat., born in 1950 in Altenburg; graduated from high school in 1968 in Karl-Marx-Stadt; served in the NVA from 1968 to 1970; studied biology and biophysics in Jena and Berlin from 1970 to 1974. Married since 1974. Two daughters, Charlotte and Margarete.

Professional career: 1974–1980 at the Academy of Sciences, then at Humboldt University in Berlin. Dismissed in 1980 for political reasons; from 1981 to 1986, studied at the Church University and was active in the independent peace movement in the GDR. 1987–88: Fellow of the World Council of Churches in the U.S. In 1989, he served as a pastor in Hennigsdorf near Berlin. In 1990, he was a member of the SPD parliamentary group in the 10th People’s Chamber of the GDR, Parliamentary State Secretary in the GDR Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and head of the GDR delegation to the Two-Plus-Four talks. From 1991 to 1999, he served as director of the State Agency for Political Education of the State of Brandenburg. 1999–2015: Member of the SPD Party Executive Committee, including serving as Secretary of the Commission on Fundamental Values until 2015.

Publications primarily on foreign policy decisions from 1990 onward and on political and social developments in East Germany, including “No Longer Facing West: The New Self-Confidence of East Germans.” Bonn, 1996