After the war, Wischnewski joined the SPD. He was employed by a metal-working company and from 1952 trained as an IG Metall union secretary. Upon the 1957 federal election, he became a member of the Bundestag parliament and also a SPD board member in the Cologne district. He was elected federal chairman of the party's Young Socialists youth organisation in 1959 and joined the SPD federal committee in 1970, from 1979 as deputy chairman. From 1961 to 1965 he also was an elected member of the European Parliament.
Because of his good relations with Arab politicians since the days of the Algerian War, Wischnewski was nicknamed "Ben Wisch" by Chancellor Willy Brandt (later sometimes spoofed as "Ben Cash" because of his duty as the SPD federal treasurer). His efforts decisively improved the West German diplomatic relations with numerous Arab and African countries. Also, after the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, he played a vital role in rescuing German and European hostages.
Wischnewski is best known outside Germany for his involvement in the "German Autumn" of 1977: when the German business executive Hanns Martin Schleyer was kidnapped by the militant Red Army Faction (RAF) in September, Wischnewski visited several Arabian governments and during the joint RAF and PFLP hijacking of Lufthansa Flight 181 in October followed the plane to Mogadishu, negotiating with the Somalian government. His success allowed German GSG 9 troops to storm the plane and rescue 90 hostages; three of the hijackers were killed in the process.
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January 01, 1970
hans, jürgen, wischnewski, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, . This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Hans Jurgen Wischnewski news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2009 Learn how and when to remove this message Hans Jurgen Wischnewski 24 July 1922 24 February 2005 was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party SPD Hans Jurgen WischnewskiWischnewski speaking at a SPD party convention 1988Federal Minister for Economic CooperationIn office 1 December 1966 2 October 1968ChancellorKurt Georg KiesingerPreceded byWerner DollingerSucceeded byErhard EpplerPersonal detailsBorn 1922 07 24 24 July 1922Allenstein East Prussia Weimar RepublicDied24 February 2005 2005 02 24 aged 82 Cologne GermanyPolitical partySocial Democratic Party of Germany Contents 1 Life 1 1 Career 1 2 Political influence 2 References 3 See alsoLife editBorn in Allenstein East Prussia now Olsztyn Poland Wischnewski obtained his Abitur degree in Berlin in 1941 He then served in a Panzergrenadier division of the Wehrmacht in World War II achieving the rank of Oberleutnant Wischnewski was decorated with the Iron Cross Career edit After the war Wischnewski joined the SPD He was employed by a metal working company and from 1952 trained as an IG Metall union secretary Upon the 1957 federal election he became a member of the Bundestag parliament and also a SPD board member in the Cologne district He was elected federal chairman of the party s Young Socialists youth organisation in 1959 and joined the SPD federal committee in 1970 from 1979 as deputy chairman From 1961 to 1965 he also was an elected member of the European Parliament On 1 December 1966 Wischnewski was appointed Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation in the grand coalition cabinet of Chancellor Kurt Georg Kiesinger He resigned from office on 2 October 1968 to become SPD federal executive director Again in May 1974 he again joined the federal government of Chancellor Helmut Schmidt as a state secretary in the Foreign Office after the 1976 federal election as a state minister in the German Chancellery Political influence edit Because of his good relations with Arab politicians since the days of the Algerian War Wischnewski was nicknamed Ben Wisch by Chancellor Willy Brandt later sometimes spoofed as Ben Cash because of his duty as the SPD federal treasurer His efforts decisively improved the West German diplomatic relations with numerous Arab and African countries Also after the 1973 Chilean coup d etat he played a vital role in rescuing German and European hostages Wischnewski is best known outside Germany for his involvement in the German Autumn of 1977 when the German business executive Hanns Martin Schleyer was kidnapped by the militant Red Army Faction RAF in September Wischnewski visited several Arabian governments and during the joint RAF and PFLP hijacking of Lufthansa Flight 181 in October followed the plane to Mogadishu negotiating with the Somalian government His success allowed German GSG 9 troops to storm the plane and rescue 90 hostages three of the hijackers were killed in the process Wischnewski later travelled to Nicaragua to intermediate between the Sandinista National Liberation Front and its Contra opponents In Latin America he became known as Commandante Hans His commitment to the rights of the Palestinian people earned him an award by president Yasser Arafat Wischnewski was a long time member of the German Arabian Association until he left after a dispute with its president Jurgen Mollemann He also was a member of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group 1 References edit Former Steering Committee Members bilderbergmeetings org Bilderberg Group Archived from the original on 2 February 2014 Retrieved 8 February 2014 See also editGerman Autumn nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hans Jurgen Wischnewski Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hans Jurgen Wischnewski amp oldid 1172922631, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
