Paul Scholz (2 October 1902 – 23 June 1995) was a German journalist and politician. He held various cabinet posts in East Germany.
Early life and education
Scholz was born in Braunau on 2 October 1902, and his father was a farmer.[1] Scholz was a primary school graduate and worked at a factory following his graduation.[2]
Career and activities
Scholz was a member of the Communist Party of Germany and arrested several times after the Nazis came into power.[1] He became a member of the editorial board of the newspaper of the Communist Party in June 1945 and worked for various newspapers until 1950. He was a member of the East German Parliament from 1950, and his tenure lasted until 1981.[2]
Scholz joined the Socialist Unity Party of Germany in April 1946 and worked as the editor-in-chief of the newspaper Der freie Bauer (German: The Free Farmer).[1] Between July 1949 to 1953 he served as the vice chairman of the Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany which was cofounded by him in June 1948.[1][3]
Scholz was appointed minister of agriculture and forestry in November 1950 succeeding Ernst Goldenbaum in the post and was in office until May 1952.[4] He was succeeded by Wilhelm Schröder in the post.[4] Scholz was the head of the coordination and control center for agriculture, forestry and water management between May 1952 and November 1953.[4] He was the deputy chairman of the East German Council of Ministers between May 1952 and July 1967.[4][5] He was again appointed minister of agriculture and forestry in November 1953, replacing Hans Reichelt in the post.[4] Scholz's tenure ended in March 1955 when Hans Reichelt was reappointed minister of agriculture and forestry.[4] Scholz was a member of the Central Executive the Land and Forestry Union from 1957.[2]
Scholz became the president of the Friendship Association between East Germany and Arab countries in 1963 and visited the United Arab Republic in this capacity in 1967.[2][6] He became the vice president of the Peoples' Friendship League in 1967.[2] He retired from politics and public posts in 1967.[2]
^ abcdefg"Scholz, Paul" (in German). Bundesstiftung Aufarbeitung. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
^Tao Chen (August 2018). "East German pragmatism, China's policy of differentiation, and Soviet miscalculation: Hermann Matern's 1961 trip to China revisited". Cold War History. 19 (1): 91. doi:10.1080/14682745.2018.1483341.