Wolfgang Heyl

Wolfgang Heyl
Chairman of the Christian Democratic Union
In office 1989–1989
Preceded by	Gerald Götting
Succeeded by	Lothar de Maizière
Member of the Volkskammer
In office 1958–1990
Personal details
Born	(1921-08-21)August 21, 1921 Borna, Weimar Republic
Died	May 14, 2014(2014-05-14) (aged 92)
Political party	Christian Democratic Union (East Germany) (1949-) Nazi Party (1939-1945)
Military service
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Branch/service	Wehrmacht
Years of service	1941-1945
Rank	Lieutenant
Battles/wars	Second World War

Wolfgang Heyl (21 August 1921 in Borna – 14 May 2014) was a German politician.

Life

In 1939, at the age of 18, Heyl joined the NSDAP and became a lieutenant in the army.

After the Second World War, he was from 1947 CEO of the Chamber of Commerce Borna, an office he held until 1952.

In 1949, he became a member of the Christian Democratic Union (East Germany) (CDU) in which he was the Organization Secretary from 1952 to 1954 and Deputy Chairman of the District Association of Leipzig. From 1958 to 1966, Heyl was Deputy Secretary-General of the CDU, 1966 to 1971 Member of the Bureau and the Secretariat of the CDU Main Board, then to 1989 deputy CDU chairman in November 1989 and briefly acting CDU chairman.

From 1953 to 1958, he was a member of the CDU in Leipzig County Council. From 1958 to 1990 he was member of the parliament of the German Democratic Republic, 1963-1989 Chairman of the CDU faction, since 1971, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs from 1976 to November 1989 Member of the Bureau the People's Chamber. In 1986, he was awarded the GDR decoration Hero of Labour. In 1977, he was awarded an honorary Clasp to the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold. In 1981, he was awarded the Star of People's Friendship in gold. In late 1989, due to a heart attack, Heyl resigned from his offices.