Hans Ritter von Lex

Last updated

Hans Ritter von Lex (1893-1970) was a German political figure and the President of the German Red Cross (German : Deutsches Rotes Kreuz) from 1961 to 1967. He was born Hans Lex on October 27, 1893, in Rosenheim, Upper Bavaria, Germany. He died February 26, 1970, in Munich, Germany.

Contents

Biography

After graduation from a Gymnasium in 1912, Lex began the study of law at the University of Munich. In 1914, shortly after taking his first state exam, his studies were interrupted by the outbreak of World War I. Lex volunteered to serve in the Bavarian Army and served with the Infantry Life Regiment, Bavaria's elite bodyguard regiment. He was commissioned a reserve lieutenant in March 1915 and in September 1915 he went to the Bavarian 18th Reserve Infantry Regiment. For his bravery on July 31, 1916, during the Battle of the Somme, Lex was decorated with the Military Order of Max Joseph, Bavaria's highest bravery decoration. The order conferred a patent of nobility, and the title "Ritter von" was added to Lex's name. Lex returned to the Infantry Life Regiment in late 1916 as a company commander, but in 1918 he was transferred to an office in the Bavarian War Ministry after his three brothers were killed in action.

After the war, Ritter von Lex resumed his legal studies, and upon completion of the second state exam, he became a lawyer in the Bavarian state government. He was a civil servant in the Bavarian Culture Ministry from 1921 to 1923 and from 1927 to 1932, with an interlude from 1923 to 1927 as a district attorney in his hometown of Rosenheim. From 1932 to 1933, he was a member of the Reichstag, the parliament of the Weimar Republic, for the Bavarian People's Party. His party negotiated with the Nazi Party over power-sharing in a coalition government, but after Adolf Hitler took power, he and the other leaders of the Bavarian People's Party were briefly imprisoned. After his release, Ritter von Lex became a civil servant in the Reich Ministry of the Interior, responsible for sports affairs. He helped plan the 1936 Winter and Summer Olympics which took place in Germany.

After World War II, in 1946, Ritter von Lex became a senior civil servant in the Bavarian Interior Ministry. In October 1949 he became a state secretary in the West German Federal Ministry of the Interior. He retired from government service in October 1960.

Hans Ritter von Lex was elected President of the German Red Cross in 1961. He served as president until 1967, after which he became an honorary president until his death in 1970.

Honors

After his death, the German border guard (Grenzschutz) renamed its barracks in Rosenheim the "Grenzschutzunterkunft Hans Ritter von Lex"

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ludwig Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen</span> 19th-century Bavarian general

Ludwig Samson Heinrich Arthur Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen was a Bavarian general.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georg von Hertling</span> German chancellor (1843–1919)

Georg Friedrich Karl Freiherr von Hertling, from 1914 Count von Hertling, was a German politician of the Catholic Centre Party. He was foreign minister and minister president of Bavaria, then chancellor of the German Reich and minister president of Prussia from 1 November 1917 to 30 September 1918. He was the first party politician to hold the two offices; all the others were non-partisan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otto von Lossow</span> German general

Otto Hermann von Lossow was a Bavarian Army and then German Army officer who played a prominent role in the events surrounding the attempted Beer Hall Putsch by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in November 1923.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hans Ritter von Adam</span> World War I flying ace

Hans Ritter von Adam, born Hans Adam, was a Bavarian flying ace in World War I, with 21 victories before being killed in action. He enlisted as an infantry private, and rose through the ranks to be commissioned an officer. His valor earned him his nation's highest awards, including one that posthumously raised him to nobility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House Order of Hohenzollern</span> Dynastic order

The House Order of Hohenzollern was a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Hohenzollern awarded to military commissioned officers and civilians of comparable status. Associated with the various versions of the order were crosses and medals which could be awarded to lower-ranking soldiers and civilians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franz Ritter von Epp</span> German general and politician

Franz Ritter von Epp was a German general and politician who started his military career in the Bavarian Army. Successful wartime military service earned him a knighthood in 1916. After the end of World War I and the dissolution of the German Empire, von Epp was a commanding officer in the Freikorps and the Reichswehr. He was a member of Bavarian People's Party, before joining the Nazi Party in 1928, when he was elected as a member of the German parliament or Reichstag, a position he held until the fall of Nazi Germany. He was the Reichskommissar, later Reichsstatthalter, for Bavaria, and a Reichsleiter of the Nazi Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jakob Ritter von Danner</span>

Jakob Ritter von Danner was a Bavarian general in the Imperial German Army and the Reichswehr. As commandant of the Munich garrison of the Reichswehr, he was a central figure in putting down the attempted Beer Hall Putsch by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis in 1923.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military Merit Order (Bavaria)</span> Award

The Bavarian Military Merit Order was established on 19 July 1866 by King Ludwig II of Bavaria. It was the kingdom's main decoration for bravery and military merit for officers and higher-ranking officials. Civilians acting in support of the army were also made eligible for the decoration. The Military Merit Order ranked below the Military Order of Max Joseph (Militär-Max-Joseph-Orden), which was Bavaria's highest military honor for officers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eugen Ritter von Schobert</span>

Eugen Siegfried Erich Ritter von Schobert was a German general during World War II. He commanded the 11th Army during Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. Schobert died when his observation plane crashed in a Soviet minefield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military Order of Max Joseph</span> Award

The Military Order of Max Joseph was the highest military order of the Kingdom of Bavaria. It was founded on 1 January 1806 by Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, the first king of Bavaria. The order came in three classes:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hans Ehard</span> German lawyer and politician

Hans Ehard was a German lawyer and politician, a member of the Christian Social Union (CSU) party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Felix Graf von Bothmer</span> German general

Felix Ludwig Grafvon Bothmer was a German general from Bavaria. He notably served in the Brusilov offensive of World War I.

This is the German Army order of battle on the outbreak of World War I in August 1914.

The Royal Bavarian Infantry Lifeguards Regiment was a household-lifeguard (bodyguard) regiment of the Bavarian kings from the end of the Napoleonic Wars until the fall of the Wittelsbach monarchy and the subsequent disbanding of the Bavarian army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Maximilian von Maillinger</span>

Joseph Maximilian Fridolin Rittervon Maillinger was a Bavarian General der Infanterie and War Minister under Ludwig II of Bavaria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benignus von Safferling</span> Bavarian general and war minister

Benignus Ritter von Safferling was a Bavarian General der Infanterie and War Minister under Otto of Bavaria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maximilian von Speidel</span>

Maximilian "Max" Freiherrvon Speidel was a Bavarian general and State Council at the Bavarian Ministry of War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oskar von Xylander</span>

Oskar Ritter und Edlervon Xylander was a Bavarian General der Infanterie, at last commanding the I Royal Bavarian Corps until his retirement in 1918.

Hans Rittervon Hemmer,, son of Colonel Anthony Hemmer, was an officer in the Royal Bavarian Army and Knight Commander of the Military Order of Max Joseph.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul von Kneussl</span>

Paul von Kneußl, since 1913 Ritter von Kneußl, was a German general. He was most notable for his service in the Romanian Campaign of World War I.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.