Hans Schuierer | |
|---|---|
 Hans Schuierer 2019 | |
| Landrat of Schwandorf (district) | |
| In office 1972–1996 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 February 1931 |
| Party | Social Democratic Party (SPD) |
Hans Schuierer (born 6 February 1931 in Schwandorf-Klardorf) is a former German local politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He was the Landrat (district administrator) of the Schwandorf district (Bavaria) from 1972 to 1996 and became known as an opponent of the Wackersdorf reprocessing plant (WAA).
Schuierer trained as a bricklayer and road builder. In 1956, he entered local politics, initially as a member of the municipal council, then shortly thereafter as the first mayor of Klardorf (now part of Schwandorf) [1] , and subsequently as district administrator of the Burglengenfeld district. From the 1972 regional reform, Schuierer served as district administrator of the Schwandorf district in the Upper Palatinate. He gained nationwide notoriety in the mid-1980s when he rejected a permit for the Wackersdorf reprocessing plant (WAA). [2] For four years, he defied the directive of the Bavarian state government and, despite disciplinary proceedings initiated against him, did not waver from his position.
Schuierer spent his retirement in his hometown, which is now part of Schwandorf. Until 2008, he served on the Upper Palatinate District Council. In 2011, he was made an honorary citizen of Schwandorf. [3]
![Anti-nuclear partnership: Hans Schuierer and Mayor Josef Reschen [de] (Salzburg, 1986) Anti-Atom-Partnerschaft - Hans Schuierer - Josef Reschen - Alter Markt Salzburg 27-7-1986.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Anti-Atom-Partnerschaft_-_Hans_Schuierer_-_Josef_Reschen_-_Alter_Markt_Salzburg_27-7-1986.jpg/250px-Anti-Atom-Partnerschaft_-_Hans_Schuierer_-_Josef_Reschen_-_Alter_Markt_Salzburg_27-7-1986.jpg)
Although Schuierer initially supported the Wackersdorf reprocessing plant (WAA), [4] he described it as economic nonsense in 1985 and believed it would never go into operation. [5] Schuierer and his deputy, Dietmar Zierer, refused to sign the water and building permits for the construction of the Wackersdorf WAA until the Bavarian state government circumvented this with the "Lex Schuierer ". [6]
The "Lex Schuierer" introduced Article 3a into the Bavarian Administrative Procedure Act, allowing supervisory authorities to intervene themselves. This means that if a subordinate district office, acting as a state authority, fails to act even after being instructed to do so, the district government can make a decision itself. After the law came into effect on August 1, 1985, the Upper Palatinate government issued the water and building permits in October 1985 instead of the Schwandorf district office. [7] His representative Zierer assessed this approach with the polemical words: "A dictatorship would not have behaved much differently." [8]
The SPD district administrator was subjected to several disciplinary proceedings. [9] Schuierer held the view that the difference between Chile, South Africa, and other military dictatorships and the Free State of Bavaria was "becoming ever smaller". [10] He clashed with the WAA supporter Franz Josef Strauss and spoke of "one-man democracy of the Strauss type", "CSU democracy", and "terror in its purest form". Conversely, Strauss and his Interior Minister August Lang called Schuierer a "supporter of communism", "inciter of hatred", and "ringleader" and accused him of "sabotage". During the civil-military WINTEX exercise, an attack by a heavily armed peace initiative on Schuierer was "coincidentally" simulated in the basement of the district administration building. [11]
Schuierer joined the citizens' initiatives at the information booth and supported the shantytowns. [12] In retrospect, Schuierer considered the WAA (nuclear reprocessing plant) "a complete and utter pack of lies from beginning to end." [13] However, he was surprised that prominent figures such as Hans-Jochen Vogel, Johannes Rau, Joschka Fischer, Petra Kelly, Karl-Heinz Böhm, and Dietmar Schönherr came to visit him and protest against the WAA. [14]
Together with his fellow campaigner Wolfgang Nowak , Schuierer visited schools and events to ensure that the memory of the fight for their Upper Palatinate homeland would not be forgotten. [15]
In the feature film Wackersdorf by Oliver Haffner, Hans Schuierer was portrayed by Johannes Zeiler. [16]
Eyewitness interviews with Hans Schuierer:
Media related to Hans Schuierer at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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| People | |
