Lutz Heilmann
Encyclopedia
Lutz Heilmann is a German politician of the left-wing
party Die Linke. He was elected to the Bundestag
in the 2005 federal election
as a member of the party list in Schleswig-Holstein
. Shortly thereafter it was revealed that he had worked for the Stasi
(the East German secret police
). Heilmann drew national and international media attention when he caused the website
, but a search portal for it run by Wikimedia Deutschland) to be blocked by a preliminary injunction
on November 13, 2008. His Bundestag term ended in 2009, and he failed to be nominated for a second term.
that he had worked for the Stasi
(the East German secret police) from 1985 to 1990. Heilmann is the only official full-time Stasi employee to be elected MP to the Bundestag; although several other Die Linke politicians have been "unofficial" Stasi informants.
Heilmann narrowly survived an impeachment by the party electorate following his untruthfulness about his Stasi career prior to becoming MP
.
Heilmann worked in the so-called "Hauptverwaltung Aufklärung Personenschutz" department of Stasi, a large and important department within the Stasi that was directly subordinated under Erich Mielke
. The department was responsible for "personal security", but also took part in regular oppression activities and employed informants. His employment record at Stasi states that Heilmann joined the Stasi because of political motivation and that he identified with his work and saw his future as a Stasi employee. He left Stasi after it was dissolved following the fall of the communist regime.
The nomination of Lutz Heilmann as an MP by the Left Party has been strongly criticized by Hubertus Knabe
, the director of the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial
. Knabe stated that Heilmann "has no business being in parliament", and said it is "unacceptable for the victims of the GDR
communist regime to imagine that a man with such a past should serve in a parliament".
) in 2004. During this time, he worked as a cashier at a filling station
and as a carpet
salesman. After a period of being unemployed (2004–2005) he obtained a position as articled clerk
(Rechtsreferendar) at the Landgericht (an intermediate court) in Lübeck
which he quit after being elected to the Bundestag. In November 2009, he returned to his job as a clerk.
" in 1981. He became a member of the communist party of the German Democratic Republic
, the SED
in 1986, at a time the party was still hardline totalitarian, and has remained a member of its successor parties (SED-PDS, PDS, Die Linkspartei.PDS and now Die Linke), although he left the party in 1992 and rejoined in 2000.
Heilmann, who was previously married, has organized participation of the party's queer group at Christopher Street Day
s.
In the Bundestag, his main activity has focused on transportation policy favoring the environment. He argued for an increase in the LKW-MAUT
and against a proposed waiver of the motor vehicle tax for new cars.
He has been involved in a fight within Die Linke, trying to get Lübeck party boss Ragnar Lüttke expelled from the party. Four-year old photographs showing Lüttke at a party celebrating Stalin's birthday were obtained by a Flensburg
newspaper in October 2008.
In 2009 he failed to be nominated again as a Bundestag candidate.
) as long as certain information about him is included in the German Wikipedia
in the article Lutz Heilmann. Heilmann also filed legal complaints against one Wikipedia editor and two other online writers.
According to Focus Online
, Heilmann objected to claims that he had not completed his university degree, and that he had participated in a business venture involving pornography. He did however admit that he had served as "youth protection officer" for an internet sex shop run by a room mate. The report also suggests that the Wikipedia article had been repeatedly altered in line with his claims by an anonymous user operating within the Bundestag building, but Heilmann denied having been involved in an edit war.
In October 2008, some German newspapers had reported that Heilmann was under investigation for having threatened a former room mate and that the committee on immunity of the Bundestag had lifted his immunity
in the matter. Heilmann denied this and had a counter statement published. (According to taz charges were filed due to attempted coercion (“versuchte Nötigung”). Heilmann's counter statement fits to this explanation as he states that the committee on immunity of the Bundestag has dealt on October 17 with the matter in question related to short messages he sent to his former room mate.) This matter was reported in Heilmann's Wikipedia article. This claim, as well as claims that he had withheld parts of his Stasi records, were also cited by Heilmann as reasons for his action against Wikimedia Deutschland.
After some statements were removed from his German Wikipedia article and after major media coverage, Heilmann announced on November 16 that he would drop the legal proceedings against Wikimedia Deutschland, regretting that many uninvolved users of the encyclopedia had been affected. He vowed to continue his pursuit of the Wikipedia editor who had originally added the allegedly offensive material.
Heilmann later made a public statement on his actions against Wikipedia. "I didn't think it through and didn't anticipate the consequences," he admitted. Wikimedia Germany reported that on the Saturday of the blocking it had received record donations of €16,000, compared to €3,000 on an average day.
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
party Die Linke. He was elected to the Bundestag
Bundestag
The Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...
in the 2005 federal election
German federal election, 2005
German federal elections took place on 18 September 2005 to elect the members of the 16th German Bundestag, the federal parliament of Germany. They became necessary after a motion of confidence in Chancellor Gerhard Schröder failed on 1 July...
as a member of the party list in Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
. Shortly thereafter it was revealed that he had worked for the Stasi
Stasi
The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security (German: Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS), commonly known as the Stasi (abbreviation , literally State Security), was the official state security service of East Germany. The MfS was headquartered...
(the East German secret police
Secret police
Secret police are a police agency which operates in secrecy and beyond the law to protect the political power of an individual dictator or an authoritarian political regime....
). Heilmann drew national and international media attention when he caused the website
www.wikipedia.de (not the German WikipediaGerman Wikipedia
The German Wikipedia is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and mostly publicly editable online encyclopedia.Founded in March 2001, it is the second-oldest and, with over articles, the second-largest edition of Wikipedia, behind the English Wikipedia...
, but a search portal for it run by Wikimedia Deutschland) to be blocked by a preliminary injunction
Preliminary injunction
A preliminary injunction, in equity, is an injunction entered by a court prior to a final determination of the merits of a legal case, in order to restrain a party from going forward with a course of conduct or compelling a party to continue with a course of conduct until the case has been decided...
on November 13, 2008. His Bundestag term ended in 2009, and he failed to be nominated for a second term.
Revelation of Stasi work
Following his election in 2005, strong controversy erupted when it was revealed by the magazine Der SpiegelDer Spiegel
Der Spiegel is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. It is one of Europe's largest publications of its kind, with a weekly circulation of more than one million.-Overview:...
that he had worked for the Stasi
Stasi
The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security (German: Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS), commonly known as the Stasi (abbreviation , literally State Security), was the official state security service of East Germany. The MfS was headquartered...
(the East German secret police) from 1985 to 1990. Heilmann is the only official full-time Stasi employee to be elected MP to the Bundestag; although several other Die Linke politicians have been "unofficial" Stasi informants.
Heilmann narrowly survived an impeachment by the party electorate following his untruthfulness about his Stasi career prior to becoming MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
.
Heilmann worked in the so-called "Hauptverwaltung Aufklärung Personenschutz" department of Stasi, a large and important department within the Stasi that was directly subordinated under Erich Mielke
Erich Mielke
Erich Fritz Emil Mielke was a German communist politician and Minister of State Security—and as such head of the Stasi —of the German Democratic Republic between 1957 and 1989. Mielke spent more than a decade as an operative of the NKVD during the rule of Joseph Stalin...
. The department was responsible for "personal security", but also took part in regular oppression activities and employed informants. His employment record at Stasi states that Heilmann joined the Stasi because of political motivation and that he identified with his work and saw his future as a Stasi employee. He left Stasi after it was dissolved following the fall of the communist regime.
The nomination of Lutz Heilmann as an MP by the Left Party has been strongly criticized by Hubertus Knabe
Hubertus Knabe
Hubertus Knabe is a German historian, human rights activist and the scientific director of the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial, a museum and memorial in a notorious former Stasi torture prison in Berlin. Knabe is noted for several works on oppression in the former communist states of Eastern...
, the director of the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial
Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial
The Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial is a museum and memorial located in Berlin's north-eastern Lichtenberg district in the locality of Alt-Hohenschönhausen, part of the former borough of Hohenschönhausen...
. Knabe stated that Heilmann "has no business being in parliament", and said it is "unacceptable for the victims of the GDR
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
communist regime to imagine that a man with such a past should serve in a parliament".
Work history
He attended law school from 1992 to 2004, obtaining an undergraduate law degree (Diplom-JuristDiplom-Jurist
- Background :Historically, German law students did not receive any academic degree upon completion of their curriculum. Instead, after usually four or five years of study, students would sit their First State Examination in Law, which was administered by the ministry of justice of the respective...
) in 2004. During this time, he worked as a cashier at a filling station
Filling station
A filling station, also known as a fueling station, garage, gasbar , gas station , petrol bunk , petrol pump , petrol garage, petrol kiosk , petrol station "'servo"' in Australia or service station, is a facility which sells fuel and lubricants...
and as a carpet
Carpet
A carpet is a textile floor covering consisting of an upper layer of "pile" attached to a backing. The pile is generally either made from wool or a manmade fibre such as polypropylene,nylon or polyester and usually consists of twisted tufts which are often heat-treated to maintain their...
salesman. After a period of being unemployed (2004–2005) he obtained a position as articled clerk
Articled clerk
An articled clerk, also known as an articling student, is an apprentice in a professional firm in Commonwealth countries. Generally the term arises in the accountancy profession and in the legal profession. The articled clerk signs a contract, known as "articles of clerkship", committing to a...
(Rechtsreferendar) at the Landgericht (an intermediate court) in Lübeck
Lübeck
The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
which he quit after being elected to the Bundestag. In November 2009, he returned to his job as a clerk.
Political activities
Heilmann took part in the "JugendweiheJugendweihe
Jugendweihe is a secular coming of age ceremony practiced by German 14 year olds. It originated among the secular societies in the 19th century as an alternative to Confirmation by the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches...
" in 1981. He became a member of the communist party of the German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
, the SED
Socialist Unity Party of Germany
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
in 1986, at a time the party was still hardline totalitarian, and has remained a member of its successor parties (SED-PDS, PDS, Die Linkspartei.PDS and now Die Linke), although he left the party in 1992 and rejoined in 2000.
Heilmann, who was previously married, has organized participation of the party's queer group at Christopher Street Day
Christopher Street Day
Christopher Street Day is an annual European LGBT celebration and demonstration held in various cities across Europe for the rights of LGBT people, and against discrimination and exclusion. Only Germany and Switzerland use the term CSD, in other countries, the same kind of event is called Gay...
s.
In the Bundestag, his main activity has focused on transportation policy favoring the environment. He argued for an increase in the LKW-MAUT
LKW-MAUT
Germany's LKW-Maut is a toll for goods vehicles based on the distance driven in kilometres, the number of axles and the emission category of the vehicle.-Overview:...
and against a proposed waiver of the motor vehicle tax for new cars.
He has been involved in a fight within Die Linke, trying to get Lübeck party boss Ragnar Lüttke expelled from the party. Four-year old photographs showing Lüttke at a party celebrating Stalin's birthday were obtained by a Flensburg
Flensburg
Flensburg is an independent town in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the region of Southern Schleswig...
newspaper in October 2008.
In 2009 he failed to be nominated again as a Bundestag candidate.
Lawsuit against Wikimedia Deutschland
On November 13, 2008, Heilmann pressed charges against Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. at the Landgericht Lübeck, obtaining a preliminary injunction which barred the internet addresswww.wikipedia.de (which is controlled by Wikimedia Deutschland) from linking to de.wikipedia.org (controlled by the U.S.-based Wikimedia FoundationWikimedia Foundation
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. is an American non-profit charitable organization headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States, and organized under the laws of the state of Florida, where it was initially based...
) as long as certain information about him is included in the German Wikipedia
German Wikipedia
The German Wikipedia is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and mostly publicly editable online encyclopedia.Founded in March 2001, it is the second-oldest and, with over articles, the second-largest edition of Wikipedia, behind the English Wikipedia...
in the article Lutz Heilmann. Heilmann also filed legal complaints against one Wikipedia editor and two other online writers.
According to Focus Online
Focus (German magazine)
Focus is a German weekly news magazine published in Munich and distributed throughout Germany. It is the third-largest weekly news magazine in Germany. It is considered conservative and leaned towards economic liberalism.- Overview :...
, Heilmann objected to claims that he had not completed his university degree, and that he had participated in a business venture involving pornography. He did however admit that he had served as "youth protection officer" for an internet sex shop run by a room mate. The report also suggests that the Wikipedia article had been repeatedly altered in line with his claims by an anonymous user operating within the Bundestag building, but Heilmann denied having been involved in an edit war.
In October 2008, some German newspapers had reported that Heilmann was under investigation for having threatened a former room mate and that the committee on immunity of the Bundestag had lifted his immunity
Parliamentary immunity
Parliamentary immunity, also known as legislative immunity, is a system in which members of the parliament or legislature are granted partial immunity from prosecution. Before prosecuting, it is necessary that the immunity be removed, usually by a superior court of justice or by the parliament itself...
in the matter. Heilmann denied this and had a counter statement published. (According to taz charges were filed due to attempted coercion (“versuchte Nötigung”). Heilmann's counter statement fits to this explanation as he states that the committee on immunity of the Bundestag has dealt on October 17 with the matter in question related to short messages he sent to his former room mate.) This matter was reported in Heilmann's Wikipedia article. This claim, as well as claims that he had withheld parts of his Stasi records, were also cited by Heilmann as reasons for his action against Wikimedia Deutschland.
After some statements were removed from his German Wikipedia article and after major media coverage, Heilmann announced on November 16 that he would drop the legal proceedings against Wikimedia Deutschland, regretting that many uninvolved users of the encyclopedia had been affected. He vowed to continue his pursuit of the Wikipedia editor who had originally added the allegedly offensive material.
Heilmann later made a public statement on his actions against Wikipedia. "I didn't think it through and didn't anticipate the consequences," he admitted. Wikimedia Germany reported that on the Saturday of the blocking it had received record donations of €16,000, compared to €3,000 on an average day.
See also
- Katina SchubertKatina SchubertKatina Schubert , is a German politician who since 2007 is one of four deputy chairmen of the German socialist party Die Linke ....
, another politician of Die Linke who initiated proceedings against Wikipedia
External links
- Lutz Heilmann, official page at Die Linke, listing his speeches, legislative initiatives and press releases.
- Private website
- Preliminary injunction from the Landsgericht Lübeck, November 13th, 2008, containing the offending statements.