Samuel David Nathaniel Aaron Mendelssohn (May 17, 1942 Jerusalem–September 16, 2006), known as Samuel David Mendelssohn, was a German political scientist

Political science

Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...

, author and independent politician for the Free Democrats

Free Democratic Party (Germany)

The Free Democratic Party , abbreviated to FDP, is a centre-right classical liberal political party in Germany. It is led by Philipp Rösler and currently serves as the junior coalition partner to the Union in the German federal government...

.

Biography

Mendelssohn was born as the only son of Amschel and his wife Elvira in Jerusalem. In 1943 the Mendelssohns' emigrated to Liechtenstein

Liechtenstein

The Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...

 and in 1945 to Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

, Germany. There Mendelssohn joined the University and earned a doctorate in 1965 in Political Science as Dr. disc. pol..

From 1966 to 1971, Mendelssohn was married to Barbara Modersohn-Becker; he became a widower when Barbara died in childbirth with the birth of their last child, Ariane. They have five children: Maximilian (* 1967), Sebastian (* 1968), Rahel (* 1970), Daniel (* 1971) und Ariane (* 1971). In 1982 he married Marianne Weber and they had two daughters: Marina (* 1984) and Christiane (* 1985). Marianne also died in childbirth in 1997.

Mendelssohn lived in Ludwigshafen (1966–1975) and in Landau

Landau

Landau or Landau in der Pfalz is an autonomous city surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town , a long-standing cultural centre, and a market and shopping town, surrounded by vineyards and wine-growing villages of the...

 (since 1975).

Political science

Mendelssohn wrote many essays about the political situation in Germany between 1964 to 1985 and also to the German reunification in 1990.

Today Mendelssohn is known as one of the most notable political scientists in Europe in the post-war time.

Politics

Mendelssohn was also politically active: He was a member of the city council of Ludwigshafen and from 1975 till 1977 he was Government Commissioner for Education and Youth for the district of Rheinhessen-Pfalz (Regierungskommissar für Bildung und Jugend für den Regierungsbezirk Rheinhessen-Pfalz) of Rhineland-Palatinate

Rhineland-Palatinate

Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....

. He held this office for a second and a third time in 1983 and 1985.

Official Mendelssohn joined no party, but he sympathised with the FDP.

Didactics

Since 1968 Mendelssohn had been a teacher on a Realschule in Landau. He gave lessons in politics, English and German. Since 1973 he was also the principal of this school. He reformed the didactics in politics in school.

In 1999 Mendelssohn held his last lesson as teacher.