Peter Paterna

Peter Paterna
Peter Paterna in 1981
Member of the Bundestag
In office
14 December 1976 – 10 November 1994
Preceded byClaus Arndt
Succeeded byAngelika Mertens
ConstituencyEimsbüttel (1976–1980)
Hamburg-Eimsbüttel
(1980–1994)
Personal details
Born(1937-12-22)22 December 1937
Cuxhaven, Germany
Died30 October 2018(2018-10-30) (aged 80)
Hamburg, Germany
Resting placeOld Niendorf Cemetery
PartySocial Democratic

Peter Paterna (22 December 1937 – 30 October 2018) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).

Early life

Paterna studied to become a teacher in Innsbruck and Hamburg. He began teaching in 1963, most recently as deputy head teacher at the elementary and secondary school in Hamburg-Niendorf Sachsenweg. As a proponent of comprehensive education, he played a significant role in the establishment of the Julius-Leber-School [de] in Hamburg-Schnelsen.

Political career

In 1970, Paterna was elected to the Hamburg-Eimsbüttel district assembly [de], where he served as chairman of the SPD parliamentary group. Paterna joined the (SPD) in 1962. From 1976 to 1994, he was a member of the German Bundestag, always directly elected in the Eimsbüttel constituency (later Hamburg-Eimsbüttel).

In the Bundestag, he chaired the Committee on Post and Telecommunications (from 1989: Committee on Post and Telecommunications) from 1987 to 1994. His skepticism regarding the usefulness of data transmission via email remains well-known: after all, he argued, "we already have a functioning express courier system". Here he fought with all his might against the privatization of the postal service (Postreform) and the opening of public service media to private providers. In 1994, Paterna left the Bundestag after 18 years.

Paterna died in 2018 aged 80.

The grave of Peter Paterna and his wife Iris in the Old Niendorf Cemetery in Hamburg

Literature

References

  1. ↑ "Paterna privatisiert". Der Spiegel (in German). 6 November 1994. ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  2. ↑ Klawitter, Nils (29 September 2002). "Prinzip Gießkanne". Der Spiegel (in German). ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Trauer um Peter Paterna – Marc Schemmel". marc-schemmel.de (in German). 5 November 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2026.