"In the service of Democracy, Peace and Development" - with this motto the work and goals of Hanns Seidel Foundation are described. This is true as well for the work in Germany - and especially in Bavaria - as for the international commitment of Hanns Seidel Foundation. The former federal president Roman Herzog once named “education for democracy” a “permanent and original task of political foundations”. This work would help “citizens to participate competently in the open society and the development of democracy”.

The understanding of democracy has to be gained anew in every generation. Especially young people have to gain understanding of political mechanisms. Only then they will be motivated to participate and take over responsibility. Shortly: Democracy needs civic education.

Since Hanns Seidel Foundation was founded April 11th, 1967, it has been engaged in civic education with the goal of promoting the “democratic and civic education of the German people based on Christian values”. This means that the political and civic education of Hanns Seidel Foundation is based on the free development of individuals as well as their responsibility as well as solidarity.

Organisation (Short description of the organisation of Hanns-Seidel-Foundation)
The members of Hanns Seidel Foundation elect a ommittee, which is led by a chairman and his deputy. The administration of Hanns Seidel Foundation is led by a managing director and has departments for legal affairs/ construction/ property management, IT, public relations and the directorship of the educational centres in Wildbad Kreuth and Banz Monastery as well as the conference centre Munich. The unit for central affairs is composed of departments for domestic and foreign personnel, budget and finances.

The activities of Hanns Seidel Foundation are organized in five departments:

• Academy for politics and contemporary history
• Institute for adult civic education
• Scholarship organisation
• Institute for foreign relations
• Institute for international contact and cooperation

Hanns Seidel
Hanns Seidel was born October 12, th, 1901, in Schweinheim near Aschaffenburg. After high school he studied law, German language and economics at the universities of Wurzburg, Freiburg and Jena. 1929 he earned the PhD degree in law and became lawyer in Aschaffenburg. 1932 he became member of the Bavarian People`s party and one year later was candidate for the town council of Aschaffenburg. After the Nazis came to power, they put him temporarily into prison. While often clashing with the regime (among Seidel`s clients were numerous jews) he became a successful business lawyer. From 1940 to 1945 he was soldier and became reserve lieutenant in a tank division. The American military administration made the politically clean Seidel county chief in Aschaffenburg and in 1946 he was a successful candidate of the Christian Social Union (CSU) for the constitutional assembly and the Parliament of the free state of Bavaria. In September 1947 prime minister Hans Ehard made him state minister for the economy. After the state election in 1950 this appointment was renewed. He had, however, to resign after a coalition of four parties, SPD, FDP, BP and GB/ BHE took office in 1954 and the CSU became opposition party. Hanns Seidel became speaker of the CSU in the Parliament and leader of the opposition. Since Seidel saw civic education as important for the construction and maintenance of a democratic state, he became member of the newly founded Academy for Civic Education in Tutzing. In January 1955 the CSU elected Seidel to the party chairmanship and Seidel began to modernize and reorganize the CSU. After the end of the four-party-coalition in 1957 the CSU became governing party again and the state parliament elected Hanns Seidel as prime minister. The competent and consensus-oriented way of Seidel was honored in the state election of 1958, where the CSU gained with almost fifty percent the best result ever since 1946. After an accident, which hurt severly his back, Seidel had to resign as a prime minister in 1960 and one year later as chairman of CSU. August 5, 1961, Seidel died due to the accident. Several month later the planinng for a new foundation began and Hanns Seidel Stiftung was chosen as name of the new foundation.