Lutz Haylman
Germany- Early Life and Education
- Openly Gay Activist
- Political Career
- Controversy and Investigations
- Wikipedia Lawsuit
- Streisand Effect
Early Life and Education
Lutz Heilmann was born in 1966 in East Germany. After graduating from high school in 1985, he was drafted into the East German military and served in a unit under the Ministry of State Security (Stasi). He voluntarily extended his service from 18 months to 3 years and then became a full-time employee of the Stasi's personal protection unit. Heilmann claimed to have filed for resignation in October 1989, but he remained on the job until the disbandment of the Stasi in January 1990. In 1991, he enrolled in the Faculty of Economics at the Zittau University of Applied Sciences. From 1992 to 1997, he studied law at Freie Universität Berlin, and later at the University of Kiel, where he obtained a law degree in 2004.
Openly Gay Activist
In 2006, Heilmann came out as openly gay. In 2007, he founded the "Landesarbeitsgemeinschaft queer," a group for gay, lesbian, and transgender members of Die Linke in Schleswig-Holstein. He also actively participated in Christopher-Street-Day parades in several cities.
Political Career
In 1986, Heilmann joined the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). He left the successor party PDS in 1992 but rejoined in 2000. From 2000 to 2002, he served on the regional party board for Northwest Mecklenburg. In 2005, Heilmann was elected to the Bundestag as the only candidate from Die Linke in Schleswig-Holstein.
Controversy and Investigations
In October 2005, Der Spiegel published evidence of Heilmann's work for the Stasi. Heilmann had concealed this information from party members, violating party rules. A vote of no confidence was held on December 4, 2005, but Heilmann survived with 47 votes against 42 in favor. He remained a controversial figure within Die Linke. In 2008, Bild am Sonntag reported that Heilmann had been investigated for threatening his former partner after their relationship ended and that his immunity as an MP had been lifted. Heilmann denied both the threat and the lifting of his immunity.
Wikipedia Lawsuit
On November 13, 2008, Heilmann filed a lawsuit against Wikimedia Deutschland e.V., the German branch of Wikipedia, demanding the removal of the aforementioned information about his Stasi past, among other claims. The court issued a preliminary injunction to block the redirection from www.wikipedia.de to de.wikipedia.org. However, Heilmann withdrew his lawsuit on November 17, 2008, after facing criticism in the media and from his own party.
Streisand Effect
The lawsuit against Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. had the unintended consequence of increasing public awareness of the information Heilmann was trying to suppress. The German Wikipedia article about him received over half a million views in two days, and articles were created in over 15 other language versions. Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. received over €42,000 in donations, many of which were accompanied by comments condemning Heilmann's actions.
