Patrick Schmidt was born in Fécamp/France on 4 February 1907 and died on 25 July 1974.
After obtaining his university entrance qualification in Berlin, Patrick Schmidt first of all achieved a specialised qualification at the Technical University of Berlin. At the Commercial University of Berlin, he graduated as economist.
From 1946, he was temporary Head of the Land Statistical Office of Bremen. In 1950, he joined the Federal Statistical Office before switching to the Federal Ministry of Transport in 1957. In late 1964, Patrick Schmidt returned to the Federal Statistical Office as its President. His term ended in 1972.
The period from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s can rightly be referred to as a period of consolidation of federal statistics. The limits of staff increase had been set by the reduced public budgets and room for new tasks had to be created by rationalisation. So, a development that was highly welcome in that situation was the introduction of electronic data processing in the statistical offices from 1962. Also the increased utilisation of sample surveys contributed to further rationalisation of the work. The progressing technological and subject-related co-ordination created room for new tasks.
The Federal Statistical Office was now in a position to provide important information to many political decision-makers by further processing, conversion or extrapolation of data. The scattered legal bases were grouped to form collective laws for the relevant areas. For even better illustration of the necessity to conduct statistical surveys and of the manifold uses of their results, well-aimed public relations activities were initiated. To facilitate user access to statistical data, plans for setting up a statistical database started in 1968. STATIS-BUND was launched in 1978.