the first chancellor and founding father of the west german federal republic was
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by World War II to become the world's third-largest economy. The first chancellor Konrad Adenauer, who remained in office until 1963, had worked for a full alignment with NATO rather than neutrality. He not only secured a membership in NATO but was also a proponent of agreements that developed into the present-day European Union. When the G6 was established in 1975, there was no question whether the Federal Republic of Germany would be a member as well. Following the collapse of communism in Central and Eastern Europe in 1989, symbolised by the opening of the Berlin Wall, there was a
West Germany
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Robert Schuman, Paul-Henri Spaak and Konrad Adenauer; the three most important figures of the founding fathers of the European Union. Konrad Adenauer Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (; 5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman who served as the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) from 1949 to 1963. He was co-founder and first leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) (till 1966), a Christian Democratic party that under his leadership became one of the most influential parties in the country. In the early years of the Federal Republic he switched focus from
Konrad Adenauer
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The East German military used uniforms that were very similar to the WWII era army uniforms. Following World War II the Allies dissolved the Wehrmacht with all its branches on 20 August 1946. However already one year after the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany in May 1949 and because of its increasing links with the West under German chancellor Konrad Adenauer, the Consultative Assembly of Europe began to consider the formation of a European Defence Community with German participation on 11 August 1950. Former high-ranking German Wehrmacht officers outlined in the Himmeroder memorandum a plan for a "German
German Army
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Federal President was given less powers than the preceding office of Reich President, due to the bad experiences of the past, especially the abuse of emergency powers. Heuss therefore assumed a largely ceremonial role. However, his duties included the nomination of the first Federal Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer. Federal President Heuss took the oath of office in front of Bundestag and Bundesrat the day following his election, on September 13, 1949. 1949 West German presidential election The election of the first President of the Federal Republic of Germany (officially the 1st Federal Convention) was held on 12 September 1949, following the
1949 West German presidential election
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the operation because they did not want Germany to join NATO. The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) wanted to join NATO because the then German chancellor Konrad Adenauer decided that it would appease the fears of its neighbors and it would gain Germany's trust and show willingness to cooperate. At first the US was skeptical about the whole operation, but after Dwight D Eisenhower agreed to endorse the deal then the US was for the operation. The Federal Republic of Germany in Paris, France, agreed to support the operation. One of the better known attempts to gain West Germany
Wiederbewaffnung
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Federal Republic of Germany, which in its first years had very limited powers. In October 1949, the German Democratic Republic was founded in what had been the Soviet zone. Whereas Georg Dertinger had already been appointed the first minister of foreign affairs of East Germany in 1949, due to the Allied occupation statute the "Auswärtiges Amt" of West Germany was not reestablished until March 15, 1951. Chancellor Konrad Adenauer took office as the first Foreign Minister in Bonn until he was succeeded by Heinrich von Brentano in 1955. By and large, the men who had served in the new "Auswärtiges
Federal Foreign Office
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1959 West German presidential election An indirect presidential election (officially the 3rd Federal Convention) was held in West Germany on 1 July 1959. For the first time in the Federal Republic, the incumbent president, Theodor Heuss, was not eligible for reelection. In the buildup to the election, Chancellor Konrad Adenauer initially declared his candidacy, but then withdrew for political reasons. The Christian Democratic Union instead nominated Heinrich Lübke. The Social Democrats nominated Carlo Schmid who had been the party's caucus chair at the Parliamentary Council. The Free Democratic Party nominated the chair of its Bundestag caucus, Max Becker. Like the
1959 West German presidential election
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both drinking and bathing. The villages of Aegidienberg, Selhof and Rhöndorf are considered to be part of Bad Honnef. During his term as first chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (then West Germany), Konrad Adenauer lived (and died) in Bad Honnef, as it was near Bonn, then the capital the republic. Also, German politician and leader of the Free Democratic Party Guido Westerwelle was born in Bad Honnef. Since the 1980s Bad Honnef has developed into an important place for conferences in Germany. Because of the close proximity to the still internationally important Federal City of Bonn, many federal
Bad Honnef
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Konrad Adenauer Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (; 5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman who served as the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) from 1949 to 1963. He was co-founder and first leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) (till 1966), a Christian Democratic party that under his leadership became one of the most influential parties in the country. In the early years of the Federal Republic he switched focus from denazification to recovery and led his country from the ruins of World War II to a productive and prosperous nation
Konrad Adenauer
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middle name "Josef" as well. After the war, in 1945, he was appointed deputy "Landrat" (chief executive and representative of the district) of Schongau by the American military government and was involved in founding the local party organization of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU). Strauss became a member of the first "Bundestag" (Federal Parliament) in 1949. In 1953 Strauss became Federal Minister for Special Affairs in the second cabinet of Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, in 1955 Federal Minister of Nuclear Energy, and in 1956 Defence Minister, charged with the build-up of the new West German defence forces, the "Bundeswehr"the
Franz Josef Strauss
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main entrance was located at Voßstraße 6, while the building occupied the entire northern side of the street. It was damaged during World War II and later demolished by Soviet occupation forces. In 1949, the Federal Republic was created. Bonn was made the provisional capital. Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer used the Museum Koenig for the first two months and then moved the "Bundeskanzleramt" into "Palais Schaumburg" until a new Chancellery building was completed in 1976. The "new West German Chancellery building" was a black structure completed in the International Style, in an unassuming example of modernism. A separate building ""
Federal Chancellery (Berlin)
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1952). The Federal Republic was declared to have "the full authority of a sovereign state" on 5 May 1955. On 7 October 1949 the German Democratic Republic (GDR, "Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR)"), with East Berlin as its capital, was established in the Soviet Zone. The 1952 Stalin Note proposed German reunification and superpower disengagement from Central Europe but Britain, France, and the United States rejected the offer as insincere. Also, West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer preferred "Westintegration", rejecting "experiments". In English, the two larger states were known informally as "West Germany" and "East Germany" respectively. In both cases, the former
History of Germany (1945–90)
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the German parliament went to court to challenge the legality of the agreement. Petersberg Agreement The Petersberg Agreement is an international treaty that extended the rights of the Federal Government of Germany vis-a-vis the occupying forces of Britain, France, and the United States, and is viewed as the first major step of Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) towards sovereignty. It was signed by Chancellor of West Germany Konrad Adenauer and the Allied High Commissioners Brian Hubert Robertson (Britain), André François-Poncet (France), and John J. McCloy (United States of America) on 22 November 1949. The Hotel Petersberg, near Bonn, was
Petersberg Agreement
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1961 West German federal election Federal elections were held in West Germany on 17 September 1961 to elect the members of the fourth Bundestag. CDU/CSU remained the largest faction, while the Social Democratic Party narrowly became the largest individual party in the Bundestag, winning 203 of the 521 seats. For the first time, the SPD announced a "chancellor-candidate", who was not chairman of the party: Willy Brandt, the Governing Mayor of West Berlin. After the building of the Berlin Wall, he gained more and more sympathy, while chancellor Konrad Adenauer was criticised for not showing enough support for the people
1961 West German federal election
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Ludwig Erhard Ludwig Wilhelm Erhard (; 4 February 1897 – 5 May 1977) was a German politician affiliated with the CDU and the second Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) from 1963 until 1966. He is often famed for leading German postwar economic reforms and economic recovery (""Wirtschaftswunder,"" German for "economic miracle") in his role as Minister of Economic Affairs under Chancellor Konrad Adenauer from 1949 to 1963. During that period he promoted the concept of the social market economy ("soziale Marktwirtschaft"), on which Germany's economic policy in the 21st century continues to be based. In his
Ludwig Erhard
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the German Federal Republic (West Germany). Between 1946 and 1949 Walter Kriege worked as deputy president of the "German Finance Council", located within the US occupation zone at Stuttgart, also holding the directorship of the "Finance Administration Office" (""Verwaltung für Finanzen"") which in 1949 would mutate into the West German Finance Ministry. With the foundation of West Germany the country's new Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, was keen to appoint Walter Kriege as his Administrative Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. Walter Kriege Walter Kriege (15 March 1891 – 1 December 1952) was German jurist who also had a political role in
Walter Kriege
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of West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer for the plan. The rejection of the plan by the Sarrois was interpreted as support for the Saar to join the Federal Republic of Germany. On 27 October 1956 the Saar Treaty established that Saarland should be allowed to join West Germany, as provided by its constitution art. 23, and so Saarland did on 1 January 1957. West Germany had to agree to the channelization of the Moselle. This reduced French freight costs in the Lorraine steel industry. West Germany was also made to agree to the teaching of French as the first foreign
Saar Protectorate
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Democratic Republic (East Germany) was already secretly rearming, the seeds of a new West German force started in 1950 when former high-ranking German officers were tasked by Chancellor Konrad Adenauer to discuss the options for West German rearmament. The results of a meeting in the monastery of Himmerod formed the conceptual base to build the new armed forces in West Germany. The "Amt Blank" (Blank Agency, named after its director Theodor Blank), the predecessor of the later Federal Ministry of Defence, was formed the same year to prepare the establishment of the future forces. Hasso von Manteuffel, a former general
Bundeswehr
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Theodor Heuss Theodor Heuss (; 31 January 1884 – 12 December 1963) was a West German liberal politician who served as the first President of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1959. Beside the stern chancellor Konrad Adenauer, Heuss's cordial manners largely contributed to the stabilization of democracy in West Germany during the "Wirtschaftswunder" years. Heuss was born in Brackenheim, a small town in Württemberg near Heilbronn. This “wine community” is located next to the border of Swabian to the Franconian area. He studied economics, art history and political science at the universities of Munich and Berlin, receiving
Theodor Heuss
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stance that the two-state solution was an artificial and temporary status quo. West Germany was established as a federal parliamentary republic with a "social market economy". Starting in 1948 West Germany became a major recipient of reconstruction aid under the Marshall Plan and used this to rebuild its industry. Konrad Adenauer was elected the first Federal Chancellor ("Bundeskanzler") of Germany in 1949 and remained in office until 1963. Under his and Ludwig Erhard's leadership, the country enjoyed prolonged economic growth beginning in the early 1950s, that became known as an "economic miracle" ("Wirtschaftswunder"). The Federal Republic of Germany joined NATO
Germany
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the decree of the then Federal President Theodor Heuss. The decree, which was co-signed by the President Heuss together with Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and the Minister of the Interior, Robert Lehr, signed, states: The Order comprises four groups with seven regular and two special classes, hereafter the official denominations in English: The President of the Federal Republic holds the "Grand Cross special class" ex officio. It is awarded to him in a ceremony by the President of the Bundestag, attended by the Chancellor of Germany, the President of the Bundesrat, and the Supreme Court President. Other than the German president,
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
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eighteen people were leading researchers and members of public institutions for research on nuclear energy and technology in West Germany in that time. The group's name was chosen because many of the signatories were connected with the university town of Göttingen, and as a reference to the 19th century Göttingen Seven. Göttingen Eighteen The Göttingen Eighteen () was a group of eighteen leading nuclear researchers of the newly founded Federal Republic of Germany who wrote the Göttingen Manifesto on April 12, 1957, opposing Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and Defense Secretary Franz-Josef Strauß's move to arm the West German army, the Bundeswehr,
Göttingen Eighteen
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1951, the West German Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, met the U.S. High Commissioner for Germany, John J. McCloy, to argue that the status of the Landsberg prisoners was not so much a legal question as a political one, and that to execute the Landsberg prisoners would ruin forever any effort at having the Federal Republic play its role in the Cold War. On 31 January 1951 McCloy, under very strong pressure from German public opinion, agreed to review the sentences from the Nuremberg and Dachau trials. Out of 28 prisoners condemned to death, seven death sentences were confirmed. Some, like the
Landsberg Prison
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was empowered to act upon the federal election held on August 14, the constitutive meeting of the Bundestag parliament on September 7, the investiture of the first Federal President, Theodor Heuss on September 13, the appointment of Konrad Adenauer as the first Federal Chancellor on September 15 and the accession of the Federal Cabinet on September 20, 1949. In turn the Soviet Military Administration on October 7 implemented the People's Chamber ("Volkskammer") parliament in the Soviet occupation zone and East Berlin, which passed the Constitution of East Germany, officially named "German Democratic Republic" (GDR). The Council of Ministers of the
Legal status of Germany
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April 1945, the Allied Powers entered Austria and removed the country from the Third German Reich. A provisional Austrian government, led by Karl Renner, declared the country's regained independence. Austria's democratic constitution was reinstated and elections in late 1945 paved the way for a new federal government. Leopold Figl became the first Chancellor of Austria. Germany, however, was occupied by the Allied Powers and divided into four governing zones: British, French, American and the Soviet. Military occupation of Germany ended in 1949 when such zones were organised into the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic
Austria–Germany relations
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the presidency, were appointed by the ruling Socialist Unity Party of Germany. With the promulgation of the Grundgesetz in 1949, the office of President of the Federal Republic (in German: "Bundespräsident") was created in West Germany. Partly due to the misuse of presidential powers in the Weimar Republic, the office's powers were significantly reduced. Not only is he indirectly elected, but most of the real power was transferred to the chancellor. Because the reunification of Germany in 1990 was accomplished by the five East German states joining the Federal Republic, the president became the president of all German states. Twelve
President of Germany
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1965 West German federal election Federal elections were held in West Germany on 19 September 1965 to elect the members of the 5th Bundestag. The CDU/CSU remained the largest faction, while the Social Democratic Party remained the largest single party in the Bundestag, winning 251 of the 518 seats (including 15 of the 22 non-voting delegates for West Berlin). Federal Chancellor Ludwig Erhard was initially popular as the acclaimed "father" of West Germany's economic miracle of the 1950s and early 1960s. West Germany's economy still seemed solid in 1965, and thus not enough West German voters wanted to change the
1965 West German federal election
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Palais Schaumburg Palais Schaumburg is a neoclassical-style building in Bonn, Germany, which served as the primary official seat of the German Federal Chancellery and the primary official residence of the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 until 1976. As the headquarters of the Federal Chancellery, it was simply known as "the House of the Federal Chancellor" (). Since 2001, Palais Schaumburg has served as the secondary official seat of the German Federal Chancellery and the secondary official residence of the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. The late neoclassical palais was built between 1858 and 1860
Palais Schaumburg
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Chancellor of Germany (1949–present) The Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (in German called ', meaning "Federal Chancellor", or ' for short) is, under the German 1949 Constitution, the head of government of Germany. Historically, the office has evolved from the office of chancellor (, later "", meaning "Chancellor of the Realm") that was originally established in the North German Confederation in 1867. The 1949 Constitution increased the role of the chancellor compared to the 1919 Weimar Constitution by making the chancellor much more independent of the influence of the President and granting the chancellor the right to
Chancellor of Germany (1949–present)
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Willy Brandt Willy Brandt (; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and served as Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) from 1969 to 1974. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971 for his efforts to strengthen cooperation in western Europe through the EEC and to achieve reconciliation between West Germany and the countries of Eastern Europe. He was the first Social Democrat chancellor since 1930. Fleeing to Norway and then
Willy Brandt
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the inner German border on 9 November 1989, the ministry was completely disempowered by Chancellor Helmut Kohl; all intra-German affairs were now handled by the Ministry of the Interior under Wolfgang Schäuble. Formally, the ministry continued to exist until 1991 in order to facilitate transition. Political Party: Minister of Intra-German Relations The Federal Minister of Intra-German Relations () was a federal cabinet minister of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). The office was created under the title of Federal Minister of All-German Affairs ("Bundesminister für gesamtdeutsche Fragen") in 1949, being also in charge of the German lands east of
Minister of Intra-German Relations
14981906
first “Hamburg Summit”. The Chinese guest of honour was then Deputy Prime Minister Zeng Peiyan. 2006 Already at the second "Hamburg Summit" Wen Jiabao, the Prime Minister of the People's Republic of China, was present as guest of honour, who stressed the importance of the conference. Furthermore, Singapore's founding father Lee Kuan Yew, the former German chancellors Helmut Kohl and Helmut Schmidt took part. 2008 The third "Hamburg Summit" took place after the Sino-German diplomatic irritations caused by a meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Dalai Lama in September 2007. In fall 2008 the "Hamburg Summit" was the
Hamburg Summit: China meets Europe
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1980 West German federal election Federal elections were held in West Germany on 5 October 1980 to elect the members of the ninth Bundestag. Although the CDU/CSU remained the largest faction in parliament, Helmut Schmidt of the Social Democratic Party remained Chancellor. Chancellor Helmut Schmidt of the SPD-FDP coalition wanted to be re-elected. CDU/CSU tried to make their candidate the elected Chancellor, CSU leader Franz Josef Strauß. It was the first time that their candidate was from the CSU. Strauß, immensely popular in Bavaria, found it difficult to appeal to people in other parts of Germany. One important reason for
1980 West German federal election
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in 1871, the office became known in German as "Reichskanzler" ("Reich Chancellor", literally "Chancellor of the Realm"). Since the adoption of the current constitution of Germany (the "Basic Law" or "Grundgesetz") in 1949 the formal title of the office is once again Bundeskanzler (Federal Chancellor). In the now defunct German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany), which existed from 7 October 1949 to 3 October 1990 (when the territory of the former GDR was reunified with the Federal Republic of Germany), the position of chancellor did not exist. The equivalent position was called either Minister President "(Ministerpräsident)" or Chairman of the
Chancellor of Germany (1949–present)
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the chancellor of Germany receives €220,000 per annum and a €22,000 bonus, i.e. one and two thirds of Salary Grade B11 (according to § 11 (1) a of the Federal Law on MinistersBundesministergesetz, BGBl. 1971 I p. 1166 and attachment IV to the Federal Law on Salaries of OfficersBundesbesoldungsgesetz, BGBl. 2002 I p. 3020). Chancellor of Germany (1949–present) The Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (in German called ', meaning "Federal Chancellor", or ' for short) is, under the German 1949 Constitution, the head of government of Germany. Historically, the office has evolved from the office of chancellor
Chancellor of Germany (1949–present)
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armament question after the NATO Double-Track Decision. The coalition between the CDU/CSU and the FDP returned to government, with Helmut Kohl as Chancellor. This was the first election in which the Greens secured representation in the Bundestag, and the first which saw a fourth (fifth) party in the parliament since 1960. 1983 West German federal election Federal elections were held in West Germany on 6 March 1983 to elect the members of the 10th Bundestag. The CDU/CSU alliance led by Helmut Kohl remained the largest faction in parliament, with Kohl remaining Chancellor. In October 1982 CDU chairman Helmut Kohl was
1983 West German federal election
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Bahr (for the Federal Republic of Germany) and Michael Kohl (for the German Democratic Republic). As part of the "Ostpolitik" of Chancellor Willy Brandt, the treaty was signed on 21 December 1972 in East Berlin. It was ratified the next year in West Germany, despite opposition from hardline right-wingers. It came into effect in June 1973. The signing of the treaty paved the way for the two German states to be recognised by the international community. Diplomatic relations were opened between the German Democratic Republic and: Both German nations were also admitted to the United Nations on 18 September 1973.
Basic Treaty, 1972
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from West Berlin, and presented it to the Mayor of Hammersmith to mark its twinning with Neukölln. The lamp now stands on the wall of Westcott Lodge, facing Furnival Gardens, with a commemorative plaque below it. Even though Willy Brandt had only served 5 years in office as Chancellor of Germany, he remains as one of the most popular politicians in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany. From 1941 until 1948 Brandt was married to Anna Carlotta Thorkildsen (the daughter of a Norwegian father and a German-American mother). They had a daughter, Ninja Brandt (born in 1940). After
Willy Brandt
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Egon Bahr Egon Karl-Heinz Bahr (18 March 1922 – 19 August 2015) was a German SPD politician. The former journalist was the creator of the "Ostpolitik" promoted by West German Chancellor Willy Brandt, for whom he served as Secretary of the Chancellor's Office from 1969 until 1972. Between 1972 and 1990 he was an MP in the Bundestag of the Federal Republic of Germany and from 1972 until 1976 was also a Minister of the Federal Government. Bahr was a key figure in multiple negotiation sessions between not only East and West Germany, but also Germany and the Soviets. In
Egon Bahr
710245
Ostpolitik Neue Ostpolitik (German for "new eastern policy"), or Ostpolitik for short, was the normalization of relations between the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, or West Germany) and Eastern Europe, particularly the German Democratic Republic (GDR, or East Germany) beginning in 1969. Influenced by Egon Bahr, who proposed "change through rapprochement" in a 1963 speech at the Evangelische Akademie Tutzing, the policies were implemented beginning with Willy Brandt, fourth Chancellor of the FRG from 1969 to 1974. Ostpolitik was an effort to break with the policies of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which was the elected government of West Germany
Ostpolitik
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as the Museum Fridericianum (see below), were restored. In 1949, the interim parliament ("Parlamentarischer Rat") eliminated Kassel in the first round as a city to become the provisional capital of the Federal Republic of Germany (Bonn won). In 1964, the town hosted the fourth "Hessentag" state festival (again in 2013). In 1972 the Chancellor of West Germany Willy Brandt and the Prime Minister of the German Democratic Republic Willy Stoph met in Wilhelmshöhe Palace for negotiations between the two German states. In 1991 the central rail station moved from "Hauptbahnhof" () (today only used for regional trains) to "Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe". In
Kassel
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chairman Theodor Heuss in the second ballot. Schumacher died on 20 August 1952 of the long-term consequences of his concentration camp imprisonment during the Nazi years. Adenauer had favoured the formation of a smaller centre-right coalition from the beginning. Nominated by the CDU/CSU faction, he was elected the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany on 15 September 1949 by an absolute majority of 202 of 402 votes. Adenauer had ensured that the votes of the predominantly Social Democrat West Berlin deputies did not count and later stated that he "naturally" had voted for himself. On 20 September, he
1949 West German federal election
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he cannot rule by decree. However, in case of a "legislative emergency" the German President can accept legislature without approval of the "Bundestag" (parliament). Article 81 of the German constitution states the possibility that the President can by this means keep a government capable of action even in case of loss of a constructive majority in the Bundestag. Furthermore, the German President can dissolve the "Bundestag" (parliament) if the Chancellor loses a and asks the President to do so. The German President has exercised this right three times since the founding of the Federal Republic in 1949. President Gustav Heinemann
Reserve power
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confidence in the German post-war republic in the international community. His further state visits to Turkey, Italy, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom contributed greatly to the increase of appreciation toward the still young Federal Republic of Germany. He was opposed to re-armament and the founding of the new West German Army in 1955, but had no power to stop it. His ironic speech at the swearing in of the first new soldiers, ""Nun siegt mal schön!"" ("Happy war-winning!"), is well remembered. In 1959, Heuss was awarded the prestigious Peace Prize of the German Book Trade ("Friedenspreis des
Theodor Heuss
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is often referred to as East Germany. For decades until Chancellor Willy Brandt started his "Ostpolitik" in 1969, official West German usage spoke of "Central Germany" to denote the German Democratic Republic. The term was used by both the Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democratic Party of Germany, and by a large number of West German residents who had been expelled from the eastern provinces, who held a wide range of political views. However, after the West German Federal government accepted the fixed eastern border with Poland in 1970, implying that parts of Poland were still "eastern Germany" was
Central Germany (cultural area)
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estimated 2.4 million ethnic Germans were deported to East and West Germany, of whom several thousand perished in the population movement. There have been calls within Germany for the compensation of the refugees, which the Czech government has refused to entertain, citing the German occupation, wartime injustices, the German minority's support for the Nazi party, genocidal plans by the German government, and atrocities such as the Lidice Massacre. After the end of the Cold War, relations warmed between the newly-reunified Federal Republic of Germany and the newly-democratic Czech Republic. On February 27, 1992, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Czechoslovak President
Czech Republic–Germany relations
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it is regarded as impolite and was seen as a way of acknowledging Merkel's future leadership. There is one living former German Chancellor: Chancellor of Germany The title Chancellor has designated different offices in the history of Germany. It is currently used for the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (), the head of government of Germany. The term, dating from the Early Middle Ages, is derived from the Latin term "cancellarius". The modern office of chancellor evolved from the position created for Otto von Bismarck in the North German Confederation in 1867; this federal state evolved into a
Chancellor of Germany
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the new capital city of the Federal Republic of Germany, Bonn. His best known building was the residence for the Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, built for Ludwig Erhard, the so-called Chancellor's Bungalow. His father was Josef Ruf and his mother was Wilhelmine Mina Ruf (née Scharrer). The family of his father came from Dinkelsbühl and his mother's family lived in Weißenburg in Bayern, both in middle Franconia. He had a brother Franz Ruf born 1909. His first years at school he spent in a primary school in Munich. He was a Roman Catholic and went to
Sep Ruf
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Hans Krüger Hans Krüger (6 July 1902 – 3 November 1971) was a former member of the NSDAP party and other Nazi organizations who served as an "SS" judge in occupied Poland during the Second World War. After the war he became West German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He served as Federal Minister for Displaced Persons, Refugees and War Victims of the Federal Republic of Germany from 17 October 1963 to 7 February 1964, in the First Cabinet of Chancellor Ludwig Erhard, as President of the Federation of Expellees from 1959 to 1964, and as a Member
Hans Krüger
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a lawyer. He died in Bonn. Hans Krüger Hans Krüger (6 July 1902 – 3 November 1971) was a former member of the NSDAP party and other Nazi organizations who served as an "SS" judge in occupied Poland during the Second World War. After the war he became West German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He served as Federal Minister for Displaced Persons, Refugees and War Victims of the Federal Republic of Germany from 17 October 1963 to 7 February 1964, in the First Cabinet of Chancellor Ludwig Erhard, as President of the Federation of Expellees from 1959
Hans Krüger
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Chancellor of Germany The title Chancellor has designated different offices in the history of Germany. It is currently used for the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (), the head of government of Germany. The term, dating from the Early Middle Ages, is derived from the Latin term "cancellarius". The modern office of chancellor evolved from the position created for Otto von Bismarck in the North German Confederation in 1867; this federal state evolved into a German nation-state with the 1871 Unification of Germany. The role of the chancellor has varied greatly throughout Germany's modern history. Today, the chancellor
Chancellor of Germany
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Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs The Federal Ministry for Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) is a federal ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany headed by the Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs as a member of the Cabinet of Germany ("Bundesregierung"). Its first location is on Wilhelmstrasse in Berlin, the second in Bonn. The Reich Ministry of Labour of the Weimar Republic was established on 13 February 1919 as the successor of the Labour Office ("Reichsarbeitsamt") of the German Empire. The Social Democratic politician Gustav Bauer became the first Minister for Labour under Chancellor Philipp Scheidemann,
Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs
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1969 West German federal election Federal elections were held in West Germany on 28 September 1969 to elect the members of the 6th Bundestag. The CDU/CSU remained the largest faction and the Social Democratic Party remained the largest single party in the Bundestag, winning 237 of the 518 seats. Upon the resignation of Chancellor Ludwig Erhard on 1 December 1966, a grand coalition of Christian Democrats and Social Democrats had governed West Germany under Federal Chancellor Kurt Georg Kiesinger (CDU) with SPD chairman Willy Brandt as vice-chancellor and foreign minister. Economics Minister Karl Schiller (SPD) had proposed revaluing (increasing the
1969 West German federal election
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Helmut Schmidt Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt (; 23 December 1918 – 10 November 2015) was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), who served as Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) from 1974 to 1982. Before becoming Chancellor, he had served as Minister of Defence (1969–1972) and as Minister of Finance (1972–1974). In the latter role he gained credit for his financial policies. He had also served briefly as Minister of Economics and as acting Foreign Minister. As Chancellor, he focused on international affairs, seeking "political unification of Europe in partnership
Helmut Schmidt
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no one ever held the rank, however. The ranks of "Generalfeldmarschall", "Generaloberst", "Großadmiral" and "Generaladmiral" no longer exist in the new German (until 1990 West German) Armed Forces, the Bundeswehr, which were created in 1956. Currently, the highest military grades in the Bundeswehr are general and admiral. The Commander-in-Chief of the Bundeswehr is in peacetime, according to Article 65a of the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany (constitution), the civilian Federal Minister of Defence, who holds supreme command authority over all soldiers. In wartime, that supreme command authority is transferred to the "Federal Chancellor". The Inspector General of
Generalfeldmarschall
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formed the Cabinet Adenauer I of CDU/CSU, FDP, and DP ministers. Chosen as an interim Chancellor, he held the office until 1963, being re-elected three times (in 1953, in 1957 and in 1961). 1949 West German federal election Federal elections were held in West Germany on 14 August 1949 to elect the first Bundestag, with a further eight seats elected in West Berlin between 1949 and January 1952 and another eleven between February 1952 and 1953. They were the first contested elections since 1933 and the first after the division of the country. After World War II, the German Instrument
1949 West German federal election
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or elected. Walter Scheel Walter Scheel (; 8 July 1919 – 24 August 2016) was a German politician. A member of the Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP), he first served in government as Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development from 1961-1966. He led the FDP from 1968-1974. During the Chancellorship of Willy Brandt, Scheel was Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs and Vice Chancellor. Scheel became acting Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 7-16 May 1974 following Brandt's resignation after the Guillaume Affair. He was elected shortly after as President of Germany, remaining in the role until
Walter Scheel
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Walter Scheel Walter Scheel (; 8 July 1919 – 24 August 2016) was a German politician. A member of the Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP), he first served in government as Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development from 1961-1966. He led the FDP from 1968-1974. During the Chancellorship of Willy Brandt, Scheel was Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs and Vice Chancellor. Scheel became acting Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 7-16 May 1974 following Brandt's resignation after the Guillaume Affair. He was elected shortly after as President of Germany, remaining in the role until 1979. Scheel
Walter Scheel
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chancellor of the Austrian Empire (1821–1848), likewise Prince Hardenberg acted as Prussian chancellor (1810–1822). The German Confederation of 1815-1866 did not have a government or parliament, only the Bundestag as representative organ of the states. In the now defunct German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany), which existed from 7 October 1949 to 3 October 1990 (when the territory of the former GDR was reunified with the Federal Republic of Germany), the position of chancellor did not exist. The equivalent position was called either Minister President "(Ministerpräsident)" or Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the GDR "(Vorsitzender des Ministerrats der
Chancellor of Germany
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set the guidelines for all policy areas, thus making the chancellor the real chief executive. The role is generally comparable to that of a prime minister in other parliamentary democracies. The 8th and current Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany is Angela Merkel, who was elected in 2005 and re-elected in 2009, 2013 and 2018. She is the first female chancellor since the establishment of the original office in 1867 and is known in German as ', the feminine form of '. Merkel is also the first chancellor elected since the fall of the Berlin Wall to have been
Chancellor of Germany (1949–present)
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Franz Josef Strauss Franz Josef Strauss ( ; 6 September 1915 – 3 October 1988) was a German politician. He was the long-time chairman of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU) from 1961 until 1988, member of the federal cabinet in different positions between 1953 and 1969 and minister-president of the state of Bavaria from 1978 until 1988. Strauss is also credited as a co-founder of European aerospace conglomerate Airbus. After the 1969 federal elections, West Germany's CDU/CSU alliance found itself out of power for the first time since the founding of the Federal Republic. At this time, Strauss
Franz Josef Strauss
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by the Federal Republic of Germany. Its highest-ranking body is the Board of Trustees (Kuratorium) with representatives of the federal government, the German Bundestag (Parliament) and the governments of the German Länder, or states. The museum was founded on 28 October 1987, on the occasion of the 750th anniversary of the founding of Berlin; it was inaugurated in the Reichstag building in former West Berlin. After the success of an exhibition on Prussia, which was shown in the Martin-Gropius-Bau in 1981, the then Governing Mayor of (West) Berlin, Richard von Weizsäcker, commissioned four prominent historians – Hartmut Boockmann, Eberhard Jäckel,
Deutsches Historisches Museum
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and the Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, which are also part of the Museumsmeile. The Haus der Geschichte can be directly accessed from the subway station (Heusallee/Museumsmeile). In his government statement of October 13, 1982, right after taking office, Chancellor of Germany Helmut Kohl called for a collection of German history and the German division after 1945. He presented plans to establish a museum of German history in West Berlin, to be complemented by a "House of History of the Federal Republic of Germany" in Bonn dedicated specifically to the West German state. While some feared that a national
Haus der Geschichte
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also continued to be a party to all the treaties the old West Germany signed prior to the moment of reunification. The Basic Law and statutory laws that were in force in the Federal Republic, as amended in accordance with the Unification Treaty, continued automatically in force, but now applied to the expanded territory. Also, the same President, Chancellor (Prime Minister) and Government of the Federal Republic remained in office, but their jurisdiction now included the newly acquired territory of the former East Germany. To facilitate this process and to reassure other countries, fundamental changes were made to the "Basic
German reunification
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1976 West German federal election Federal elections were held in West Germany on 3 October 1976 to elect the members of the eighth Bundestag. Although the CDU/CSU alliance became the largest faction in parliament, Helmut Schmidt of the Social Democratic Party remained Chancellor. The coalition of SPD and FDP wanted to be re-elected, with the SPD, since 1974 led by Helmut Schmidt—the party's candidate for Chancellor. CDU and CSU tried to achieve an absolute majority of the votes to make CDU chairman Helmut Kohl Chancellor. The coalition between the SPD and the FDP remained in government, with Helmut Schmidt as
1976 West German federal election
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as a single bloc in the Bundestag). 1957 West German federal election Federal elections were held in West Germany on 15 September 1957 to elect the third Bundestag. The Christian Democratic Union and its longtime ally, the Christian Social Union in Bavaria, won a sweeping victory, taking 277 seats in the Bundestag to win the first--and to date, only--absolute majority for a single German parliamentary group in a free election. Federal Chancellor Adenauer had some solid advantages over his Social Democratic opponent, Erich Ollenhauer: West Germany had become fully sovereign in 1955, it had joined the European Economic Community in
1957 West German federal election
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1957 West German federal election Federal elections were held in West Germany on 15 September 1957 to elect the third Bundestag. The Christian Democratic Union and its longtime ally, the Christian Social Union in Bavaria, won a sweeping victory, taking 277 seats in the Bundestag to win the first--and to date, only--absolute majority for a single German parliamentary group in a free election. Federal Chancellor Adenauer had some solid advantages over his Social Democratic opponent, Erich Ollenhauer: West Germany had become fully sovereign in 1955, it had joined the European Economic Community in March 1957, its economy grew steadily with
1957 West German federal election
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for publishing a memo detailing alleged weaknesses in the German armed forces (known as the Spiegel scandal). In 1963 Adenauer finally resigned; Ludwig Erhard took over his position as head of the coalition and government. 1961 West German federal election Federal elections were held in West Germany on 17 September 1961 to elect the members of the fourth Bundestag. CDU/CSU remained the largest faction, while the Social Democratic Party narrowly became the largest individual party in the Bundestag, winning 203 of the 521 seats. For the first time, the SPD announced a "chancellor-candidate", who was not chairman of the party:
1961 West German federal election
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1983 West German federal election Federal elections were held in West Germany on 6 March 1983 to elect the members of the 10th Bundestag. The CDU/CSU alliance led by Helmut Kohl remained the largest faction in parliament, with Kohl remaining Chancellor. In October 1982 CDU chairman Helmut Kohl was elected Chancellor by a CDU/CSU and FDP majority in the Bundestag, while the FDP in 1980 still was on the side of the SPD. Early elections were arranged. The SPD encountered difficulties because on the left a new party was emerging, the Greens. A major issue in this election was the
1983 West German federal election
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failure on 5 May 1977. He was buried in Gmund, near the Tegernsee. The Ludwig Erhard-Berufsschule (professional college) in Paderborn, Fürth and Münster are named in his honour. The term of Erhard's first ministry was from 16 October 1963 to 26 October 1965. Following his re-election on 26 October 1965, Erhard's second ministry ran until his resignation on 1 December 1966. Ludwig Erhard Ludwig Wilhelm Erhard (; 4 February 1897 – 5 May 1977) was a German politician affiliated with the CDU and the second Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) from 1963 until 1966. He is
Ludwig Erhard
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is a son of the lawyer Clement de Maizière. His uncle Ulrich de Maizière was Inspector General of the "Bundeswehr" (the West German Armed Forces). His cousin Thomas de Maizière is a close advisor to Chancellor Angela Merkel and served as the Federal Minister of the Interior from 17 December 2013 to 14 March 2018 in Merkel's third cabinet. Lothar de Maizière Lothar de Maizière (; born 2 March 1940) is a German Christian Democratic politician. In 1990, he served as the only democratically elected prime minister of the German Democratic Republic, and as such was the last leader of
Lothar de Maizière
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parties, any party that wins at least three constituency seats is entitled to its share of proportionally-elected seats, regardless of vote share. This was the first time in the history of the Federal Republic that the FDP was not the third largest party in the chamber. 1994 German federal election Federal elections were held in Germany on 16 October 1994 to elect the members of the 13th Bundestag. The CDU/CSU alliance led by Helmut Kohl remained the largest faction in parliament, with Kohl remaining Chancellor. This elected Bundestag was largest in history until 2017, numbering 672 members. The SPD let
1994 German federal election
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He gave a longer speech at the act of state at the Berliner Philharmonie later that day. In 1990, Weizsäcker became the first head of state of the German Federal Republic to visit Poland. During his four-day visit, he reassured Poles that the newly unified German state would treat their western and northern borders, which included prewar German lands, as inviolable. In 1992, Weizsäcker gave the eulogy at the state funeral of former Chancellor Willy Brandt at the "Reichstag", the first state funeral for a former chancellor to take place in Berlin since the death of Gustav Stresemann in 1929.
Richard von Weizsäcker
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the European Union. The official name of West Germany, adopted in 1949 and unchanged since is (Federal Republic of Germany). In East Germany, the terms (West Germany) or (West German Federal Republic) were preferred during the 1950s and 1960s. This changed once under its 1968 constitution, when the idea of a single German nation was abandoned by East Germany and West Germans and West Berliners were officially considered foreigners. In the early 1970s, starting in the East German , the initialism "BRD" (FRG) for the "Federal Republic of Germany" began to prevail in East German usage. In 1973, official East
West Germany
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Dieter Burdenski Dieter Burdenski (born 26 November 1950 in Bremen, Germany) is a German former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Dieter Burdenski is the father of Fabian Burdenski (1991–) and the son of Herbert Burdenski (1922–2001), who was a German international himself. An outfield player, unlike his son, Herbert Burdenski was capped five times (two goals) by Sepp Herberger, playing just two of these five games after World War II. Converting a penalty in West Germany's first post-war international (against Switzerland on 22 November 1950), Dieter Burdenski's father became the first ever goalscorer for the Federal Republic of Germany.
Dieter Burdenski
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Chancellor. Between the "sister parties" of CDU and Bavarian CSU there emerged a critical conflict, as the CSU leader Franz Josef Strauß wanted to break both the united Bundestag group of the parties and the agreement not to compete against each other in any Land. Later, this attack was withdrawn, while Strauß became candidate for chancellor for the 1980 elections. 1976 West German federal election Federal elections were held in West Germany on 3 October 1976 to elect the members of the eighth Bundestag. Although the CDU/CSU alliance became the largest faction in parliament, Helmut Schmidt of the Social Democratic
1976 West German federal election
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party of Federal Chancellor. To ensure his victory in this Bundestag election, Erhard promised to cut income tax and to increase social program spending. The coalition between the CDU/CSU and the FDP returned to government, with Ludwig Erhard as Chancellor. In 1966, the FDP left the coalition over budget issues, and Erhard resigned. Kurt Georg Kiesinger (also CDU) formed a new grand coalition between the CDU/CSU and the SPD which lasted until the next election. 1965 West German federal election Federal elections were held in West Germany on 19 September 1965 to elect the members of the 5th Bundestag. The
1965 West German federal election
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March 15, 1991. On October 3, 1990, East Germany formally ceased to exist. The five recreated states in its former territory acceded to the Federal Republic, while East and West Berlin reunited to form the third city-state of the Federal Republic. Thus the East German population was the first from the Eastern Bloc to join the EC as a part of the reunified Federal Republic of Germany ("see German reunification"). History of East Germany The German Democratic Republic (GDR), ("DDR"), often known in English as East Germany, existed from 1949 to 1990. It covered the area of the present-day German
History of East Germany
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Frankfurt Documents Frankfurt Documents were a series of documents which were an important step on the way to the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany. On July 1, 1948 the representatives of the Western allied occupation forces handed over a number of documents to the prime ministers and two ruling mayors from the western zones of occupation, in which the recommendations were made, including establishing a West German state. The main problem of these recommendations was that they did not provide all-German solution, but only a West German state. The Frankfurt documents formed a working basis for the work
Frankfurt Documents
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was an important member of the . In 1946 she joined with , Anna Stiegler, and Irmgard Enderle to become a founding member of the , widely recognised as a non-party non-denominational umbrella organisation for women's organisations from all parts of society in the city-state. Till 1951 she participated on the executive board. Following the Berlin Blockade of 1948/49 the three western occupation zones were relaunched, in May 1949, as the German Federal Republic (West Germany). In response the Soviet sponsored German Democratic Republic (East Germany) was relaunched in October 1949 in what had, till that point, been administered as
Käthe Lübeck
1920607
Die Zeit Die Zeit (, literally "The Time") is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in north Germany. The first edition of "Die Zeit" was first published in Hamburg on 21 February 1946. The founding publishers were Gerd Bucerius, Lovis H. Lorenz, Richard Tüngel and Ewald Schmidt di Simoni. Another important founder was Marion Gräfin Dönhoff, who joined as an editor in 1946. She became publisher of "Die Zeit" from 1972 until her death in 2002, together from 1983 onwards with former German chancellor Helmut Schmidt, later joined by Josef Joffe and former German federal secretary of culture
Die Zeit
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election was the environment, after the Chernobyl disaster and other accidents. The coalition between the CDU/CSU and the FDP returned to government, with Helmut Kohl as Chancellor. The Greens came into parliament for the second time and seemed to be established on federal level. 1987 West German federal election Federal elections were held in West Germany on 25 January 1987 to elect the members of the 11th Bundestag. This was the last federal election held in West Germany prior to German reunification. The SPD nominated Johannes Rau, their vice chairman and the Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia, as their candidate for
1987 West German federal election
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of 1914, the declaration of war against Serbia was prepared here at the behest of Minister Count Leopold Berchtold. On 30 October 1918 the German-speaking deputies of the Cisleithanian Imperial Council convened as a provisional National Assembly of German Austria to elect a "Staatsrat" government headed by Chancellor Karl Renner. According to the 1920 Constitution of Austria ("Bundes-Verfassungsgesetz", B-VG) authored by Hans Kelsen, the office of the Austrian chancellor was established, with his residence on Ballhausplatz. Several chancellors of the Austrian First Republic also served as Foreign Ministers, a separate Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs was not established until 1959
Chancellery (Austria)
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Werner Hilpert Werner Johannes Hilpert (17 January 1897 in Leipzig; died 24 February 1957 in Oberursel) was a German politician of the Centre Party and CDU, and is largely considered one of the founding fathers of the Federal Republic of Germany. Werner Hilpert was born in Leipzig on 17 January 1897 as the first son of Johann Baptist und Martha (Rabe) Hilpert. His father held various jobs at the firm Giesecke & Devrient ranging from engraver to manager. After experiencing considerable success throughout his time at Gymnasium, Hilpert was awarded a scholarship and began studying economics, legal science, and philosophy
Werner Hilpert
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was a member of the German Bundestag. Between 1965 and 1966 he was federal government minister for displaced and war-damaged persons. In 1966 he became federal minister for all-German issues in the second cabinet of chancellor Ludwig Erhard. After Erhard's death he became father of the house of the Bundestag. He was the first father of the house born in the 20th century. Gradl was married to Marianne Brecour, and they had four children. He was a member of the Catholic parish of Mater Dolorosa in Berlin-Lankwitz and he is buried in a tomb of honour in Berlin-Tempelhof. Johann Baptist
Johann Baptist Gradl
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nevertheless considered a success, as Gorbachev was quoted afterwards saying that "a new page of history was opened", after the two had discussed matters of disarmament. Also in 1987, Erich Honecker became the first East German leader to visit the Federal Republic. While state guests in Germany are usually welcomed by the President, Honecker was still not greeted officially by Weizsäcker, but by chancellor Kohl, since the Federal Republic did not consider the GDR a foreign state. Weizsäcker did however receive Honecker later at his seat of office, the Hammerschmidt Villa. As an elder statesman, Weizsäcker long remained involved in
Richard von Weizsäcker
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German mission in Bonn was accredited to the West German Chancellery, its West German counterpart in East Berlin was accredited to East Germany's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Permanent representatives of the FRG in the GDR were: Permanent representatives of the GDR in the FRG were: On the main side of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Germany) building on Hannoverschen Street on a small square between the west wing of the Ministry and a building of the Humboldt University of Berlin there were three ginkgo biloba tree. Günter Gaus, the first Permanent Representative, reported in an interview with Die
Permanent Representatives of Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic
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when the Labour Party was in power under Harold Wilson, Crozier stated if the government went "too far", it was the armed forces' duty to intervene (he claimed that he was enthusiastically applauded). In 1982 it was revealed from the papers of former Bavarian state security chief Hans Langemann that Crozier was an attendant of Le Cercle and headed a secret international group that tried to influence the West German federal election of 1980 by using secret-service connections and cover-up financial transactions to make Franz Josef Strauß Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. HarperCollins published Crozier's autobiography, "Free Agent:
Brian Crozier
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1949 West German federal election Federal elections were held in West Germany on 14 August 1949 to elect the first Bundestag, with a further eight seats elected in West Berlin between 1949 and January 1952 and another eleven between February 1952 and 1953. They were the first contested elections since 1933 and the first after the division of the country. After World War II, the German Instrument of Surrender and the country's division into four Allied occupation zones, the elections were held in the Federal Republic of Germany, established under occupation statute in the three Western zones with the proclamation
1949 West German federal election
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Bundestag MPs of the social-liberal coalition re-elected Willy Brandt chancellor. His Cabinet Brandt II returned to government the next day, again with FDP chairman Walter Scheel as vice-chancellor and foreign minister. Defeated Rainer Barzel resigned as CDU chairman on 9 May 1973, he was succeeded by Helmut Kohl. On 7 May 1974, Brandt would resign in the course of the Guillaume Affair, after one of his personal aides had been unmasked as a "Stasi" agent. The coalition continued under his party fellow Helmut Schmidt, while Brandt remained SPD chairman until 1987. 1972 West German federal election Federal elections were held
1972 West German federal election
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Federalism in Germany Federalism in Germany is made of the states of Germany and the federal government. The central government, the states, and the German municipalities have different tasks and partially competing regions of responsibilities ruled by a complex system of checks and balances. German federalism dates back to the founding of the Holy Roman Empire in the Middle Ages, to the reforms that came with the Peace of Westphalia and to the constitution of the German Empire from 1871. Since re-unification in 1990, the Federal Republic has consisted of sixteen states: the ten states of the former West Germany,
Federalism in Germany
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South Baden South Baden (), formed in December 1945 from the southern half of the former Republic of Baden, was a subdivision of the French occupation zone of post-World War II Germany. The state was later renamed to Baden and became a founding state of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany, today simply Germany) in 1949. In 1952, Baden became part of the modern German state of Baden-Württemberg. At the Yalta Conference in 1945, France was allocated an occupation zone for the administration of post-war Germany. The south-west of Germany – previously consisting of Baden, Württemberg and the Prussian
South Baden
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1987 West German federal election Federal elections were held in West Germany on 25 January 1987 to elect the members of the 11th Bundestag. This was the last federal election held in West Germany prior to German reunification. The SPD nominated Johannes Rau, their vice chairman and the Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia, as their candidate for Chancellor. However, the SPD suffered from internal divisions and competition with the Greens. It was also unclear as to how they would form a government, as the Greens were divided over whether to take part in governments. One of the major issues in this
1987 West German federal election
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the International Society for Human Rights in 1982, with the founding of branches in Austria, Switzerland, the UK and France. Since then it has grown to include 35 National Sections, National Groups, Regional Committees and Affiliated Organisations worldwide. Well known members of ISHR include West German Chancellor Ludwig Erhard, former Austro-Hungarian Crown Prince Otto von Habsburg, former Attorney General of Germany Ludwig Martin and Chinese human rights activist Harry Wu. During the Cold War, the International Society for Human Rights focused mostly on human rights violations in the states of the Eastern bloc. The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) declared
International Society for Human Rights
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Germany then adopting the principle that the GDR and the Federal Republic were "two German states within one German nation". Claims to an exclusive mandate were formally relinquished, West Germany accepting that, within its own boundaries, the GDR represented its population as a German state outside the Federal Republic. In addition, although the Federal Republic still did not recognise the GDR as being fully a sovereign state in international law, it nevertheless accepted that within the forum of international law East Germany was an independent sovereign state with which the Federal Republic could enter into binding international agreements. But in
West Germany
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Secretary of State only answerable to the chancellor. After World War I, the newly established Weimar Republic had to face huge reparations and a fiscal emergency. To cope with the implications, the former "Reichsschatzamt" in 1919 was re-organised as a federal ministry, the "Reichsministerium der Finanzen", as supreme financial authority headed by a federal minister. Besides a Reich Treasury Ministry ("Reichsschatzministerium") was established for the administration of the federal property, both agencies were merged in 1923. Already in the German cabinet of Chancellor Franz von Papen, Undersecretary Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk was appointed Finance Minister in 1932, an office
Federal Ministry of Finance (Germany)
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not entirely—because of the economic problems of the Federal Republic. He was replaced by the Grand Coalition consisting of the Christian Democratic Union (Christlich Demokratische Union—CDU), its sister party the Christian Social Union (Christlich-Soziale Union—CSU), and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands—SPD) under Chancellor Kurt Georg Kiesinger of the CDU. Under the pressure of the slowdown, the new West German Grand Coalition government abandoned Erhard's broad laissez-faire orientation. The new minister for economics, Karl Schiller, argued strongly for legislation that would give the federal government and his ministry greater authority to guide economic policy. In 1967 the
Economic history of Germany
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Berlin Wall in August 1961, Mende urged his party not to join Adenauer in another coalition. The FDP did not take his advice. He refused to take office, only changing his position once Ludwig Erhard had replaced Adenauer as Chancellor in 1963. Under Erhard Mende served as Vice-Chancellor (deputy head of government) and Minister for All-German Affairs. His task was to promote relations with Communist East Germany, the German Democratic Republic, not then recognised by the West Germans. During his period of office West Berliners were permitted, for the first time, to cross the Wall for Christmas visits in December
Erich Mende
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may have been influenced by the , a document based on French law which incorporated elements of gender equality before the law and the concept of equal pay for equal work. To the north and east of the region lay West Germany, which under Chancellor Adenauer would have been seen as a relatively conservative society in respect of such matters. After 1955 the Saarland was integrated into the German Federal Republic (West Germany). Klein passed her Abitur (school final exams) at the in nearby Dillingen. She studied Jurisprudence and Psychology at Saarbrücken and, from 1972, as a referendary in Berlin.
Anne Klein (senator)
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some important "reserve powers" in case of political instability (such as those provided for by Article 81 of the Basic Law). Under Article 59 (1) of the Basic Law (German Constitution), the Federal President represents the Federal Republic of Germany in matters of international law, concludes treaties with foreign states on its behalf and accredits diplomats. Furthermore, all federal laws must be signed by the President before they can come into effect; however, he/she can only veto a law that he believes to violate the constitution. The Chancellor is the head of government and the most influential figure in German
Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany
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political, social, and economic systems. The Volkskammer, the Parliament of East Germany, passed a resolution on 23 August 1990 declaring the accession ("Beitritt") of the German Democratic Republic to the Federal Republic of Germany, and the extension of the field of application of the Federal Republic's Basic Law to the territory of East Germany as allowed by article 23 of the West German Basic Law, effective 3 October 1990. The East German Declaration of Accession ("Beitrittserklärung") to the Federal Republic, as provided by article 23 of the West German Basic Law, was approved by the Volkskammer on 23 August, and
German reunification