Walter Scheel
Walter Scheel | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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President of West Germany[a] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 1 July 1974 – 30 June 1979 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chancellor | Helmut Schmidt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Gustav Heinemann | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Karl Carstens | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chancellor of West Germany[b] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Acting 7 May 1974 – 16 May 1974 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
President | Gustav Heinemann | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Willy Brandt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Helmut Schmidt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Vice Chancellor of West Germany | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 22 October 1969 – 16 May 1974 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chancellor | Willy Brandt himself(acting) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Willy Brandt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Hans-Dietrich Genscher | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Minister of Foreign Affairs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 21 October 1969 – 16 May 1974 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chancellor | Willy Brandt himself(acting) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Willy Brandt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Hans-Dietrich Genscher | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Vice President of the Bundestag (on proposal of the FDP group) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 8 September 1967 – 19 October 1969 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
President | Eugen Gerstenmaier Kai-Uwe von Hassel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Thomas Dehler | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Liselotte Funcke | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Minister for Economic Cooperation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 14 November 1961 – 28 October 1966 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chancellor | Konrad Adenauer Ludwig Erhard | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Office established | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Werner Dollinger | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Walter Scheel 8 July 1919 Höhscheid,Rhine Province,Free State of Prussia,Weimar Republic(nowSolingen-Höhscheid,North Rhine-Westphalia,Germany) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 24 August 2016 Bad Krozingen,Baden-Württemberg,Germany | (aged 97)||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Political party | Free Democratic Party(1946–2016) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other political affiliations | Nazi Party(1942–1945) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spouses |
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Children | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Occupation |
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Walter Scheel(German:[ˈvaltɐˈʃeːl] ;8 July 1919 – 24 August 2016)[1]was a German statesman. A member of theNazi Partythat joined theFree Democratic Party of Germany(FDP) in 1946, he first served in government as theFederal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Developmentfrom 1961 to 1966 and later asPresident of Germanyfrom 1974 to 1979. He led the FDP from 1968 to 1974.[2]
During the chancellorship ofWilly Brandt,Scheel wasFederal Minister of Foreign Affairsand theVice Chancellor.Scheel becameacting Chancellor of West Germanyfrom 7–16 May 1974 following Brandt's resignation after theGuillaume Affair.He was elected shortly after as thepresident of West Germany,remaining in the role until 1979. Scheel was a member of theProtestant Church in Germany.
Early life
[edit]Scheel was born inSolingen(now inNorth Rhine-Westphalia). He completed hisAbiturat theReformrealgymnsasium Schwertstraße.[3]
Scheel became a member of theNazi Partyin 1942.[4]DuringWorld War II,he served in theLuftwaffeduring the last years of the war as a radar operator on aBf 110night fighter.[citation needed]
Political career
[edit]This sectionneeds additional citations forverification.(February 2017) |
When hisFree Democratic Partyreentered government in a coalition withKonrad Adenauer'sChristian Democratic Unionin 1961, Scheel was appointed federal minister of economic cooperation and development. He continued in that office under ChancellorLudwig Erhardbut brought about the downfall of the latter in late 1966 by resigning.
A Christian Democratic/Social DemocraticGrand Coalition followed. During this time, in 1968, Scheel took over the party presidency from right wing liberalErich Mende.According to one study, the election of Walter Scheel to the FDP leadership in 1968 “represented a turn to the left and the Free Democrats then indicated their wooing of the SPD by voting for the successful Social Democratic candidate for the Presidency of the Republic, Gustav Heinemann, in 1969.”[5][page needed]
In 1969, he led his party to form a new coalition with the Social Democrats. Under ChancellorWilly Brandt,Scheel becameForeign MinisterandVice Chancellor.Under their leadership, West Germany pursued a course of rapprochement and détente with the Soviet block and officially recognized the existence of theGerman Democratic Republic(GDR). This policy caused a massive public debate, with various Free and Social Democrats switching sides to the opposition. Though an attempt to oust Brandt failed, the coalition had lost its slender majority. The parliamentary stalemate was ended by the dissolution of parliament and early elections in 1972, which brought great gains for the Social Democrats and enabled the coalition to continue.
On 7 May 1974, Brandt resigned aschancellorafter one of his aides,Günter Guillaume,was arrested as a spy for the East German state. Though this had been internally suspected since 1973, Brandt accepted responsibility and resigned. Scheel, as acting chancellor, chaired the government meetings for a little over a week, untilHelmut Schmidtwas elected.[6]One of his first official acts as acting Chancellor was the award of the war blind radio play prize to Alfred Behrens on 8 May 1974. On 14 May, he chaired the cabinet meeting once.[7]Hans Dietrich Genscherbecame Scheel's successor as party chairman and as minister.[citation needed]
Scheel was electedPresident of West Germany,a week after relinquishing his other government roles. He held the office from July 1974 until June 1979. At the funeral ofHanns Martin Schleyerin October 1977, Scheel gave a speech entitledshame.After the federal presidency, Scheel was Chairman of theBilderberg Conferenceas well as President of theEuropean Movementin Germany from 1980 to 1985. From 1980 to 1989 he was also President of the German section of theUnion of European Federalists (UEF).He was named honorary chairman of theFriedrich Naumann Foundationin 1991.[citation needed]
Death
[edit]Scheel died on 24 August 2016 following a long illness.[8][9][10]Having lived to 97 years, 47 days he holds the record as the longest-lived German head of state, either imperial or elected.[citation needed]
Publications
[edit]- withKarl-Hermann FlachandWerner Maihofer:Die Freiburger Thesen der Liberalen.Rowohlt, Hamburg 1972,ISBN3-499-11545-X.
- Die Zukunft der Freiheit – Vom Denken und Handeln in unserer Demokratie.Econ, 1979.
- Wen schmerzt noch Deutschlands Teilung? 2 Reden zum 17. Juni,Rowohlt, Reinbek 1986,ISBN3-499-18346-3.
- withOtto Graf Lambsdorff:Freiheit in Verantwortung, Deutscher Liberalismus seit 1945.Bleicher, 1988,ISBN3-88350-047-X.
- with Jürgen Engert:Erinnerungen und Einsichten.Hohenheim-Verlag, Stuttgart 2004,ISBN3-89850-115-9.
- with Tobias Thalhammer:Gemeinsam sind wir stärker – Zwölf erfreuliche Geschichten über Jung und Alt.Allpart Media, Berlin 2010,ISBN978-3-86214-011-4.
Notes
[edit]- ^Due to the division of Germany, Walter Scheel was only the President ofWest Germany.The termWest Germanyis the common English name for theFederal Republic of Germanybetween its formation on 23 May 1949 and theGerman reunificationthrough the accession ofEast Germanyon 3 October 1990.
- ^Due to the division of Germany, Walter Scheel was only the chancellor inWest Germany.The termWest Germanyis the common English name for theFederal Republic of Germanybetween its formation on 23 May 1949 and theGerman reunificationthrough the accession ofEast Germanyon 3 October 1990. The office of chancellor did not exist in East Germany.
Literature
[edit]- Hans-Dietrich Genscher(Hrsg.):Heiterkeit und Härte: Walter Scheel in seinen Reden und im Urteil von Zeitgenossen.Deutsche Verlagsanstalt, Stuttgart 1984,ISBN3-421-06218-8.
- Hans-Roderich Schneider:Präsident des Ausgleichs. Bundespräsident Walter Scheel. Ein liberaler Politiker.Verlag Bonn aktuell, Stuttgart 1975,ISBN3-87959-045-1.
References
[edit]- ^Profile of Walter Scheel
- ^"Walter Scheel (1974–1979)".German Federal Presidency.Retrieved13 July2013.
- ^Lohausen, Carsten (28 September 2013)."Aus Höhscheid in die Geschichtsbücher".Rheinische Post(in German).Retrieved21 February2016.
- ^Geschichte und Politik in den Reden der deutschen Bundespräsidenten 1949-1984, Matthias Rensing,p. 152
- ^Childs, David; Johnson, Jeffrey (1981).West Germany, politics and society.New York: St. Martin's Press.ISBN978-0-312-86300-5.
- ^"16. Mai 2004 - Vor 30 Jahren: Helmut Schmidt wird zum Bundeskanzler gewählt".WDR(in German).Retrieved24 August2016.
- ^Walter Scheel - Der 10-Tage-KanzlerIn:BR Podcast,26 October 2021.
- ^"Früherer Bundespräsident (1974-1979): Walter Scheel ist tot".SPIEGEL ONLINE(in German).Retrieved24 August2016.
- ^"Ehemaliger Bundespräsident Walter Scheel ist tot".Die Zeit(in German).Retrieved24 August2016.
- ^"Walter Scheel, Leading Figure in West German Thaw With the East, Dies at 97".The New York Times.24 August 2016.Retrieved25 August2016.
External links
[edit]
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- 20th-century presidents of Germany
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