Helmut Schmidt

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Helmut Schmidt

Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt (born 23 December 1918) is a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
Social Democratic

Social Democratic Party of Germany

The Social Democratic Party of Germany is Germany's oldest political party. After World War II, under the leadership of Kurt Schumacher, the SPD reestablished itself as an ideological party, representing the interests of the working class and the trade unions....
politician

Politician

A politician is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making through the influence of politics or a person who influences the way a society is governed....
who served as Chancellor of West Germany

West Germany

West Germany was the common English name for the Germany , from its formation in May 1949 to German reunification in October 1990, when East Germany was dissolved and its States of Germany became part of the Federal Republic, ending the more than 40-year division of Germany....
from 1974 to 1982. Prior to becoming chancellor, he had served as Minister of Defence and Minister of Finance. He had also served briefly as Minister of Economics and as acting Foreign Minister. He is the oldest German Chancellor alive.

ut Schmidt was born in Hamburg

Hamburg

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Encyclopedia

Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt (born 23 December 1918) is a German

Germany

Social Democratic Party of Germany

Politician

West Germany

Background

Helmut Schmidt was born in Hamburg

Hamburg

Hamburg is the second-largest city in Germany , and is the Largest cities of the European Union by population within city limits. The city is home to approximately 1.8 million people, while the Hamburg metropolitan area has more than 4.3 million inhabitants....
, as son of two teachers. He was educated at Hamburg Lichtwark school, graduating in 1937. He was conscripted into military service and began World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
serving with an anti-aircraft battery at Vegesack near Bremen. After brief service on the eastern front he returned to Germany in 1942 to work as a trainer and advisor at the Reichsluftfahrtministerium
Reich Air Ministry

The Reich Air Ministry was a government department during the period of Nazi Germany . It is also the original name of a building in Wilhelmstra?e in central Berlin, the capital of Germany, which now houses the German Finance Ministry ....
. Also in 1942, on 27 June, he married his childhood sweetheart Hannelore "Loki" Glaser, with whom he fathered two children: Helmut Walter (26 June 1944–February 1945, died of meningitis

Meningitis

Meningitis is a medical condition caused by inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as the meninges....
), and Susanne (b. 1947), who works in London

London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
for Bloomberg Television

Bloomberg Television

Bloomberg Television is a network that airs business and financial news 24 hours a day, and is distributed globally on ten separate channels. Bloomberg Television is owned and operated by Bloomberg L.P....
. Toward the end of the war, from December 1944 onwards, he served as Oberleutnant

Oberleutnant

Oberleutnant is a junior Officer rank in the militaries of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In the German army, it dates from the early 19th century....
in the artillery on the western front. He was captured by the British in April 1945 on Lüneburg Heath

Lüneburg Heath

The L?neburg Heath is a region in Lower Saxony, Germany. It covers the area between the cities of Hamburg, Hanover, and Bremen. Most of the area is a nature reserve....
and was a prisoner of war

Prisoner of war

A prisoner of war is a combatant who is held in continuing custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict....
until August.

Schmidt's father was the illegitimate son of a Jew

Jew

A Jew is a member of the Jewish people, an ethnoreligious group that traces its ancestry to the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East....
ish businessman, although this was kept secret in the family. This was confirmed publicly by Helmut Schmidt in 1984, after Valéry Giscard d'Estaing

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing

Val?ry Marie Ren? Georges Giscard d'Estaing,Constitutional Council of France , is a France centrism-conservatism politician who was President of France of the French Fifth Republic from 1974 until 1981....
had, apparently with Schmidt's assent, revealed the fact to journalists. Schmidt himself is a non-practicing Lutheran

Evangelical Church in Germany

Evangelical Church in Germany is a federation of 23 regional Lutheran, Reformed churches and United and uniting churches Protestant churches. In fact only one member church is not restricted to a certain territory....
.

Schmidt completed his education in Hamburg, studying economics

Economics

File:Ballard Farmers' Market - vegetables.jpgEconomics is the Social sciences that studies the Production theory basics, Distribution , and Consumption of Good and Service ....
and political science

Political science

Political science is a social science concerned with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior....
. He graduated in 1949.

Political career

Early years

Schmidt had joined the Social Democratic Party

Social Democratic Party of Germany

Sozialistischer Deutscher Studentenbund

Der Sozialistische Deutsche Studentenbund was founded 1946 in Hamburg, Germany, as the college organisation of the SPD . In the 1950s tensions between the SDS and the main party surfaced, particularly over the party's support of Germany's rearming, until in 1961 the SPD excluded all members of the SDS from the party....
, the then-student organisation of the SPD.

Upon leaving the university, he worked for the government of the city-state of Hamburg, working in the department of economic policy. Beginning in 1952, under Karl Schiller

Karl Schiller

Karl August Fritz Schiller was a Germany scientist and politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany . From 1966 to 1972, he was Federal Ministry for Economics and Labour and from 1971 to 1972 Federal Minister of Finance ....
, he was a senior figure in the Behörde für Wirtschaft und Verkehr (the Hamburg State Ministry for Economy and Transport).

He was elected to the Bundestag in 1953, and in 1957 he became member of the SPD parliamentary party executive. A vocal critic of conservative government policy, his outspoken rhetoric in parliament earned him the nick-name "Schmidt-Schnauze". In 1958, he joined the national board of the SPD (Bundesvorstand) and campaigned against nuclear weapon

Nuclear weapon

A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either nuclear fission or a combination of fission and nuclear fusion....
s and the equipping of the Bundeswehr with such devices. In 1958, he gave up his seat in parliament to concentrate on his tasks in Hamburg.

From 27 February 1958, to 29 November 1961, he was a Member of the European Parliament

Member of the European Parliament

A Member of the European Parliament is the English name for a person who has been elected to the European Parliament, of of the the European Union's two legislative bodies....
, which was not directly elected at the time.

Senator

The government of the city-state of Hamburg is known as the Senate, and from 1961 to 1965 Schmidt was the Innensenator, that is Minister of the Interior. He gained the reputation as a Macher (doer) someone who gets things done regardless of obstacles by his effective management during the emergency caused by the 1962 flood

North Sea flood of 1962

The North Sea flood of 1962 was a natural disaster affecting mainly the coastal regions of Germany and in particular the city of Hamburg in the night from February 16 to February 17, 1962....
. Schmidt used all means at his disposal to alleviate the situation, even when that meant overstepping his legal authority, including federal police

German Federal Police

The Bundespolizei is the uniformed Federal police of Germany. It is subordinate to the Federal Ministry of the Interior . Ordinary police forces fall under the administration of the individual German states and are known as the Landespolizei....
and army units

Bundeswehr

The Bundeswehr is the name of the unified armed forces of the Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities. The States of Germany are not allowed to maintain armed forces of their own, since the Constitution determines that matters of defense fall into the sole responsibility of the Federal government....
(ignoring the German constitution

Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany

The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany is the constitution of Germany. It was formally approved on May 8, 1949 and, with the signature of the Allies, came into effect on May 23, 1949 as the de facto constitution of West Germany....
's prohibition on using the army for "internal affairs"; a clause excluding disasters was not added until 1968). Describing his actions, Schmidt said, "I have not been put in charge of these units; I have taken charge of them!"

This characteristic was coupled with a pragmatic attitude and opposition to political idealism, including those of student protests, best symbolised by his well known remark that "People who have a vision should go see a doctor."

Return to Federal politics

In 1965, he was re-elected to the Bundestag

Bundestag

The 'Bundestag' is the parliament of Germany. It was established with Germany's constitution of 1949 and is the successor of the earlier Reichstag ....
. In 1967, after the formation of the Grand Coalition between SPD and CDU, he became chairman of the Social Democrat parliamentary party, a post he held until the elections of 1969.

In 1967, he was elected deputy party chairman.

In October 1969, he entered the government of Willy Brandt

Willy Brandt

Willy Brandt, born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm , was a Germany politician, Chancellor of Germany of West Germany 1969–1974, and leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany 1964–1987....
as defence minister. In July 1972, he succeeded Karl Schiller

Karl Schiller

Karl August Fritz Schiller was a Germany scientist and politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany . From 1966 to 1972, he was Federal Ministry for Economics and Labour and from 1971 to 1972 Federal Minister of Finance ....
as Minister for Economics and Finances, but in November 1972, he relinquished the Economics department, which was again made a separate ministry. Schmidt remained Minister of Finances until May 1974.

From 1968 to 1984, Schmidt was deputy chairman of the SPD (unlike Willy Brandt

Willy Brandt

Gerhard Schröder

is a Germany politics, and was Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany , he led a coalition government of the SPD and the Alliance 90/The Greens....
, he was never actually chairman of the party).

Chancellor

He became Chancellor of West Germany on 16 May 1974, after Brandt's resignation in the wake of an espionage scandal. The worldwide economic recession was the main concern of his administration, and Schmidt took a tough and disciplined line. During his term, Germany had to cope with the oil crisis of the 1970s

1973 oil crisis

The 1973 oil crisis started on October 15, 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo "in response to the U.S....
; according to some judgments, Germany managed better than the most of the industrial states. Schmidt was also active in improving relations with France. Together with the French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing

Val?ry Marie Ren? Georges Giscard d'Estaing,Constitutional Council of France , is a France centrism-conservatism politician who was President of France of the French Fifth Republic from 1974 until 1981....
, he was one of the fathers of the world economic summit

The Group of Eight is a forum for governments of eight nations of the northern hemisphere: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States; in addition, the European Union is represented within the G8, but cannot host or chair....
s, the first of which assembled in 1975.

In 1975, he was a signatory of the Helsinki Final Act to create the Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, human rights, freedom of the press, and fair elections....
, the precursor of today's OSCE.

He remained chancellor after the 1976 elections in coalition with the FDP.

Regarding the terrorist Red Army Faction

Red Army Faction

The Red Army Faction or RAF , was postwar West Germany's most violent and prominent militant left-wing terrorist group. It described itself as a communist "urban guerrilla" group engaged in armed resistance....
he held to a tough, no compromise line. Specifically, he authorized the GSG 9

GSG 9

The GSG 9 der Bundespolizei is the elite counter-terrorism and special operations unit of the German Federal Police and is considered to be among the best of its kind in the world....
anti-terrorist unit to end the hijacking

Aircraft hijacking

Aircraft hijacking is the unlawful seizure of an aircraft by force, by either an individual or a group. In most cases the pilot is forced to fly according to the orders of the hijackers....
of the Lufthansa

Lufthansa

Deutsche Lufthansa Aktiengesellschaft is one of the List of largest airlines in Europe airlines in Europe in terms of overall passengers carried, and the flag carrier of Germany....
aircraft Landshut by force in the German Autumn

German Autumn

The German Autumn describes the political atmosphere of the Federal Republic of Germany in mid-late 1977, and is characterised by a series of escalating terrorism committed by the Red Army Faction , which involved murder, kidnap and the hijacking of the Lufthansa Landshut, climaxing with the suicide of several key RAF leaders in prison....
of 1977.

During his tenure as chancellor Schmidt drew criticism from Israel for commenting that Palestine should receive an apology because the Holocaust of European Jewry seemingly prompted the establishment of the State of Israel.

Concerned about the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the Soviet superiority regarding missiles in Central Europe, Schmidt issued proposals resulting in the NATO Double-Track Decision

NATO Double-Track Decision

The NATO Double-Track Decision is the decision of NATO from December 12, 1979 to offer the Warsaw Pact a mutual limitation of Medium-range ballistic missiles and Intermediate-range ballistic missiles combined with the threat that in case of disagreement NATO would deploy more middle range nuclear weapons in Western Europe....
concerning the deployment of medium-range nuclear missiles in Western Europe should the Soviets not disarm. He was re-elected as chancellor in November 1980. In October 1981, Schmidt was fitted with a cardiac pacemaker

Artificial pacemaker

A pacemaker is a medical device which uses electrical impulses, delivered by electrodes contacting the heart muscles, to regulate the beating of the heart....
.

At the beginning of his period as Bundeskanzler

Bundeskanzler

Bundeskanzler is the formal title in German language for:*The head of the German federal government: Chancellor of Germany *The head of the Austrian federal government: Chancellor of Austria...
, Schmidt was a proponent of Keynesian economics

Keynesian economics

Keynesian economics The theories forming the basis of Keynesian economics were first presented in The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, published in 1936....
, by the end of his term, however, he had turned away from deficit spending

Deficit spending

Deficit spending is the amount by which a government, private company, or individual's spending exceeds income over a particular period of time, also called simply "deficit," or "budget deficit," the opposite of budget surplus....
. Large sections of the SPD increasingly opposed his security policy while most of the FDP politicians strongly supported that policy; while representatives of the left wing of the social democratic party opposed reduction of the state expenditures, the FDP began proposing a monetarist

Monetarism

Monetarism is a school of economic thought concerning the determination of measures of national income and output and monetary economics. It focuses on the supply of money in an economy as the primary means by which the rate of inflation is determined....
economic policy. In February 1982, Schmidt won a Motion of Confidence

Motion of Confidence

A Motion of Confidence is a motion of support proposed by a government in a parliament or other assembly of elected representatives to give members of parliament a chance to register their confidence in the government....
, however on 17 September 1982, the coalition broke apart, with the four FDP ministers leaving his cabinet. Schmidt continued to head a minority government composed only of SPD members, while the FDP negotiated a coalition with the CDU/CSU. During this time Schmidt also headed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On 1 October 1982, parliament approved of a Vote of No-Confidence

Constructive vote of no confidence

The constructive vote of no confidence is a variation on the motion of no confidence which only allows a parliament to withdraw confidence from a prime minister only if there is a positive majority for a prospective successor....
and elected the CDU chairman Helmut Kohl

Helmut Kohl

Helmut Josef Michael Kohl is a German conservative politician and statesman. He was Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and the chairman of the Christian-Democratic Union of Germany from 1973 to 1998....
as the new Chancellor. This was the first time in the history of the Federal Republic that a Chancellor was ousted from office in this way.

After politics

In 1982, along with his friend Gerald Ford

Gerald Ford

Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the List of Vice Presidents of the United States Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974....
, he cofounded the annual AEI World Forum

AEI World Forum

The AEI World Forum is an annual meeting of business and financial executives, head of government, government officials, and intellectuals. Held every summer in Beaver Creek, Colorado, it is sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute and the Vail Valley Foundation, and it features a number of AEI scholars and fellows....
.

In 1983, he joined the nationwide weekly Die Zeit
Die Zeit

Die Zeit is a Germany nationwide weekly newspaper that is highly respected for its quality journalism. With a circulation of 488,036 and an estimated readership of slightly above 2 million, it is the most widely read German weekly newspaper....
newspaper as co-publisher. In 1985, he became Managing Director. With Takeo Fukuda

Takeo Fukuda

was a Japanese politician and the 67th Prime Minister of Japan from December 24,1976 to December 7, 1978.He was born in Gunma Prefecture and attended Tokyo Imperial University....
he founded the Inter Action Council

Inter Action Council

The Inter Action Council is a group of former head of government who meet periodically to discuss world issues.The council was formed in 1983 by Takeo Fukuda....
s in 1983. He retired from the Bundestag in 1986. In December 1986, he was one of the founders of the committee supporting the EMU

Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union

In economics, a monetary union is a situation where several countries have agreed to share a single currency amongst themselves. The European Economic and Monetary Union consists of three stages coordinating economic policy and culminating with the adoption of the euro, the EU's single currency....
and the creation of the European Central Bank

European Central Bank

The European Central Bank is one of the world's most important central banks, responsible for monetary policy covering the 16 member States of the Eurozone....
.

Contrary to the actual line of his party, Helmut Schmidt is a determined opponent of Turkey's entry into the EU. He also opposes phasing out nuclear energy, something that the Red-Green coalition of Gerhard Schröder supported.

Schmidt is author of numerous books on on his political life, on foreign policy and political ethics. He remains to be one the most renowned political publicists in Germany.

In recent years, Schmidt has been afflicted with increasing deafness.

2007 Criticism of the United States

In November 2007, Schmidt wrote in the German weekly Die Zeit
Die Zeit

Die Zeit is a Germany nationwide weekly newspaper that is highly respected for its quality journalism. With a circulation of 488,036 and an estimated readership of slightly above 2 million, it is the most widely read German weekly newspaper....
that the United States

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
was a greater threat to world peace than Russia

Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
. He argued that Russia had not invaded its neighbors since the conclusion of the Cold War

Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state of conflict, tension and competition that existed between a number of world powers, including the United States, the Soviet Union, People's Republic of China, France, United Kingdom and those countries' respective allies from the mid-1940s to the early 1990s....
and that he was surprised that Russia allowed Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south....
and other former components of the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated ????, SSSR....
to secede peacefully. He noted that the United States' invasion of Iraq

Iraq

Iraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros Mountains, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
under George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from 2001 to 2009. He was the 46th List of Governors of Texas from 1995 to 2000 before being United States presidential inauguration as President on January 20, 2001....
was "a war of choice, not a war of necessity."

Personal life

He is a great admirer of the philosopher Karl Popper
Karl Popper

Knight Bachelor Karl Raimund Popper Order of the Companions of Honour, Fellow of the Royal Society, Fellow of the British Academy was an Austrian and British philosopher and a professor at the London School of Economics....
, and contributed a Foreword to the 1982 Festschrift in Popper's honor.

The University of Germany's Federal Armed Forces in Hamburg
Hamburg

Hamburg is the second-largest city in Germany , and is the Largest cities of the European Union by population within city limits. The city is home to approximately 1.8 million people, while the Hamburg metropolitan area has more than 4.3 million inhabitants....
was renamed Helmut Schmidt University - University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg
Helmut Schmidt University

The Helmut Schmidt University , located in Hamburg, Germany, is an educational establishment that was founded in the year 1973. The university is exclusively for Officer s and candidate officers of the Bundeswehr , hence its original name....
in 2003 in honour of the politician who as minister of defence had introduced obligatory academic education for German career officers.

Schmidt is also a talented pianist
Pianist

A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an musical ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers....
, and has recorded piano
Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard instrument. Widely used in Western music for solo performance, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to musical composition and rehearsal....
concertos of both Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood in Salzburg. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty; at seventeen he was engaged as a court musician in Salzburg, but grew restless and traveled in search of a better position, always...
and Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and organ whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque music period and brought it to its ultimate maturity....
with the well-known German pianist and conductor, Christoph Eschenbach
Christoph Eschenbach

Christoph Eschenbach is a German pianist and conducting....
.

Schmidt and his wife are both smoker
Smoker

Smoker is a noun derived from "smoke"/"smoking" and may have the following specialized meanings:*Someone who smokes Tobacco smoking or cannabis , cigarette substitutes or various other drugs...
s. He is well known for lighting up cigarette
Cigarette

A cigarette is a product consumed through smoking and manufactured out of curing and finely cut tobacco leaves and reconstituted tobacco, often combined with other List of additives in cigarettes, then rolled or stuffed into a paper-wrapped cylinder ....
s on TV interviews or talkshows. In January 2008, German police launched an enquiry after Schmidt was reported by an anti-smoking initiative for defying the recently introduced smoking ban
Smoking ban

Smoking bans are public policies, including criminal laws and occupational safety and health regulations, which prohibitionism tobacco smoking in employments and/or other public spaces....
. The initiative claimed that Helmut Schmidt had been flagrantly ignoring laws "for decades". Despite pictures in the press, the case was subsequently dropped after the public prosecution service decided that Schmidt's actions had not been a threat to public health.

Schmidt's first term as Federal Chancellor, 16 May 1974–15 December 1976

Helmut Schmidt (SPD) - Chancellor
Hans-Dietrich Genscher
Hans-Dietrich Genscher

Hans-Dietrich Genscher is a Germany politician and member of the Free Democratic Party of Germany. He was Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1974 to 1982 and, after a two-week pause, from 1982 to 1992, making him Germany's longest serving Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor....
(FDP) - Vice Chancellor and Minister of Foreign Affairs
Georg Leber
Georg Leber

Georg Leber, born in Obertiefenbach, near Limburg an der Lahn, is a Germany politician in the Social Democratic Party of Germany .After serving in the Luftwaffe in World War II, he joined the SPD in 1947....
(SPD) - Minister of Defense
Werner Maihofer (FDP) - Minister of the Interior
Hans Apel
Hans Apel

Hans Eberhard Apel is a Germany politician and a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany . From 1972-1974 he was Parliamentary State Secretary to the Foreign Minister....
(SPD) - Minister of Finance
Hans-Jochen Vogel
Hans-Jochen Vogel

Hans-Jochen Vogel is a Germany politician.Vogel was born in G?ttingen. He attended school in Gie?en and graduated in 1943. Vogel was a Scharf?hrer of the Hitlerjugend and was conscripted into Wehrmacht service in 1943, where he served as an officer cadet for two years until the end of World War II....
(SPD) - Minister of Justice
Hans Friedrichs (FDP) - Minister of Economics
Walter Arendt (SPD) - Minister of Labour and Social Affairs
Josef Ertl (FDP) - Minister of Food, Agriculture, and Forestry
Kurt Gscheidle
Kurt Gscheidle

Kurt Gscheidle was a German politician affiliated with the SPD. He served as Minister of Transport , Posts, and Communications under Helmut Schmidt in the latter's two terms as Federal Chancellor, 1974-1982....
(SPD) - Minister of Transport, Posts, and Communications
Karl Ravens (SPD) - Minister of Construction
Katharina Focke (SPD) - Minister of Youth, Family, and Health
Hans Matthöfer
Hans Matthöfer

Hans Hermann Matth?fer is a Germany politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany.Between 1974 and 1978 Matth?fer was secretary of education as well as secretary of research and technology....
(SPD) - Minister of Research and Technology
Helmut Rohde (SPD) - Minister of Education and Science
Erhard Eppler
Erhard Eppler

Erhard Eppler is a Germany SPD politician and founder of the Deutsche Gesellschaft f?r Technische Zusammenarbeit.On 16 October 1968 he replaced Hans-J?rgen Wischnewski as Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development until 17 May 1974....
(SPD) - Minister of Economic Cooperation
Egon Franke (SPD) - Minister of Intra-German Relations

Changes

4 July 1974 - Egon Bahr
Egon Bahr

Egon Karlheinz Bahr is a Germany former politician for the SPD.Bahr was born in Treffurt, Province of Saxony.The former journalist created the "Ostpolitik" of West German Chancellor Willy Brandt, for whom he served as Secretary of the Prime Minister's Office from 1969 until 1972....
(SPD) succeeds Eppler as Minister of Economic Cooperation.

Schmidt's second term as Federal Chancellor, 15 December 1976–5 November 1980

Helmut Schmidt (SPD) - Chancellor
Hans-Dietrich Genscher
Hans-Dietrich Genscher

Hans-Dietrich Genscher is a Germany politician and member of the Free Democratic Party of Germany. He was Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1974 to 1982 and, after a two-week pause, from 1982 to 1992, making him Germany's longest serving Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor....
(FDP) - Vice Chancellor and Minister of Foreign Affairs
Georg Leber
Georg Leber

Georg Leber, born in Obertiefenbach, near Limburg an der Lahn, is a Germany politician in the Social Democratic Party of Germany .After serving in the Luftwaffe in World War II, he joined the SPD in 1947....
(SPD) - Minister of Defense
Werner Maihofer (FDP) - Minister of the Interior
Hans Apel
Hans Apel

Hans Eberhard Apel is a Germany politician and a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany . From 1972-1974 he was Parliamentary State Secretary to the Foreign Minister....
(SPD) - Minister of Finance
Hans-Jochen Vogel
Hans-Jochen Vogel

Hans-Jochen Vogel is a Germany politician.Vogel was born in G?ttingen. He attended school in Gie?en and graduated in 1943. Vogel was a Scharf?hrer of the Hitlerjugend and was conscripted into Wehrmacht service in 1943, where he served as an officer cadet for two years until the end of World War II....
(SPD) - Minister of Justice
Hans Friedrichs (FDP) - Minister of Economics
Herbert Ehrenberg (SPD) - Minister of Labour and Social Affairs
Josef Ertl (FDP) - Minister of Food, Agriculture, and Forestry
Kurt Gscheidle
Kurt Gscheidle

Kurt Gscheidle was a German politician affiliated with the SPD. He served as Minister of Transport , Posts, and Communications under Helmut Schmidt in the latter's two terms as Federal Chancellor, 1974-1982....
(SPD) - Minister of Transportation, Posts, and Communications
Karl Ravens (SPD) - Minister of Construction
Antje Huber (SPD) - Minister of Youth, Family, and Health
Hans Matthöfer
Hans Matthöfer

Hans Hermann Matth?fer is a Germany politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany.Between 1974 and 1978 Matth?fer was secretary of education as well as secretary of research and technology....
(SPD) - Minister of Research and Technology
Helmut Rohde (SPD) - Minister of Education and Science
Marie Schlei (SPD) - Minister of Economic Cooperation
Egon Franke (SPD) - Minister of Intra-German Relations

Changes

7 October 1977 - Otto Graf Lambsdorff
Otto Graf Lambsdorff

File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F054879-0030, Mainz, FDP-Bundesparteitag, Lambsdorff.jpgOtto Graf Lambsdorff is a German politician with the Free Democratic Party ....
(FDP) succeeds Friedrichs as Minister of Economics.
16 February 1978 - Hans Apel
Hans Apel

Hans Eberhard Apel is a Germany politician and a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany . From 1972-1974 he was Parliamentary State Secretary to the Foreign Minister....
(SPD) succeeds Leber as Minister of Defense. Hans Matthöfer
Hans Matthöfer

Hans Hermann Matth?fer is a Germany politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany.Between 1974 and 1978 Matth?fer was secretary of education as well as secretary of research and technology....
(SPD) succeeds Apel as Minister of Finance. Volker Hauff succeeds Matthöfer as Minister of Research and Technology. Dieter Haack (SPD) succeeds Ravens as Minister of Construction. Jürgen Schmude
Jürgen Schmude

J?rgen Dieter Paul Schmude is a Germany politician of the SPD. He was born in Chernyakhovsk, Province of East Prussia.Schmude was a member of the German Parliament, the Bundestag, from 1969–94....
(SPD) succeeds Rohde as Minister of Education and Science. Rainer Offergeld (SPD) succeeds Schlei as Minister of Economic Cooperation.
8 June 1978 - Gerhart Baum (FDP) succeeds Maihofer as Minister of the Interior.

Schmidt's third term as Federal Chancellor, 5 November 1980–17 September 1982

Helmut Schmidt (SPD) - Chancellor
Hans-Dietrich Genscher
Hans-Dietrich Genscher

Hans-Dietrich Genscher is a Germany politician and member of the Free Democratic Party of Germany. He was Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1974 to 1982 and, after a two-week pause, from 1982 to 1992, making him Germany's longest serving Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor....
(FDP) - Vice Chancellor and Minister of Foreign Affairs
Hans Apel
Hans Apel

Hans Eberhard Apel is a Germany politician and a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany . From 1972-1974 he was Parliamentary State Secretary to the Foreign Minister....
(SPD) - Minister of Defense
Gerhart Baum (FDP) - Minister of the Interior
Hans Matthöfer
Hans Matthöfer

Hans Hermann Matth?fer is a Germany politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany.Between 1974 and 1978 Matth?fer was secretary of education as well as secretary of research and technology....
(SPD) - Minister of Finance
Hans-Jochen Vogel
Hans-Jochen Vogel

Hans-Jochen Vogel is a Germany politician.Vogel was born in G?ttingen. He attended school in Gie?en and graduated in 1943. Vogel was a Scharf?hrer of the Hitlerjugend and was conscripted into Wehrmacht service in 1943, where he served as an officer cadet for two years until the end of World War II....
(SPD) - Minister of Justice
Otto Graf Lambsdorff
Otto Graf Lambsdorff

File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F054879-0030, Mainz, FDP-Bundesparteitag, Lambsdorff.jpgOtto Graf Lambsdorff is a German politician with the Free Democratic Party ....
(FDP) - Minister of Economics
Herbert Ehrenberg (SPD) - Minister of Labour and Social Affairs
Josef Ertl (FDP) - Minister of Food, Agriculture, and Forestry
Volker Hauff (SPD) - Minister of Transport
Dieter Haack (SPD) - Minister of Construction
Antje Huber (SPD) - Minister of Youth, Family, and Health
Andreas von Bülow
Andreas von Bülow

'Andreas von B?low' is a Germany writer, lawyer and former Social Democratic Party of Germany politician. He has been working on books about intelligence agency, including In the Name of the State....
(SPD) - Minister of Research and Technology
Jürgen Schmude
Jürgen Schmude

J?rgen Dieter Paul Schmude is a Germany politician of the SPD. He was born in Chernyakhovsk, Province of East Prussia.Schmude was a member of the German Parliament, the Bundestag, from 1969–94....
(SPD) - Minister of Education and Science
Rainer Offergeld (SPD) - Minister of Economic Cooperation
Kurt Gscheidle
Kurt Gscheidle

Kurt Gscheidle was a German politician affiliated with the SPD. He served as Minister of Transport , Posts, and Communications under Helmut Schmidt in the latter's two terms as Federal Chancellor, 1974-1982....
(SPD) - Minister of Posts and Communications
Egon Franke (SPD) - Minister of Intra-German Relations

Changes

28 January 1981 - Jürgen Schmude
Jürgen Schmude

J?rgen Dieter Paul Schmude is a Germany politician of the SPD. He was born in Chernyakhovsk, Province of East Prussia.Schmude was a member of the German Parliament, the Bundestag, from 1969–94....
(SPD) succeeds Vogel as Minister of Justice. Björn Engholm
Björn Engholm

Bj?rn Engholm is a L?beck born Germany Social Democratic Party of Germany politician. He was Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein, 1988-1993 and leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, 1991-1993....
succeeds Schmude as Minister of Education and Science.
28 April 1982 - Hans Matthöfer
Hans Matthöfer

Hans Hermann Matth?fer is a Germany politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany.Between 1974 and 1978 Matth?fer was secretary of education as well as secretary of research and technology....
(SPD) succeeds Gscheidle as Minister of Posts and Communications. Manfred Lahnstein (SPD) succeeds Matthöfer as Minister of Finance. Heinz Westphal (SPD) succeeds Ehrenberg as Minister of Labour and Social Affairs. Anke Fuchs (SPD) succeeds Huber as Minister of Youth, Family, and Health.
17 September 1982 - All the Free Democratic ministers quit the government. Helmut Schmidt (SPD) succeeds Genscher as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Jürgen Schmude
Jürgen Schmude

J?rgen Dieter Paul Schmude is a Germany politician of the SPD. He was born in Chernyakhovsk, Province of East Prussia.Schmude was a member of the German Parliament, the Bundestag, from 1969–94....
(SPD) succeeds Baum as Minister of the Interior, remaining also Minister of Justice. Manfred Lahnstein (SPD) succeeds Lambsdorff as Minister of Economics, remaining also Minister of Finance. Björn Engholm
Björn Engholm

Bj?rn Engholm is a L?beck born Germany Social Democratic Party of Germany politician. He was Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein, 1988-1993 and leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, 1991-1993....
(SPD) succeeds Ertl as Minister of Food, Agriculture, and Forestry, remaining also Minister of Education and Science.

Bibliography

Memoirs

Menschen und Mächte (Persons and Powers), Siedler, Berlin 1987. Memoirs with focus on cold war politics.
Die Deutschen und ihre Nachbarn (The Germans and their Neighbours), Siedler, Berlin 1990. Strong focus on European politics.
Kinder und Jugend unter Hitler, with Willi Berkhan et al. (Childhood and Youth under Hitler). Siedler, Berlin 1992.
Weggefährten (Companions), Siedler, Berin 1996. Personal memoirs, with focus on personal relations with domestic and foreign politicians

Recent political books (selection)

Auf der Suche nach einer öffentlichen Moral (In Search of a Public Morality), DVA, Stuttgart 1998.
Die Selbstbehauptung Europas (The Self-Assertion of Europe), DVA, Stuttgart 2000.
Die Mächte der Zukunft. Gewinner und Verlierer in der Welt von morgen (The Powers of the Future. Winners and Losers in the World of Tomorrow) Siedler, Munich 2004
Nachbar China, with Frank Sieren (Neighbour China), Econ, Berlin 2006
Ausser Dienst (Out of Service), Siedler, Munich 2008. A political legacy

External links

Talks:

for the WGBH series, War and Peace in the Nuclear Age
War and Peace in the Nuclear Age

War and Peace in the Nuclear Age is a 1989 PBS television series focusing on the effect of nuclear weapons development on international relations and warfare during the Cold War....
in 1990 about his book, .