Richard von Weizsäcker

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Richard von Weizsäcker
10th President of Germany 6th President of the Federal Republic of Germany
In office July 1, 1984 – June 30, 1994
Preceded by	Karl Carstens
Succeeded by	Roman Herzog
Born	April 15, 1920 (age 88) Stuttgart, Germany
Nationality	German
Political party	CDU
Spouse	Marianne, Freifrau von Weizsäcker
Religion	Protestant

Dr. Richard Freiherr von Weizsäcker  listen (info • help) (born April 15 1920) is a German politician, and a member of the CDU party. He was President of Germany from 1984 to 1994.

He was born in Stuttgart as the son of the diplomat Ernst von Weizsäcker and brother of physicist and philosopher Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker. His grandfather Carl von Weizsäcker had been Minister President of Württemberg

In war he served in the German Army. He was wounded in East Prussia in 1945 and was sent home to Stuttgart. Then he continued his study of history in Göttingen and eventually studied law. As a law student he was a member of his father's defence team at the Eleventh secondary Nuremburg Trial. He took his first judicial state exam in 1950, the second in 1953, and in 1955 was promoted doctor juris. In 1953 he married Marianne von Kretschmann; they have four children.

Richard von Weizsäcker joined the CDU in 1954 and was a member of the Bundestag (German Parliament) from 1969 to 1981. He was elected vice president of the Bundestag 1979-1981, but did not stand for re-election, because he became the Governing Mayor (German: Regierender Bürgermeister) of West Berlin (1981-1984).

He was elected President of Germany by the Bundesversammlung (Federal Convention) in 1984, succeeding Karl Carstens.

Although now an elder statesman, Richard von Weizsäcker is still involved in politics and charitable affairs. He was the chair of a commission installed by the then SPD-Bündnis 90/Die Grünen government for reforming the Bundeswehr.

He has served on many international commissions. He was chairman of the Independent Working Group on the future of the United Nations and was one of three 'Wise Men' appointed by European Commission President Romano Prodi to consider the future of the European Union.

von Weizsäcker has written may books, including

• Von Deutschland aus
• Die deutsche Geschichte geht weiter
• Von Deutschland nach Europa and
• Vier Zeiten.

His autobiograghy called is From Weimar to the Wall: My Life in German Politics (1999).

v • d • e Presidents of Germany
Weimar Republic (1919–1933)	Friedrich Ebert · Kanzler Hans Luther(acting) · Judge Walter Simons (acting) · Paul von Hindenburg
Nazi Germany (1933–1945)	Paul von Hindenburg  · Adolf Hitler (as Führer and Reichskanzler) · Karl Dönitz
Germany (since 1949)	Bundesratspräsident Karl Arnold (acting) · Theodor Heuss1 · Heinrich Lubke · Gustav Heinemann · Walter Scheel · Karl Carstens · Richard von Weizsäcker2 · Roman Herzog · Johannes Rau · Horst Köhler
1 President at the time of unification with the Saar 2 President at the time of unification with East Germany

v • d • e Heads of state of East Germany
President (1949–1960)	Wilhelm Pieck SED
Chairman of the Council of State (German: Vorsitzender des Staatsrats der DDR) (1960–1990)	Walter Ulbricht  · Deputy Chairman of the Council of State Friedrich Ebert (acting) · Willi Stoph  · Erich Honecker  · Egon Krenz  · Manfred Gerlach LDPD
President of the People's Chamber of the GDR (Präsident der Volkskammer der DDR) (1990)	Sabine Bergmann-Pohl (CDU)1
1President at the time of unification with West Germany

v • d • e Mayors of Berlin since 1948
East Berlin	Friedrich Ebert  · Herbert Fechner  · Erhard Krack  · Ingrid Pankraz  · Dr. Christian Hartenauer  · Tino Schwierzina  · Thomas Krüger
West Berlin	Ernst Reuter · Walther Schreiber · Otto Suhr · Willy Brandt · Heinrich Albertz · Klaus Schütz · Dietrich Stobbe · Hans-Jochen Vogel · Richard von Weizsäcker · Eberhard Diepgen · Walter Momper
Reunited Berlin (since 1990)	Walter Momper · Eberhard Diepgen · Klaus Wowereit