Walter Scheel
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Walter Scheel | |
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In office July 1, 1974 – June 30, 1979 |
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Preceded by | Gustav Heinemann |
Succeeded by | Karl Carstens |
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Born | July 8, 1919 (age 88) Solingen, Germany |
Nationality | German |
Political party | FDP |
Spouse | Mildred Scheel (1932-1985) |
Religion | Protestant |
Walter Scheel (born July 8, 1919) is a German politician (FDP).
[change] Biography
Scheel was born in Solingen. During World War II, he served in the Luftwaffe, the last years of the war as a Radar operator on a Me 110 night fighter.
He was federal minister of economic cooperation and development (1961-1966), but he persuaded the FDP to leave Ludwig Erhard's coalition government in late 1966. This forced elections in Germany, and Kurt Georg Kiesinger became chancellor.
In 1969 his party formed a new coalition with the Social Democrats. He became Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor. With Willy Brandt his foreign policy meant the Federal Republic of Germany promised not to try and get back the parts of Germany given to Poland and the USSR. The treaty with Poland actually defined the western border of Poland, not the border between Poland and Germany. It is the same thing, but meant Poland could sign a treaty with West Germany that described the border of East Germany.
When Brandt resigned on May 7 1974, Scheel, was acting chancellor, for about a week, until Helmut Schmidt was elected Chancellor.
A few weeks later, Scheel was elected Federal President of West Germany, a post he held from July 1974 until June 1979.
Like most ex German presidents, Scheel retired from political life term ended. He did sometimes appears on political talk shows or events. At the funeral of the murdered businessman Hanns Martin Schleyer in October 1977, Scheel gave a speech entitled shame.
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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 |
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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 |
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German Empire (1871–1918) | Otto von Bismarck · Leo von Caprivi · Prince Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst · Bernhard von Bülow · Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg · Georg Michaelis · Georg von Hertling · Prince Maximilian of Baden |
Revolutionary period (1918–1919) | Friedrich Ebert |
Weimar Republic (1919–1933) | Philipp Scheidemann · Gustav Bauer · Hermann Müller · Konstantin Fehrenbach · Joseph Wirth · Wilhelm Cuno · Gustav Stresemann · Wilhelm Marx · Hans Luther · Wilhelm Marx · Hermann Müller · Heinrich Brüning · Franz von Papen · Kurt von Schleicher |
Nazi Germany (1933–1945) | Adolf Hitler · Joseph Goebbels · Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk |
Germany (since 1949) | Konrad Adenauer · Ludwig Erhard · Kurt Georg Kiesinger · Willy Brandt ·Walter Scheel acting · Helmut Schmidt · Helmut Kohl · Gerhard Schröder · Angela Merkel |