Helmut Schmidt
Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt (23 December 1918 – 10 November 2015) was a German politician. He was Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1974 to 1982.
Helmut Schmidt | |
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Chancellor of Germany (West Germany) | |
In office 16 May 1974 – 1 October 1982 | |
President | Gustav Heinemann Walter Scheel Karl Carstens |
Vice Chancellor | Hans-Dietrich Genscher Egon Franke |
Preceded by | Willy Brandt |
Succeeded by | Helmut Kohl |
Federal Minister of Finance (West Germany) | |
In office 7 July 1972 – 16 May 1974 | |
Chancellor | Willy Brandt |
Preceded by | Karl Schiller |
Succeeded by | Hans Apel |
Federal Minister for Economics (West Germany) | |
In office 7 July 1972 – 15 December 1972 | |
Chancellor | Willy Brandt |
Preceded by | Karl Schiller |
Succeeded by | Hans Friderichs |
Federal Minister of Defence (West Germany) | |
In office 22 October 1969 – 7 July 1972 | |
Chancellor | Willy Brandt |
Preceded by | Gerhard Schröder |
Succeeded by | Georg Leber |
Leader of the SPD Group in the Bundestag (West Germany) | |
In office 14 March 1967 – 22 October 1969 | |
Deputy | Egon Franke Martin Hirsch Ernst Schellenberg |
Preceded by | Fritz Erler |
Succeeded by | Herbert Wehner |
Member of the Bundestag for Hamburg-Bergedorf | |
In office 20 October 1969 – 18 February 1987 | |
Preceded by | Nikolaus Jürgensen |
Succeeded by | Rolf Niese |
Member of the Bundestag for Hamburg | |
In office 19 October 1965 – 19 October 1969 | |
Constituency | Party list |
In office 6 October 1953 – 6 October 1957 | |
Constituency | Party list |
Member of the Bundestag for Hamburg-Nord II | |
In office 15 October 1957 – 17 October 1965 | |
Preceded by | Willy Max Rademacher |
Succeeded by | Rolf Meinecke |
Senator of the Interior of Hamburg | |
In office 13 December 1961 – 14 December 1965 | |
First Mayor | Paul Nevermann Herbert Weichmann |
Preceded by | Wilhelm Kröger |
Succeeded by | Heinz Ruhau |
Personal details | |
Born | Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt 23 December 1918 Hamburg, Weimar Republic |
Died | 10 November 2015 (aged 96) Hamburg, Germany |
Resting place | Ohlsdorf Cemetery |
Political party | Social Democratic Party |
Spouse(s) | |
Domestic partner | Ruth Loah (2012–2015) |
Children | 2 |
Alma mater | University of Hamburg |
Signature | ![]() |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Service/branch | ![]() |
Years of service | 1937–1945 |
Rank | Oberleutnant (d.R.) |
Unit | 1st Panzer Division |
Battles/wars | Second World War |
Awards | Iron Cross 2nd Class |
Helmut Schmidt was born in Hamburg in 1918. He finished school in 1937 with the Abitur. Afterwards he had to join the working service and later the army. At the end of World War II, he was a First Lieutenant. He became a prisoner of war in 1945.
After he was set free, he started to study macro economy. He finished his studies in 1949. Then he started to work for the administration of Hamburg.
Schmidt joined into the Social Democratic Party of Germany in 1949. In 1953, he became a member of the Bundestag first time. From 1961 to 1965, he was Senator in the state government of Hamburg.
From 1969 to 1972, he was Minister of Defence of West Germany. From 1972 to 1974 he was Minister of Finance.
After Willy Brandt gave up his job as Bundeskanzler, Helmut Schmidt was elected as new chancellor.
In July 2013, it was discovered that Schmidt bought 38,000 cigarettes due to a fear of them being banned in Europe.[1]
Schmidt died in Hamburg on 10 November 2015 from complications of surgery he had to cure a blood clot in his left leg.[2] He was 96 years old.[3]
References
change- ↑ "Former German leader Helmut Schmidt buys 38,000 menthol cigarettes to avoid EU ban". The Commentator.com. Archived from the original on September 18, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
- ↑ "German ex-Chancellor Schmidt dies at 96". BBC. 10 November 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
- ↑ "Altkanzler Helmut Schmidt ist tot" (in German). Tagesschau. 10 November 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
Other websites
change- Biography at the German Historic Museum (German)
- Chancellor Site (German) Archived 2009-02-09 at the Wayback Machine
- Helmut Schmidt University (English)
- Talks:
- Die Selbstbehauptung Europas im neuen Jahrhundert (German, 2000)[permanent dead link]
- Kröten und Paragrafenwahn (German, 2006)
- Schmidt's talk on the occasion of China's Prime Minister Wen Jiabao visiting Hamburg (English, 2006)
- Interview on nuclear strategy in Europe Archived 2007-02-13 at the Wayback Machine for the WGBH series, War and Peace in the Nuclear Age
- Booknotes interview with Schmidt on Men and Powers, 15 April 1990. Archived 25 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine