Franz Blücher (24 March 1896 – 26 March 1959) was a German politician and member of the German Parliament (''

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Common ...

'').

Biography

Blücher was born in Essen,

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

. After the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he was one of the founders of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and served as chairman in the British occupation zone (1946-1949) and as Federal Chairman (1949-1954). From 1949 to 1957, Blücher was a member of Chancellor

Konrad Adenauer Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (; 5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman who served as the first chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the first leader of the Christian Dem ...

's cabinet. As representative of the second-largest government party, he was the first vice-chancellor of West Germany and also held the Ministry for Matters of the Marshall Plan, which in 1953 was renamed ''Ministry for Economic Cooperation''. In 1956, Blücher – along with other fifteen ministers and parliamentarians – sided with Chancellor Adenauer against his party and formed the Free People's Party (FVP), which early in 1957 merged with the German Party (DP). Blücher died on 26 March 1959 in

Bad Godesberg Bad Godesberg ( ksh, Bad Jodesbersch) is a borough ('' Stadtbezirk'') of Bonn, southern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. From 1949 to 1999, while Bonn was the capital of West Germany, most foreign embassies were in Bad Godesberg. Some buildings ar ...

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

Honours and awards

Blücher was awarded honorary doctorates from the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...

(1954) and the

University of the Punjab The University of the Punjab (Urdu, pnb, ), also referred to as Punjab University, is a public, research, coeducational higher education institution located in Lahore, Pakistan. Punjab University is the oldest public university in Pakistan. ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

(1957). In 1954, he was awarded the

Grand Cross of the Order of Merit Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and co ...

and the Grand Cross of the Greek

Order of George I The Royal Order of George I ( el, Βασιλικόν Τάγμα Γεωργίου Α') is a Greek order instituted by King Constantine I in 1915. Since the monarchy's abolition in 1973, it has been considered a dynastic order of the former Greek r ...

. In 1955, he received the Grand Cross of Merit of the Italian Republic. In 1956, Blücher received the Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blucher, Franz 1896 births 1959 deaths Members of the Bundestag for North Rhine-Westphalia German Roman Catholics Politicians from Essen People from the Rhine Province Vice-Chancellors of Germany Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Grand Crosses of the Order of George I Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Recipients of the Grand Decoration with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria German Party (1947) politicians Members of the Bundestag for the Free Democratic Party (Germany) Members of the Bundestag 1957–1961 Members of the Bundestag 1953–1957 Members of the Bundestag 1949–1953