Walter Scheel (; 8 July 1919 – 24 August 2016) was a German statesman. A member of the

Free Democratic Party of Germany The Free Democratic Party (german: link=no, Freie Demokratische Partei; FDP, ) is a liberal political party in Germany. The FDP was founded in 1948 by members of former liberal political parties which existed in Germany before World War II, n ...

(FDP), he first served in government as the Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development from 1961 to 1966 and later as

President of Germany The president of Germany, officially the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: link=no, Bundespräsident der Bundesrepublik Deutschland),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international corres ...

from 1974 to 1979. He led the FDP from 1968 to 1974. During the chancellorship of

Willy Brandt Willy Brandt (; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German politician and statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and served as the chancellor of West Ge ...

, Scheel was Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs and the

Vice Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor is ...

. Scheel became acting Chancellor of West Germany from 7–16 May 1974 following Brandt's resignation after the

Guillaume Affair The Guillaume affair () was an espionage scandal in Germany during the Cold War. The scandal revolved around the exposure of an East German spy within the West German government and had far-reaching political repercussions in Germany, the most pr ...

. He was elected shortly after as the

president of West Germany The president of Germany, officially the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: link=no, Bundespräsident der Bundesrepublik Deutschland),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international corres ...

, remaining in the role until 1979. Scheel was a member of the

Evangelical Church in Germany The Evangelical Church in Germany (german: Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, abbreviated EKD) is a federation of twenty Lutheranism, Lutheran, Continental Reformed church, Reformed (Calvinism, Calvinist) and united and uniting churches, United ( ...

Early life

Scheel was born in

Solingen Solingen (; li, Solich) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located some 25 km east of Düsseldorf along the northern edge of the region called Bergisches Land, south of the Ruhr area, and, with a 2009 population of 161,366, ...

(now in

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

). He completed his ''

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

'' at the Reformrealgymnsasium Schwertstraße. Scheel became a member of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

in 1942. During

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 opposin ...

, he served in the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

during the last years of the war as a radar operator on a

Bf 110 The Messerschmitt Bf 110, often known unofficially as the Me 110,Because it was built before ''Bayerische Flugzeugwerke'' became Messerschmitt AG in July 1938, the Bf 110 was never officially given the designation Me 110. is a twin-engine (Des ...

night fighter A night fighter (also known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor for a period of time after the Second World War) is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility. Night fighters began to be used i ...

Political career

When his Free Democratic Party reentered government in a coalition with

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

's Christian Democratic Union in 1961, Scheel was appointed federal minister of economic cooperation and development. He continued in that office under Chancellor

Ludwig Erhard Ludwig Wilhelm Erhard (; 4 February 1897 – 5 May 1977) was a German politician affiliated with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and chancellor of West Germany from 1963 until 1966. He is known for leading the West German postwar economic ...

but brought about the downfall of the latter in late 1966 by resigning. A Christian Democratic/

Social Democratic Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soci ...

Grand Coalition followed. During this time, in 1968, Scheel took over the party presidency from right wing liberal

Erich Mende Erich Mende (28 October 1916 – 6 May 1998) was a German politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He was the leader of FDP from 1960 to 1968 and the vice-chancellor of West Germany from 1963 to 1966 ...

. According to one study, the election of Walter Scheel to the FDP leadership in 1968 “represented a turn to the left and the Free Democrats then indicated their wooing of the SPD by voting for the successful Social Democratic candidate for the Presidency of the Republic, Gustav Heinemann, in 1969.” In 1969, he led his party to form a new coalition with the Social Democrats. Under Chancellor

, Scheel became

Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

and

. Under their leadership, West Germany pursued a course of rapprochement and détente with the Soviet block and officially recognized the existence of the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

(GDR). This policy caused a massive public debate, with various Free and Social Democrats switching sides to the opposition. Though an attempt to oust Brandt failed, the coalition had lost its slender majority. The parliamentary stalemate was ended by the dissolution of parliament and early elections in 1972, which brought great gains for the Social Democrats and enabled the coalition to continue. On 7 May 1974, Brandt resigned as

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

after one of his aides,

Günter Guillaume Günter Guillaume (1 February 1927 – 10 April 1995) was a German spy who gathered intelligence as an agent for East Germany's secret service, the Stasi, in West Germany. Guillaume became West German chancellor Willy Brandt's secretary, a ...

, was arrested as a spy for the East German state. Though this had been internally suspected since 1973, Brandt accepted responsibility and resigned. Scheel, as acting chancellor, chaired the government meetings for a little over a week, until

Helmut Schmidt Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt (; 23 December 1918 – 10 November 2015) was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), who served as the chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982. Before becoming Cha ...

was elected. One of his first official acts as acting Chancellor was the award of the war blind radio play prize to Alfred Behrens on 8 May 1974. On 14 May, he chaired the cabinet meeting once.

Hans Dietrich Genscher Hans-Dietrich Genscher (21 March 1927 – 31 March 2016) was a German statesman and a member of the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP), who served as Federal Minister of the Interior from 1969 to 1974, and as Federal Minister for Foreign Affa ...

became Scheel's successor as party chairman and as minister. Scheel Carter

Scheel was elected

President of West Germany The president of Germany, officially the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: link=no, Bundespräsident der Bundesrepublik Deutschland),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international corres ...

, a week after relinquishing his other government roles. He held the office from July 1974 until June 1979. At the funeral of

Hanns Martin Schleyer Hans "Hanns" Martin Schleyer (; 1 May 1915 – 18 October 1977) was a German business executive, and employer and industry representative, who served as President of two powerful commercial organizations, the Confederation of German Employers' A ...

in October 1977, Scheel gave a speech entitled ''shame''. After the federal presidency, Scheel was Chairman of the Bilderberg Conference as well as President of the

European Movement The European Movement International is a lobbying association that coordinates the efforts of associations and national councils with the goal of promoting European integration, and disseminating information about it. History The origins of the ...

in Germany from 1980-85. From 1980-89 he was also President of the German section of the Union of European Federalists (UEF). He was named honorary chairman of the

Friedrich Naumann Foundation The Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (german: Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit) (''FNF''), is a German foundation for liberal politics, related to the Free Democratic Party. Established in 1958 by Theodor Heuss, the first pres ...

in 1991.

Death

Scheel died on 24 August 2016 following a long illness. Having lived to he holds the record as the longest-lived German head of state, either imperial or elected.

Publications

* with

Karl-Hermann Flach Karl-Hermann Flach (October 17, 1929 – August 25, 1973) was a German journalist of the '' Frankfurter Rundschau'' and a politician of the liberal Free Democrats (FDP). Flach was born in Königsberg. He became a member of the liberal LDP (in t ...

and

Werner Maihofer Werner Maihofer (20 October 1918 – 6 October 2009) was a German jurist and legal philosopher. He served as Germany's Federal Minister of the Interior from 1974–1978 until he resigned after a scandal involving an illegal wiretapping of Klau ...

: ''Die Freiburger Thesen der Liberalen.'' Rowohlt, Hamburg 1972, . * ''Die Zukunft der Freiheit – Vom Denken und Handeln in unserer Demokratie.'' Econ, 1979. * ''Wen schmerzt noch Deutschlands Teilung? 2 Reden zum 17. Juni'', Rowohlt, Reinbek 1986, . * with

Otto Graf Lambsdorff Otto Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von der Wenge Graf Lambsdorff, known as Otto Graf Lambsdorff (20 December 1926 – 5 December 2009), was a German politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP). Early life and education Lambsdorff was bo ...

: ''Freiheit in Verantwortung, Deutscher Liberalismus seit 1945.'' Bleicher, 1988, . * with Jürgen Engert: ''Erinnerungen und Einsichten''. Hohenheim-Verlag, Stuttgart 2004, . * with Tobias Thalhammer: ''Gemeinsam sind wir stärker – Zwölf erfreuliche Geschichten über Jung und Alt''. Allpart Media, Berlin 2010, .

Literature

Hans-Dietrich Genscher Hans-Dietrich Genscher (21 March 1927 – 31 March 2016) was a German statesman and a member of the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP), who served as Federal Minister of the Interior from 1969 to 1974, and as Federal Minister for Foreign Affa ...

(Hrsg.): ''Heiterkeit und Härte: Walter Scheel in seinen Reden und im Urteil von Zeitgenossen''. Deutsche Verlagsanstalt, Stuttgart 1984, . * Hans-Roderich Schneider: ''Präsident des Ausgleichs. Bundespräsident Walter Scheel. Ein liberaler Politiker.'' Verlag Bonn aktuell, Stuttgart 1975, .

References

External links

The German Federal Presidents
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scheel, Walter 1919 births 2016 deaths 20th-century presidents of Germany 20th-century Chancellors of Germany People from the Rhine Province German Lutherans People from Solingen Presidents of Germany Foreign Ministers of Germany Chairmen of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group Members of the Bundestag for North Rhine-Westphalia Members of the Bundestag 1972–1976 Members of the Bundestag 1969–1972 Members of the Bundestag 1965–1969 Members of the Bundestag 1961–1965 Members of the Bundestag 1957–1961 Members of the Bundestag 1953–1957 Members of the Order of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia Members of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group MEPs for Germany 1958–1979 Leaders of political parties in Germany Luftwaffe personnel of World War II Free Democratic Party (Germany) MEPs Vice-Chancellors of Germany Economic Cooperation ministers of Germany Grand Crosses Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Grand Collars of the Order of Saint James of the Sword Nazi Party members Members of the Bundestag for the Free Democratic Party (Germany)