Portrait: Konrad Adenauer, the first Chancellor of West Germany
Wednesday, 27 March 2019 - 11:00 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: Editorial / Redaktion Category/Kategorie: Portrait
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Dr. Konrad Adenauer, 1952 © Bundesarchiv – Katherine Young/cc-by-sa-3.0-de
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Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer was a German statesman who served as the first
Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (
West Germany ) from 1949 to 1963. He was co-founder and first leader of the
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) (till 1966), a
Christian Democratic party that under his leadership became one of the most influential parties in the country.
In the early years of the Federal Republic he switched focus from denazification to recovery and led his country from the ruins of World War II to a productive and prosperous nation that forged close relations with France, the United Kingdom and the United States. During his years in power, West Germany achieved democracy, stability, international respect and economic prosperity (“Wirtschaftswunder “, German for “economic miracle”).
sitting: Nahum Goldmann, President of the World Jewish Congress, Konrad Adenauer, David Ben-Gurion, former Prime Minister of Israel, Förder, President of the State Bank of Israel in Tel Aviv © Bundesarchiv, B 145 Bild, P092350/cc-by-sa-3.0
Adenauer belied his age by his intense work habits and his uncanny political instinct. He displayed a strong dedication to a broad vision of
market -based
liberal democracy and
anti-communism . A shrewd politician, Adenauer was deeply committed to a Western-oriented
foreign policy and restoring the position of West Germany on the world stage. He worked to restore the
West German economy from the destruction of World War II to a central position in Europe, presiding over the
German Economic Miracle . He was a driving force behind West Germany becoming the first German state to re-establish a national military (the
Bundeswehr ) in 1955. He
came to terms with France, which made possible the economic unification of
Western Europe . Adenauer opposed rival
East Germany and made his nation a member of
NATO and a firm ally of the United States.
Adenauer, who was Chancellor until age 87, was dubbed “Der Alte” (“the elder”). British politician and historian
Roy Jenkins says he was “the oldest statesman ever to function in elected office.”
A devout
Roman Catholic and member of the catholic
Centre Party , he was a leading politician in the
Weimar Republic , serving as
Mayor of Cologne (1917–1933) and as president of the
Prussian State Council (1922–1933).
Read more on
Konrad Adenauer Foundation and
Wikipedia Konrad Adenauer (
Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State -
Weather report by weather.com -
Global Passport Power Rank -
Travel Risk Map -
Democracy Index -
GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank -
Global Competitiveness Report -
Corruption Perceptions Index -
Press Freedom Index -
World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index -
UN Human Development Index -
Global Peace Index -
Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index ). Photos by Wikimedia Commons. If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at
comment@wingsch.net . Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.
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