Name	Helmut Kohl
Office	Chancellor of Germany
President	Karl CarstensRichard von WeizsäckerRoman Herzog
Deputy	Hans-Dietrich GenscherJürgen MöllemannKlaus Kinkel
Term start	1 October 1982
Term end	27 October 1998*
Predecessor	Helmut Schmidt
Successor	Gerhard Schröder
Office2	Minister-President of Rhineland-Palatinate
Term start2	19 May 1969
Term end2	2 December 1976
Predecessor2	Peter Altmeier
Successor2	Bernhard Vogel
Birth date	April 03, 1930
Birth place	Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany
Party	Christian Democratic Union (1946–present)
Otherparty	Centre Party (Before 1946)
Spouse	Hannelore Renner (1960–2001)Maike Richter (2008–present)
Alma mater	University of Heidelberg
Profession	HistorianPolitical scientist
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Signature	Helmut Kohl Signature.svg
Footnotes	*From 1 October 1982 to 3 October 1990, Kohl was Chancellor for West Germany only. From 3 October 1990 to 27 October 1998, he was Chancellor for the reunified Germany. }}

Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; born 3 April 1930) is a German conservative politician and statesman. He was Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 (of West Germany between 1982 and 1990 and of a reunited Germany between 1990 and 1998) and the chairman of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to 1998. His 16-year tenure was the longest of any German chancellor since Otto von Bismarck and oversaw the end of the Cold War and the German reunification. Kohl is widely regarded as one of the main architects of the German reunification and, together with French President François Mitterrand, the Maastricht Treaty, which created the European Union.

Kohl and Mitterrand were the joint recipients of the Karlspreis in 1988. In 1998, Kohl was named Honorary Citizen of Europe by the European heads of state or government for his extraordinary work for European integration and cooperation, an honour previously only bestowed on Jean Monnet. In 1996, he won the prestigious Prince of Asturias Award in International Cooperation.

Kohl has been described as "the greatest European leader of the second half of the 20th century" by former U.S. Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

Life

Youth

Kohl was born in Ludwigshafen am Rhein (at the time part of Bavaria, now in Rheinland-Pfalz) Germany, the third child of Cäcilie (''née'' Schnur; 1890–1979) and her husband Hans Kohl (1887–1975), a civil servant. His family was conservative and Roman Catholic, and remained loyal to the Catholic Centre Party before and after 1933. His older brother died in the Second World War as a teenage soldier. In the last weeks of the war, Kohl was also drafted, but he was not involved in any combat.

Kohl attended the Ruprecht elementary school, and continued at the Max-Planck-Gymnasium. In 1946, he joined the recently founded CDU. In 1947, he was one of the co-founders of the Junge Union-branch in Ludwigshafen. After graduating in 1950, he began to study law in Frankfurt am Main. In 1951, he switched to the University of Heidelberg where he majored in History and Political Science. In 1953, he joined the board of the Rhineland-Palatinate branch of the CDU. In 1954, he became vice-chair of the Junge Union in Rhineland-Palatinate. In 1955, he returned to the board of the Rhineland-Palatinate branch of the CDU.

Life before politics

After graduating in 1956 he became fellow at the Alfred Weber Institute of the University of Heidelberg where he was an active member of the student society AIESEC. In 1958, he received his doctorate degree for his thesis "The Political Developments in the Palatinate and the Reconstruction of Political Parties after 1945". After that, he entered business, first as an assistant to the director of a foundry in Ludwigshafen and, in 1959, as a manager for the Industrial Union for Chemistry in Ludwigshafen. In this year, he also became chair of the Ludwigshafen branch of the CDU. In the following year, he married Hannelore Renner, whom he had known since 1948, and they had two sons.

Early political career

In 1960, he was elected into the municipal council of Ludwigshafen where he served as leader of the CDU party until 1969. In 1963, he was also elected into the Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate and served as leader of the CDU party in that legislature. From 1966 until 1973, he served as the chair of the CDU, and he was also a member of the Federal CDU board. After his election as party-chair, he was named as the successor to Peter Altmeier, who was minister-president of Rhineland-Palatinate at the time. However, after the Landtag-election which followed, Altmeier remained minister-president.

Minister-President of Rhineland-Palatinate

On 19 May 1969, Kohl was elected minister-president of Rhineland-Palatinate, as the successor to Peter Altmeier. During his term as minister-president, Kohl founded the University of Trier-Kaiserlautern and enacted territorial reform. Also in 1969, Kohl became the vice-chair of the federal CDU party.

In 1971, he was a candidate to become chairman of the federal CDU, but was not elected. Rainer Barzel remained in the position instead. In 1972, Barzel attempted to force a cabinet crisis in the SPD/FDP government, which failed, leading him to step down. In 1973, Kohl succeeded him as federal chairman; he retained this position until 1998.

The 1976 Bundestag election

In the 1976 federal election, Kohl was the CDU/CSU's candidate for chancellor. The CDU/CSU coalition performed very well, winning 48.6% of the vote. However they were kept out of government by the centre-left cabinet formed by the Social Democratic Party of Germany and Free Democratic Party (Germany), led by Social Democrat Helmut Schmidt. Kohl then retired as minister-president of Rhineland-Palatinate to become the leader of the CDU/CSU in the Bundestag. He was succeeded by Bernhard Vogel.

Leader of the opposition

In the 1980 federal elections, Kohl had to play second fiddle, when CSU-leader Franz Josef Strauß became the CDU/CSU's candidate for chancellor. Strauß was also unable to defeat the SPD/FDP alliance. Unlike Kohl, Strauß did not want to continue as the leader of the CDU/CSU and remained Minister-President of Bavaria. Kohl remained as leader of the opposition, under the third Schmidt cabinet (1980–82).

On 17 September 1982, a conflict of economic policy occurred between the governing SPD/FDP coalition partners. The FDP wanted to radically liberalise the labour market, while the SPD preferred to guarantee the employment of those who already had jobs. The FDP began talks with the CDU/CSU to form a new government.

Chancellor of West Germany

Rise to power

On 1 October 1982, the CDU proposed a constructive vote of no confidence which was supported by the FDP. The motion carried, and, on 4 October, the Bundestag voted in a new CDU/CSU-FDP coalition cabinet, with Kohl as the chancellor. Many of the important details of the new coalition had been hammered out on 20 September, though minor details were reportedly still being hammered out as the vote took place.

Though Kohl's election was done according to the Basic Law, some voices criticized the move as the FDP had fought its 1980 campaign on the side of the SPD and even placed Chancellor Schmidt on some of their campaign posters. Some voices went as far as denying the new government had the support of a majority of the people. To answer this question, the new government aimed at new elections at the earliest possible date.

Since the Basic Law is restrictive on the dissolution of parliament, Kohl had to take another controversial move: he called for a confidence vote only a month after being sworn in, in which members of his coalition abstained. The ostensibly negative result for Kohl then allowed President Karl Carstens to dissolve the Bundestag in January 1983.

The move was controversial as the coalition parties denied their votes to the same man they had elected Chancellor a month before and whom they wanted to re-elect after the parliamentary election. However, this step was condoned by the German Federal Constitutional Court as a legal instrument and was again applied (by SPD Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and his Green allies) in 2005.

The second cabinet

In the federal elections of March 1983, Kohl won a smashing victory. The CDU/CSU won 48.8%, while the FDP won 7.0%. Some opposition members of the Bundestag asked the Federal constitutional court to declare the whole proceedings unconstitutional. It denied their claim.

The second Kohl cabinet pushed through several controversial plans, including the stationing of NATO midrange missiles, against major opposition from the peace movement.

On 24 January 1984, Kohl spoke before the Israeli Knesset, as the first Chancellor of the post-war generation. In his speech, he used Günter Gaus' famous sentence, that he had "the mercy of a late birth".

On 22 September 1984 Kohl met the French president François Mitterrand at Verdun, where the Battle of Verdun between France and Germany had taken place during World War I. Together, they commemorated the deaths of both World Wars. The photograph, which depicted their minutes long handshake became an important symbol of French-German reconciliation. Kohl and Mitterrand developed a close political relationship, forming an important motor for European integration. Together, they laid the foundations for European projects, like Eurocorps and Arte. This French-German cooperation also was vital for important European projects, like the Treaty of Maastricht and the Euro.

In 1985, Kohl and US President Ronald Reagan, as part of a plan to observe the 40th anniversary of V-E Day, saw an opportunity to demonstrate the strength of the friendship that existed between Germany and its former foe. During a November 1984 visit to the White House, Kohl appealed to Reagan to join him in symbolizing the reconciliation of their two countries at a German military cemetery. As Reagan visited Germany as part of the G6 conference in Bonn, the pair visited Bergen-Belsen concentration camp on 5 May, and more controversially the German military cemetery in Bitburg, discovered to hold 49 members of the Waffen-SS buried there.

In 1986, more controversy was caused by an essay published in the ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'' on 25 April 1986 entitled "Land Without A History" written by one of Kohl's advisors, the historian Michael Stürmer, in which Stürmer argued that West Germany lacked a history to be proud of, and called for effort on the part of the government, historians and the media to build national pride in German history. Though Stürmer insisted that he was writing on behalf of himself and not in an official capacity as the Chancellor's advisor, many left-wing intellectuals claimed that Stürmer's essay also expressed Kohl's views.

The third cabinet

After the federal elections of 1987 Kohl won a slightly reduced majority and formed his third cabinet. The SPD's candidate for chancellor was the Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia, Johannes Rau.

In 1987, Kohl received East German leader Erich Honecker - the first ever visit by an East German head of state to West Germany. This is generally seen as a sign that Kohl pursued ''Ostpolitik'', a policy of détente between East and West that had been begun by the SPD-led governments (and strongly opposed by Kohl's own CDU) during the 1970s. Following the breach of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Kohl's handling of the East German issue would become the turning point of his chancellorship.

The road to reunification

Taking advantage of the historic political changes occurring in East Germany, Kohl presented a ten point plan for "Overcoming of the division of Germany and Europe" without consulting his coalition partner, the FDP, or the Western Allies. In February 1990, he visited the Soviet Union seeking a guarantee from Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev that the USSR would allow German reunification to proceed. On 18 May 1990, he signed an economic and social union treaty with East Germany. Against the will of the president of the German federal bank, he allowed a 1:1 exchange rate for wages, interest and rent between the West and East Marks. In the end, this policy would seriously hurt companies in the new federal states. Together with Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher, Kohl was able to resolve talks with the former Allies of World War II to allow German reunification and the expansion of the NATO into the former East German state. On 3 October 1990, the East German state was abolished and its territory reunified with West Germany. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Kohl confirmed that historically German territories east of the Oder-Neisse line were definitively part of the Republic of Poland, thereby finally ending the West German territorial claims. In 1993, Kohl confirmed, in a treaty with the Czech Republic, that Germany would no longer bring forward territorial claims as to the pre-1945 ethnic German so-called Sudetenland. This was a disappointment for the German Heimatvertriebene, displaced persons.

Chancellor of reunified Germany

Reunification placed Kohl in a momentarily unassailable position. In the 1990 elections the first free, fair and democratic all-German elections since the Weimar Republic era Kohl won by a landslide over opposition candidate and Minister-President of Saarland, Oskar Lafontaine. He then formed his fourth cabinet.

After the federal elections of 1994 Kohl was narrowly re-elected. He defeated the Minister-President of Rhineland-Palatinate Rudolf Scharping. The SPD was however able to win a majority in the Bundesrat, which significantly limited Kohl's power. In foreign politics, Kohl was more successful, for instance getting Frankfurt am Main as the seat for the European Central Bank. In 1997, Kohl received the Vision for Europe Award for his efforts in the unification of Europe.

By the late 1990s, the aura surrounding Kohl had largely worn off amid rising unemployment. He was heavily defeated in the 1998 federal elections by the Minister-President of Lower Saxony, Gerhard Schröder.

Retirement and legal troubles

A red-green coalition government led by Schröder replaced Kohl's government on 27 October 1998. He immediately resigned as CDU leader and largely retired from politics. However, he remained a member of the Bundestag until he decided not to run for reelection in the 2002 election.

CDU finance affair

Kohl's life after political office was characterized by the CDU-party finance scandal and by developments in his personal life.

A party financing scandal became public in 1999, when it was discovered that the CDU had received and kept illegal donations during his leadership.

Life after politics

In 2002, Kohl left the Bundestag and officially retreated from politics. In recent years, Kohl has been largely rehabilitated by his party again. After taking office, Angela Merkel invited her former patron to the Chancellor's Office and Ronald Pofalla, the Secretary-General of the CDU, announced that the CDU will cooperate more closely with Kohl, "to take advantage of the experience of this great statesman", as Pofalla put it. However, Kohl has retreated from public life to a far greater extent than his predecessor Helmut Schmidt.

On 5 July 2001, Hannelore Kohl, his wife, committed suicide, after suffering from photodermatitis for years. On 4 March 2004, he published the first of his memoirs, called "Memories 1930–1982", covering the period 1930 to 1982, when he became chancellor. The second part, published on 3 November 2005, included the first half of his chancellorship (from 1982 to 1990). On 28 December 2004, Kohl was air-lifted by the Sri Lankan Air Force, after having been stranded in a hotel by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.

He is a member of the Club of Madrid.

As reported in the German press, he also gave his name to the soon-to-be launched Helmut Kohl Centre for European Studies (currently 'Centre for European Studies'), which is the new political foundation of the European People's Party.

In April 2008, Kohl was reported to be in intensive care due to a falling accident earlier in the year, and incapable of speaking. Subsequent to his recovery, he married his 43-year-old partner, Maike Richter, on 8 May 2008.

Political views

In international politics Kohl was committed to European integration, maintaining close relations with the French president Mitterrand. Parallel to this he was committed to German reunification. Although he continued the Ostpolitik of his social-democratic predecessor, Kohl also supported Reagan's more aggressive policies in order to weaken the USSR.

Public perception

Kohl faced stiff opposition from the West German political left and was as well mocked upon for his provincial background, physical stature and simple language. Similar to historical French cartoons of Louis-Philippe of France, Hans Traxler depicted Kohl as a ''pear'' in the left leaning satirical journal Titanic. The German expression ''Birne'' ("pear") became a widespread nickname and symbol for the Chancellor. Public ridicule subsided as Kohl's political star began to rise: as the leader of European integration and an important figure in the German reunification. Kohl became one of the most popular politicians in some regions of Eastern Germany and a greatly respected European statesman.

Honors

In 1988, Kohl and Mitterrand received the Karlspreis for his contribution to Franco-German friendship and European Union.

In 1996, Kohl received the Prince of Asturias Award in International Cooperation

In 1996, he was made honorary doctor of the Catholic University of Louvain.

In 1996, Kohl received an order for his humanitarian achievements from the Jewish organisation B'nai B'rith.

In 1996, Kohl received a Doctor of Humanities, Honoris Causa from the Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines, a Jesuit run institution.

On 11 December 1998, the European Council awarded him the title Honorary Citizen of Europe, a title which only Jean Monnet had received before. In 1998, he received an honorary doctor of laws degree from Brandeis University in Massachusetts. In 1998, he was only the second person to be awarded the Grand Cross in Special Design of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, the other being Konrad Adenauer.

In 1999, Kohl received Presidential Medal of Freedom from U.S. President Clinton.

Kohl is honorary citizen of both Frankfurt am Main and Berlin. On 2 September 2005, he was made an honorary citizen of his home town, Ludwigshafen.

In 2007, he received the Gold Medal of the Jean Monnet Foundation for Europe for his contribution to the unity of Europe.

On May 16, 2011, Kohl received the Henry A. Kissinger Prize at the American Academy in Berlin for his "singularly extraordinary role in German reunification and laying the foundation for a lasting democratic peace in the new millennium".

See also

Cabinet Kohl I

Cabinet Kohl II

Cabinet Kohl III

Cabinet Kohl IV

Cabinet Kohl V

References

External links

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Category:1930 births Category:Living people Category:People from Ludwigshafen Category:German Roman Catholics Category:Christian Democratic Union (Germany) politicians Category:Chancellors of Germany Category:Cold War leaders Category:German anti-communists Category:Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Category:Karlspreis recipients Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Category:Members of the Bundestag Category:People from the Palatinate Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Category:Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Category:Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) Category:University of Heidelberg alumni Category:Grand Order of Queen Jelena recipients Category:Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 1st Class

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{{infobox chancellor | name	Helmut Schmidt | imageSchmidt 01.jpg |caption Helmut Schmidt in 2001 | orderChancellor of Germany | term_start 16 May 1974 | term_end 1 October 1982 | president Gustav Heinemann (1974)Walter Scheel (1974-1979)Karl Carstens (1979-1982) | deputy Hans-Dietrich Genscher (1974-1982)Egon Franke (1982) | predecessor Willy BrandtWalter Scheel (acting) | successor Helmut Kohl
office2	Federal Minister of Finance
term start2	7 July 1972
term end2	16 May 1974
predecessor2	Karl Schiller
successor2	Hans Apel
office3	Federal Minister of Economics
term start3	7 July 1972
term end3	15 December 1972
predecessor3	Karl Schiller
successor3	Hans Friderichs
office4	Federal Minister of Defence
term start4	22 October 1969
term end4	7 July 1972
predecessor4	Gerhard Schröder
successor4	Georg Leber | birth_date December 23, 1918 | birth_place Hamburg, German Empire | death_date | death_place | profession Economist, Civil servant | spouseHannelore "Loki" Glaser (1942–2010) (her death) | partySPD | religion Protestant | signature Helmut Schmidt Signature.svg }}

Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt (; born 23 December 1918) is a German Social Democratic politician who served as Chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982. Prior to becoming chancellor, he had served as Minister of Defence and Minister of Finance. He had also served briefly as Minister of Economics and as acting Foreign Minister. He is the oldest surviving German Chancellor and the last surviving person to have been solely Chancellor of West Germany (Helmut Kohl was Chancellor of both West Germany and reunified Germany). He also is the oldest Federal German Minister surviving after the death of his Interior Minister Werner Maihofer.

Background

Helmut Schmidt was born in Hamburg, as son of two teachers. He studied at Hamburg Lichtwark School, graduating in 1937. He was conscripted into military service and began serving with an anti-aircraft battery at Vegesack near Bremen during World War II. After brief service on the Eastern Front he returned to Germany in 1942 to work as a trainer and advisor at the ''Reichsluftfahrtministerium''. Also in 1942, on 27 June, he married his childhood sweetheart Hannelore "Loki" Glaser (3 March 1919 – 21 October 2010), with whom he fathered two children: Helmut Walter (26 June 1944–February 1945, died of meningitis), and Susanne (b. 1947), who works in London for Bloomberg Television. Toward the end of the war, from December 1944 onwards, he served as an Oberleutnant in the artillery on the Western Front. He was captured by the British in April 1945 on Lüneburg Heath and was a prisoner of war until August. During his service in World War II Schmidt was awarded the Iron Cross.

Schmidt's father was the illegitimate son of a German Jewish businessman, although this was kept secret in the family. This was confirmed publicly by Helmut Schmidt in 1984, after Valéry Giscard d'Estaing had, apparently with Schmidt's assent, revealed the fact to journalists. Schmidt himself is a non-practicing Lutheran.

Schmidt completed his education in Hamburg, studying economics and political science. He graduated in 1949.

Political career

Early years

Schmidt had joined the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in 1946, and from 1947 to 1948 was leader of the Sozialistischer Deutscher Studentenbund, the then-student organisation of the SPD.

Upon leaving the university, he worked for the government of the city-state of Hamburg, working in the department of economic policy. Beginning in 1952, under Karl Schiller, he was a senior figure in the ''Behörde für Wirtschaft und Verkehr'' (the Hamburg State Ministry for Economy and Transport).

He was elected to the ''Bundestag'' in 1953, and in 1957 he became member of the SPD parliamentary party executive. A vocal critic of conservative government policy, his outspoken rhetoric in parliament earned him the nickname "Schmidt-Schnauze". In 1958, he joined the national board of the SPD (''Bundesvorstand'') and campaigned against nuclear weapons and the equipping of the ''Bundeswehr'' with such devices. In 1958, he gave up his seat in parliament to concentrate on his tasks in Hamburg.

From 27 February 1958, to 29 November 1961, he was a Member of the European Parliament, which was not directly elected at the time.

Senator

The government of the city-state of Hamburg is known as the Senate, and from 1961 to 1965 Schmidt was the ''Innensenator'', that is Minister of the Interior. He gained the reputation as a ''Macher'' (doer) someone who gets things done regardless of obstacles by his effective management during the emergency caused by the 1962 flood. Schmidt used all means at his disposal to alleviate the situation, even when that meant overstepping his legal authority, including federal police and army units (ignoring the German constitution's prohibition on using the army for "internal affairs"; a clause excluding disasters was not added until 1968). Describing his actions, Schmidt said, "I wasn't put in charge of these units - I took charge of them!"

This characteristic was coupled with a pragmatic attitude and opposition to political idealism, including those of student protests, best symbolised by his well known remark that "People who have a vision should go see a doctor."

Return to Federal politics

In 1965, he was re-elected to the Bundestag. In 1967, after the formation of the Grand Coalition between SPD and CDU, he became chairman of the Social Democrat parliamentary party, a post he held until the elections of 1969.

In 1967, he was elected deputy party chairman.

In October 1969, he entered the government of Willy Brandt as defence minister. During his term in office the military conscription time was reduced from 18 to 15 months. Additionally, Schmidt decided to introduce the Bundeswehr universities in Hamburg and Munich to broaden the academic education of the German officer corps. In July 1972, he succeeded Karl Schiller as Minister for Economics and Finances, but in November 1972, he relinquished the Economics department, which was again made a separate ministry. Schmidt remained Minister of Finances until May 1974.

From 1968 to 1984, Schmidt was deputy chairman of the SPD (unlike Willy Brandt and Gerhard Schröder, he was never actually chairman of the party).

Chancellor

He became Chancellor of West Germany on 16 May 1974, after Brandt's resignation in the wake of an espionage scandal. The worldwide economic recession was the main concern of his administration, and Schmidt took a tough and disciplined line. During his term, Germany had to cope with the oil crisis of the 1970s; according to some judgments, Germany managed better than the most of the industrial states. Schmidt was also active in improving relations with France. Together with the French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, he was one of the fathers of the world economic summits, the first of which assembled in 1975.

In 1975, he was a signatory of the Helsinki Final Act to create the Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the precursor of today's OSCE.

He remained chancellor after the 1976 elections in coalition with the FDP.

Regarding the terrorist Red Army Faction he held to a tough, no compromise line. Specifically, he authorized the GSG 9 anti-terrorist unit to end the hijacking of the Lufthansa aircraft Landshut by force in the German Autumn of 1977.

During his tenure as chancellor Schmidt drew criticism from Israel for commenting that Palestine should receive an apology because the Holocaust of European Jewry seemingly prompted the establishment of the State of Israel.

Concerned about the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the Soviet superiority regarding missiles in Central Europe, Schmidt issued proposals resulting in the NATO Double-Track Decision concerning the deployment of medium-range nuclear missiles in Western Europe should the Soviets not disarm. He was re-elected as chancellor in November 1980. In October 1981, Schmidt was fitted with a cardiac pacemaker.

At the beginning of his period as Bundeskanzler, Schmidt was a proponent of Keynesian economics, and pursued expansionary monetary and fiscal policies during his time as chancellor. Between 1979 and 1982, the Schmidt Administration pursued such policies in an effort to reduce unemployment. These were moderately successful, as the fiscal measures introduced after 1977, which reductions in income and wealth taxes and an increase in the medium-term public investment programme, was estimated to have created 160,000 additional jobs in 1978-79, or 300,000 if additional public sector employment was included in the figure). The small fall the unemployment rate, however, was achieved at the cost of a larger budget deficit (which rose from 31.2 billion DM to 75.7 billion DM in 1981), brought about by fiscal expansion).

During the Seventies West Germany was able to weather the global financial storm far better than almost all the other developed countries, with unemployment and inflation kept at comparatively low levels. During the 1976 election campaign, the SDP-FDP coalition was able to win the battle of statistics, whether the figures related to employee’s incomes, strikes, unemployment, growth, or public sector debts. Amongst other social improvements, retirement pensions had been doubled between 1969 and 1976, and unemployment pay increased to 68% of previous earnings.

By the end of his term, however, Schmidt had turned away from deficit spending, due to a deteriorating economic situation. Large sections of the SPD increasingly opposed his security policy while most of the FDP politicians strongly supported that policy; while representatives of the left wing of the Social Democratic Party opposed reduction of the state expenditures, the FDP began proposing a monetarist economic policy. In February 1982, Schmidt won a Motion of Confidence, however on 17 September 1982, the coalition broke apart, with the four FDP ministers leaving his cabinet. Schmidt continued to head a minority government composed only of SPD members, while the FDP negotiated a coalition with the CDU/CSU. During this time Schmidt also headed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On 1 October 1982, parliament approved of a Vote of No-Confidence and elected the CDU chairman Helmut Kohl as the new Chancellor. This was the first and only time in the history of the Federal Republic that a Chancellor was ousted from office in this way.

Domestic reforms

Although Schmidt did not feel that he was in a position to substantially extend the social reforms of the Brandt Administration, due to the economic problems he encountered during his time as chancellor, a wide range of reforms were nevertheless carried out under his administration. These included:

The introduction of employment creation schemes to help young workers. Major improvements in welfare provision for the elderly. The Training Opportunities Act (1976) which, over a four-year period, helped to increase the number of vocational training places from 450,000 to 630,000 a year. The replacement of tax allowances by child benefit as well as payment for the first child (1975). A new declaration of social rights (1976). A Sex Discrimination Act (1977). The introduction of a "parity" system (although in a weakened form) on the supervisory boards of all companies employing over 2,000 workers, a reform which West German trade unions had long fought for. This lawimproved employee representation on the supervisory boards of companies outside the steel and coal industries. The main provision of this new piece of legislation was that in the 650 major companies that accounted for 70% of West Germany’s output, employee representation on the supervisory boards rose from one-third to one-half. The 1976 Act for the Promotion of Urban Development and the 1977 Housing Modernisation Act, which (together with the 1971 Act for the Promotion of Urban Development passed by the Brandt Administration) by the end of the Seventies had enabled most West German cities to introduce programmes aimed at renovating their pre-war residential areas. Improvements in family allowances, with monthly subsidies for children increased by over 100% (1975). The introduction of additional tax reforms that lowered the tax burden on low-income households, and which played an important role “in pre-empting a real decline in the income and purchasing power of workers�. The introduction of social policy legislation in the late seventies which increased family allowances (though by a smaller amount than in 1974) and maternity leave benefits. A tax relief act, which reduced income taxes and provided additional tax benefits for housing allowances. The introduction of several policy changes between 1976 and 1982, such as tax credits and family allowances, which compensated unions for wage restraint and “guaranteed the maintenance of a constant income level for employed persons and their families�. A substantial increase in the child allowance (1979). The launching of an experimental retraining programme on the shop floor (lasting from 1979 to 1981), which benefited 45,680 people. The Law to Improve Occupational Old Age Pensions (1974), which extended coverage of occupational pensions whilst also “co-ordinating them more closely with state pensions and setting minimum standards as regards benefit levels and the preservation of pension rights.� By 1976, as a result of this legislation, 65% of private sector employees were covered by occupational schemes and over two-thirds of these workers were eligible for benefits equal to more than 15% of their earnings at retirement. Improvements in invalidity and old-age pension provision for the unemployed, who (from 1977 onwards) were technically insured free of charge under the old-age pension and invalidity scheme. Previously, there had only existed partial and restricted coverage for the unemployed. A reform of naming for partners after marriage (1976). A reform of marriage law, which eliminated “moral guilt� as a criterion for alimony payment obligations (1976). Increases in child benefits, which rose on a regular basis (particularly for families with more than one child) for most of the years that the Schmidt Administration was in office. The introduction of a provisional law (1976) to boost the number of apprentices, which reduced the numbers of young people out of work. The First Marriage Reform Law (1976), which stated that pension entitlements acquired during marriage must be shared with the economically weaker spouse following divorce. The Artists’ Social insurance Law (1981), which introduced compulsory insurance for artists below a certain income-limit. The Introductory Tax Reform Law (1974), which increased bad weather payments, part-time workers’ benefits and insurance benefits to 68% of net wages, fixed special benefits during vocational training at 90% of net earnings, increased assistance benefits to 58% of net earnings, and abolished special family benefits “in favour of the inclusion of the unemployed under general child allowance scheme�. The Maintenance Security Law (1979), which introduced public advance payments for single parents “not in receipt of maintenance payments from the liable parent.� These benefits were made payable up to 36 months, and private claims against a parent not meeting a maintenance liability were taken over by the state. The extension of entitlement to educational allowances to cover all tenth-grade pupils in vocational education (1978). The adoption of the European directive on equal treatment for women in paid employment (1979). The introduction of four months paid parental leave for working mothers (1979). The introduction of a law which enabled married women to enter employment without the permission of their husbands (1977). The strengthening of the legal status of people from other countries by facilitating the acquisition of unlimited residence permits (1978). An amendment to the legal code for residency permits (1978), which granted foreign residents the right to unlimited residence permits after five years of continuous residency. The amendment also stated that legal residents would be eligible for a residence entitlement after eight years if certain conditions were met, such as language fluency. A reduction in poverty between 1978 and 1982.

Life after politics

In 1982, along with his friend Gerald Ford, he co-founded the annual AEI World Forum.

In 1983, he joined the nationwide weekly ''Die Zeit'' newspaper as co-publisher. In 1985, he became Managing Director. With Takeo Fukuda he founded the Inter Action Councils in 1983. He retired from the ''Bundestag'' in 1986. In December 1986, he was one of the founders of the committee supporting the EMU and the creation of the European Central Bank.

Contrary to the current line of his party, Helmut Schmidt is a determined opponent of Turkey's entry into the EU. He also opposes phasing out nuclear energy, something that the Red-Green coalition of Gerhard Schröder supported. Further, Schmidt regards the climate debate “hysteric� and the IPCC reports skeptical.

Schmidt is author of numerous books on his political life, on foreign policy and political ethics. He remains one the most renowned political publicists in Germany.

In recent years, Schmidt has been afflicted with increasing deafness.

2007 criticism of the United States

In November 2007, Schmidt wrote in the German weekly ''Die Zeit'' that the United States was a greater threat to world peace than Russia. He argued that Russia had not invaded its neighbours since the conclusion of the Cold War and that he was surprised that Russia allowed Ukraine and other former components of the Soviet Union to secede peacefully. He noted that the United States' invasion of Iraq under George W. Bush was "a war of choice, not a war of necessity."

Friendships

300 px|right|thumb|Schmidt with Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (1977)Schmidt numbered the assassinated Egyptian president Anwar as-Sadat among his particular friends from the world of politics, and sustains his friendship with ex-president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing of France. His circle also includes former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger who is on record as stating that he wishes to predecease Helmut Schmidt, because he would not wish to live in a world without Schmidt.

He was also good friends with Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. In 2011 Schmidt, accompanied by Jean Chrétien and Tom Axworthy, made a pilgrimage to the Trudeau family vault in St-Rémi-de-Napierville Cemetery.

Personal life

He is a great admirer of the philosopher Karl Popper, and contributed a foreword to the 1982 ''Festschrift'' in Popper's honor.

The University of Germany's Federal Armed Forces in Hamburg was renamed Helmut Schmidt University - University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg in 2003 in honour of the politician who as minister of defence had introduced obligatory academic education for German career officers.

Born and raised in Hamburg, Schmidt is regarded in Germany as an embodiment of hanseatic values, according to which he has never accepted a medal or an order of merit (not even the Federal Republic's Federal Cross of Merit).

Schmidt is also a talented pianist, and has recorded piano concertos of both Mozart and Bach with the well-known German pianist and conductor, Christoph Eschenbach.

Schmidt (as was his late wife) is a smoker. He is well known for lighting up cigarettes on TV interviews and talkshows. In January 2008, German police launched an enquiry after Schmidt was reported by an anti-smoking initiative for defying the recently introduced smoking ban. The initiative claimed that Helmut Schmidt had been flagrantly ignoring laws "for decades". Despite pictures in the press, the case was subsequently dropped after the public prosecution service decided that Schmidt's actions had not been a threat to public health.

On April 6, 2010 with a lifespan of 33 342 days he surpassed Konrad Adenauer in terms of longevity and is now the oldest former chancellor in German history.

Schmidt's first term as Federal Chancellor, 16 May 1974–15 December 1976

Helmut Schmidt (SPD) - Chancellor

Hans-Dietrich Genscher (FDP) - Vice Chancellor and Minister of Foreign Affairs

Georg Leber (SPD) - Minister of Defense

Werner Maihofer (FDP) - Minister of the Interior

Hans Apel (SPD) - Minister of Finance

Hans-Jochen Vogel (SPD) - Minister of Justice

Hans Friedrichs (FDP) - Minister of Economics

Walter Arendt (SPD) - Minister of Labour and Social Affairs

Josef Ertl (FDP) - Minister of Food, Agriculture, and Forestry

Kurt Gscheidle (SPD) - Minister of Transport, Posts, and Communications

Karl Ravens (SPD) - Minister of Construction

Katharina Focke (SPD) - Minister of Youth, Family, and Health

Hans Matthöfer (SPD) - Minister of Research and Technology

Helmut Rohde (SPD) - Minister of Education and Science

Erhard Eppler (SPD) - Minister of Economic Cooperation

Egon Franke (SPD) - Minister of Intra-German Relations

Changes

4 July 1974 - Egon Bahr (SPD) succeeds Eppler as Minister of Economic Cooperation.

Schmidt's second term as Federal Chancellor, 15 December 1976–5 November 1980

Helmut Schmidt (SPD) - Chancellor

Hans-Dietrich Genscher (FDP) - Vice Chancellor and Minister of Foreign Affairs

Georg Leber (SPD) - Minister of Defense

Werner Maihofer (FDP) - Minister of the Interior

Hans Apel (SPD) - Minister of Finance

Hans-Jochen Vogel (SPD) - Minister of Justice

Hans Friedrichs (FDP) - Minister of Economics

Herbert Ehrenberg (SPD) - Minister of Labour and Social Affairs

Josef Ertl (FDP) - Minister of Food, Agriculture, and Forestry

Kurt Gscheidle (SPD) - Minister of Transportation, Posts, and Communications

Karl Ravens (SPD) - Minister of Construction

Antje Huber (SPD) - Minister of Youth, Family, and Health

Hans Matthöfer (SPD) - Minister of Research and Technology

Helmut Rohde (SPD) - Minister of Education and Science

Marie Schlei (SPD) - Minister of Economic Cooperation

Egon Franke (SPD) - Minister of Intra-German Relations

Changes

7 October 1977 - Otto Graf Lambsdorff (FDP) succeeds Friedrichs as Minister of Economics.

16 February 1978 - Hans Apel (SPD) succeeds Leber as Minister of Defense. Hans Matthöfer (SPD) succeeds Apel as Minister of Finance. Volker Hauff succeeds Matthöfer as Minister of Research and Technology. Dieter Haack (SPD) succeeds Ravens as Minister of Construction. Jürgen Schmude (SPD) succeeds Rohde as Minister of Education and Science. Rainer Offergeld (SPD) succeeds Schlei as Minister of Economic Cooperation.

8 June 1978 - Gerhart Baum (FDP) succeeds Maihofer as Minister of the Interior.

Schmidt's third term as Federal Chancellor, 5 November 1980–17 September 1982

Helmut Schmidt (SPD) - Chancellor

Hans-Dietrich Genscher (FDP) - Vice Chancellor and Minister of Foreign Affairs

Hans Apel (SPD) - Minister of Defense

Gerhart Baum (FDP) - Minister of the Interior

Hans Matthöfer (SPD) - Minister of Finance

Hans-Jochen Vogel (SPD) - Minister of Justice

Otto Graf Lambsdorff (FDP) - Minister of Economics

Herbert Ehrenberg (SPD) - Minister of Labour and Social Affairs

Josef Ertl (FDP) - Minister of Food, Agriculture, and Forestry

Volker Hauff (SPD) - Minister of Transport

Dieter Haack (SPD) - Minister of Construction

Antje Huber (SPD) - Minister of Youth, Family, and Health

Andreas von Bülow (SPD) - Minister of Research and Technology

Jürgen Schmude (SPD) - Minister of Education and Science

Rainer Offergeld (SPD) - Minister of Economic Cooperation

Kurt Gscheidle (SPD) - Minister of Posts and Communications

Egon Franke (SPD) - Minister of Intra-German Relations

Changes

28 January 1981 - Jürgen Schmude (SPD) succeeds Vogel as Minister of Justice. Björn Engholm succeeds Schmude as Minister of Education and Science.

28 April 1982 - Hans Matthöfer (SPD) succeeds Gscheidle as Minister of Posts and Communications. Manfred Lahnstein (SPD) succeeds Matthöfer as Minister of Finance. Heinz Westphal (SPD) succeeds Ehrenberg as Minister of Labour and Social Affairs. Anke Fuchs (SPD) succeeds Huber as Minister of Youth, Family, and Health.

17 September 1982 - All the Free Democratic ministers quit the government. Helmut Schmidt (SPD) succeeds Genscher as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Jürgen Schmude (SPD) succeeds Baum as Minister of the Interior, remaining also Minister of Justice. Manfred Lahnstein (SPD) succeeds Lambsdorff as Minister of Economics, remaining also Minister of Finance. Björn Engholm (SPD) succeeds Ertl as Minister of Food, Agriculture, and Forestry, remaining also Minister of Education and Science.

Bibliography

Memoirs

''Menschen und Mächte'' (Persons and Powers), Siedler, Berlin 1987. Memoirs with focus on cold war politics.

''Die Deutschen und ihre Nachbarn'' (The Germans and their Neighbours), Siedler, Berlin 1990. Strong focus on European politics.

''Kinder und Jugend unter Hitler'', with Willi Berkhan et al. (Childhood and Youth under Hitler). Siedler, Berlin 1992.

''Weggefährten'' (Companions), Siedler, Berin 1996. Personal memoirs, with focus on personal relations with domestic and foreign politicians

Recent political books (selection)

''Balance of Power'', Kimber, 1971, ISBN 978-0-7183-0112-5

''The Soviet Union: Challenges and Responses As Seen from the European Point of View'', Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 1984, ISBN 978-9971-902-75-9

''A Grand Strategy for the West: The Anachronism of National Strategies in an Interdependent World'', Yale University Press, reprint 1987, ISBN 978-0-300-04003-6

''Men and Powers: A Political Retrospective'', Random House, 1989, ISBN 978-0-394-56994-9

''A Global Ethic and Global Responsibilities: Two Declarations'', with Hans Kung, SCM Press, 1998, ISBN 978-0-334-02740-9

''Bridging the Divide: Religious Dialogue and Universal Ethics'', Queen's Policy Studies, 2008, ISBN 978-1-55339-220-0

''Auf der Suche nach einer öffentlichen Moral'' (In Search of a Public Morality), DVA, Stuttgart 1998.

''Die Selbstbehauptung Europas'' (The Self-Assertion of Europe), DVA, Stuttgart 2000.

''Die Mächte der Zukunft. Gewinner und Verlierer in der Welt von morgen'' (The Powers of the Future. Winners and Losers in the World of Tomorrow) Siedler, Munich 2004.

''Nachbar China'', with Frank Sieren (Neighbour China), Econ, Berlin 2006.

''Ausser Dienst'' (Out of Service), Siedler, Munich 2008. A political legacy.

References

Further reading

.

Schmidt, Helmut. ''Men and Power: A Political Retrospective'' (1990), his memoir

External links

Biography at the German Historic Museum (German)

Chancellor Site (German)

Helmut Schmidt University (English)

Talks:

* Die Selbstbehauptung Europas im neuen Jahrhundert (German, 2000)

* 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 for the WGBH series, War and Peace in the Nuclear Age

* C-SPAN Booknotes interview in 1990 about his book, Men and Powers: A Political Retrospective.

Category:1918 births Category:Living people Category:People from Hamburg Category:German Lutherans Category:Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians Category:Chancellors of Germany Category:Cold War leaders Category:Defence ministers of Germany Category:Finance ministers of Germany Category:German Christian socialists Category:German economists Category:German military personnel of World War II Category:Members of the Bundestag Category:Ministers of the Hamburg State Government Category:University of Hamburg alumni Category:Recipients of the Iron Cross Category:German people of Jewish descent

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Hans Rosenthal (2 April 1925 - 10 February 1987) was a radio editor, director, and one of the most popular German radio and television hosts of the 1970s and 80s.

Life

Rosenthal grew up in a Jewish family in the Prenzlauer Berg district of Berlin (on Winsstraße No. 63). His childhood was marked by an aggressive antisemitic atmosphere, the result of rising German Nazism. His father died of renal failure in 1937, after he had lost his job at the Deutsche Bank AG. When his mother died of colorectal cancer in 1941, Hans and his younger brother Gert (born 1932) found themselves in the orphanage. Starting in 1940, Hans was forced to participate in unfree labour, while his brother was deported and like many other relatives died in the Holocaust. After Hans escaped the ''Fabrikaktion'' in February 1943, he went into hiding and until 1945 was able to stay at a safe house in a small garden allotment in Berlin-Lichtenberg, where three German women helped him to survive.

After the war, Rosenthal began an apprenticeship as an assistant director at the Berliner Rundfunk public broadcaster. However, he soon came into conflict with the supervisiors of the Soviet Military Administration and from 1948 onwards worked for the ''Rundfunk im amerikanischen Sektor'' (RIAS), a broadcaster controlled by the American occupying forces. He became chief entertainment editor and soon hosted his own radio quiz shows: ''Allein gegen alle'', ''Wer fragt, gewinnt.'', ''Das klingende Sonntagsrätsel'', ''Spaß muß sein'' (broadcast from London's Paris Theatre during the 1966 FIFA World Cup), ''Opas Schlagerfestival'', ''Da ist man sprachlos'', ''Die Rückblende'' and ''Günter Neumann und seine Insulaner''. Later on the German ZDF public television channel, he presented shows like ''Gut gefragt ist halb gewonnen'', ''Rate mal mit Rosenthal'', ''KO OK'', ''Das Schlagerfestival der 20er Jahre'', and ''Dalli Dalli'', a co-production with the Austrian ORF broadcaster.

The TV show ''Dalli, Dalli'' (derived from , "Hurry Up!"), aired 153 times from 1971 until 1986, was most popular. Celebrities had to compete in several fast-paced quiz tournaments and games of skill, critiqued by a panel of judges. Up to today Rosenthal is known in Germany for his catchphrase ''Sie sind der Meinung, das war ... ?'' ("So you all think that was... ?") commenting extraordinary achievements. The TV audience answered ''Spitze!'' ("Great!") at which point Rosenthal would jump into the air. Due to his short body height, his first name was often put affectionately into a diminutive form, whereas he was known as ''Hänschen'' Rosenthal.

He was a member of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, the Zentralrat der Juden from the 1960s onwards. He often took his vacation in Utersum on Föhr, of which he was eventually made an honorary citizen. From 1965 until 1973 Rosenthal was chairman of the Tennis Borussia Berlin football club. Rosenthal started a foundation called ''Schnelle Hilfe in Akuter Not'' (which translates into "Fast Help in Dire Need").

In 1980 Rosenthal published his autobiography ''Zwei Leben in Deutschland'' ("Two Lives in Germany"). In 1986, along with Paul Spiegel, he started an international media agency, which promoted actors, TV presenters and artists. In the same year Rosenthal fell ill with stomach cancer and had to terminate his function as TV host. He died in 1987 in Berlin, aged 61.

Awards

1972 Federal Cross of Merit (Bundesverdienstkreuz)

1973 Bambi

1974 Goldene Kamera

1979 Goldene Kamera

1984 Goldene Kamera

1985 Goldene Europa

1986 Telestar

Other honours

1993 The square in front of the RIAS building (now the home of Deutschlandradio Kultur) in Berlin-Schöneberg was named Hans-Rosenthal-Platz

2007 A sports center in Berlin-Westend was named ''Hans-Rosenthal-Sportanlage''

Books by Rosenthal

''Zwei Leben in Deutschland'', Bergisch Gladbach 1980, ISBN 3-7857-0265-5

Literature about Rosenthal

Leonard Gross : ''The Last Jews in Berlin'', Simon & Schuster, USA 1982, ISBN 0-283-99004-X

Thomas Henschke: Hans Rosenthal. ''Ein Leben für die Unterhaltung. Schwarzkopf u. Schwarzkopf'', Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-89602-307-1

Michael Schäbitz, Paul Spiegel, Curth Flatow: ''Hans Rosenthal. Deutschlands unvergessener Quizmaster; bewusster, stolzer Jude. Jüdische Miniaturen'', Band 19. Stiftung Neue Synagoge Berlin - Centrum Iudaicum / Hentrich and Hentrich, Teetz 2004, ISBN 3-933471-73-7

External links

Literature by and about Hans Rosenthal in German National Library

Hans Rosenthal Foundation (in German)

Category:German television personalities Category:German radio personalities Category:German television presenters Category:German game show hosts Category:People from Berlin Category:German Jews Category:1925 births Category:1987 deaths Category:Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Category:Deaths from stomach cancer

de:Hans Rosenthal nds:Hans Rosenthal

Name	Franz Josef Strauss
Office	Minister President of Bavaria
Term start	6 November 1978
Term end	3 October 1988
Predecessor	Alfons Goppel
Successor	Max Streibl
Office2	Federal Minister of Finance
Term start2	2 December 1966
Term end2	22 October 1969
Predecessor2	Kurt Schmücker
Successor2	Alex Möller
Office3	Federal Minister of Defence
Term start3	16 October 1956
Term end3	16 December 1962
Predecessor3	Theodor Blank
Successor3	Kai-Uwe von Hassel
Office4	Federal Minister for Atomic Affairs
Term start4	21 October 1955
Term end4	16 October 1956
Successor4	Siegfried Balke
Office5	Federal Minister for Special Affairs
Term start5	1953
Term end5	1955
Birth date	September 06, 1915
Birth place	Munich
Nationality	German
Death date	October 03, 1988 (age 73)
Death place	Regensburg
Party	CSU
Religion	Roman Catholic
Signature	StraussFranzJosefSignature02 mono 25p transp.png
Footnotes	}}

Franz Josef Strauss (, ; 6 September 1915 – 3 October 1988) was a German politician. He was the leader of the Christian Social Union, a one-time member of the federal cabinet, and long-time minister-president of the state of Bavaria.

During his political career Strauss was something of a divisive figure, even on the political right, where his party, the CSU, was located. As a younger man he served in several positions in the federal cabinet, and had some brushes with scandal during this time. After the 1969 federal elections, West Germany's right wing political alliance found itself out of power for the first time since the founding of the Federal Republic. At this time, Strauss became even more identified with the regional politics of Bavaria. While he ran for the chancellorship at the head of the CDU/CSU ticket in 1980, for the rest of his life Strauss never again held federal office. From 1978 until his death in 1988, he was the head of the Bavarian government.

His last two decades were also marked by a fierce rivalry with CDU leader Helmut Kohl.

Early years

Born in Munich, as the second child of a butcher, Strauss studied German letters, history and economics at the University of Munich from 1935 to 1939. In World War II, he served in the German Wehrmacht on the Western and Eastern Fronts. While on furlough, he passed the German state exams to become a teacher. After suffering from severe frostbite on the Eastern Front in early 1943, he served as an ''Offizier für wehrgeistige Führung'' (''Nationalsozialistischer Führungsoffizier'' (NSFO), political officer) at the antiaircraft artillery school in Altenstadt, near Schongau. He held the rank of ''Oberleutnant'' at the end of the war. In 1945 he served as translator for the US army and especially for Ernest F. Hauser, who was first lieutenant in CIC military intelligence. He called himself Franz Strauss until soon after the war when he started using his middle name as well. Strauss married Marianne Zwicknagl in 1957. They had three children: Max Josef, Franz Georg, and Monika, who was member of the Landtag of Bavaria and a Bavarian minister. In 2009 she was elected to the European Parliament.

Political life

After the war, he was appointed deputy ''Landrat'' (county president) of Schongau by the American occupiers and was involved in founding the local party organization of the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU). He became a member of the first ''Bundestag'' (Federal Parliament) in 1949 and, in 1953, Federal Minister for Special Affairs in the second cabinet of Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, in 1955 Federal Minister of Nuclear Energy, and in 1956 defence minister, charged with the build-up of the new ''Bundeswehr'' the youngest man to hold this office at the time. He became chairman of the CSU in 1961.

Lockheed bribery scandals

Former Lockheed lobbyist Ernest Hauser told Senate investigators that Minister of Defence Strauss and his party had received at least $10 million for West Germany's purchase of 900 F-104G Starfighters in 1961, which later became part of the Lockheed bribery scandals. The party and its leader denied the allegations, and Strauss filed a slander suit against Hauser. As the allegations were not corroborated, the issue was dropped.

''Spiegel'' scandal

Strauss was forced to step down as defence minister in 1962 in the wake of the ''Spiegel'' scandal. Rudolf Augstein, owner and editor-in-chief of the influential ''Der Spiegel'' magazine, had been arrested on Strauss's request and was held for 103 days. Strauss was forced to admit that he had lied to the parliament and was forced to resign, complaining that he was treated like a "Jew who had dared appear at a Nazi party convention".

Rivalry between Kohl and Strauss

Strauss was appointed minister of the treasury again in 1966, in the cabinet of Kurt Georg Kiesinger. In cooperation with the SPD minister for economy, Karl Schiller, he developed a groundbreaking economic stability policy; the two ministers, quite unlike in physical appearance and political background, were popularly dubbed ''Plisch und Plum,'' after two dogs in a 19th century cartoon by Wilhelm Busch.

After the SPD was able to form a government without the conservatives, in 1969, Strauss became one of the most vocal critics of Willy Brandt's ''Ostpolitik.'' After Helmut Kohl's first run for chancellor in 1976 failed, Strauss cancelled the alliance between the CDU and CSU parties in the Bundestag, a decision which he only took back months later when the CDU threatened to extend their party to Bavaria (where the CSU holds a political monopoly for the conservatives). In the 1980 federal election, the CDU/CSU opted to put forward Strauss as their candidate for chancellor. Strauss had continued to be critical of Kohl's leadership, so providing Strauss a shot at the chancellery may have been seen as an endorsement of either Strauss' policies or style (or both) over Kohl's. But many, if not most, observers at the time believed that the CDU had concluded that Helmut Schmidt's SPD was likely unbeatable in 1980, and felt that they had nothing to lose in running Strauss. Schmidt's easy win was seen by Kohl's supporters as a vindication of their man, and though the rivalry between Kohl and Strauss persisted for years, once the CDU/CSU was able to take power in 1982, Kohl was again their leader, where he remained until well after Strauss's death.

United States of Europe

Strauss was the author of a book called ''The Grand Design'' in which he set forth his views of the way in which the future unification of Europe should be decided. There is much evidence that he was truly committed to the creation of a United States of Europe.

Final decade of life

From 1978 until his death in 1988, Strauss was minister-president of Bavaria, serving as President of the Bundesrat in 1983/84. After his defeat in the 1980 federal election, he retreated to commenting on federal politics from his safe seat in Bavaria. In the following years, he was the most visible critic of Kohl's politics in his own political camp, even after Kohl ascended to the Chancellorship. In 1983, he was primarily responsible for a loan of 3 billion Deutsche Mark given to East Germany. This move was widely criticised even during Strauss's lifetime – the radical Republicans due to this move.

Visit to Albania

Strauss visited communist Albania on 21 August 1984, while Enver Hoxha, the ruler from the end of World War II until his death in 1985, was still alive. Strauss was one of the few Western leaders, if not the only one, to visit the isolationist Albania in decades. This fuelled speculation that Strauss might be preparing the way for diplomatic links between Albania and West Germany and indeed, relations were established in 1987.

Death

On 1 October 1988, Strauss collapsed while hunting with Johannes, 11th Prince of Thurn and Taxis in the Thurn and Taxis forests, east of Regensburg. He died in a Regensburg hospital on 3 October without having regained consciousness.

Legacy

Strauss shaped post-war Germany and polarized the public like few others. He was a vocal figurehead for conservatives, involved in several large-scale scandals, a remarkable rhetorician, and as such was a red flag to the left. Still, most would agree that he was an extraordinary politician and managed to transform Bavaria from the once-agrarian state to one of the centers of technology in Germany that it is today.

As an aerospace enthusiast, Strauss was one of the driving persons to create Airbus in the 1970s. He served as Chairman of Airbus in the late 1980s, until his death in 1988; he saw the company win a lucrative but controversial (see Airbus affair) contract to supply planes to Air Canada just before his death. Munich's new airport, the Franz Josef Strauss Airport, was named after him in 1992.

References

Franz Josef Strauss. ''The Grand Design: A European solution to German reunification''. English translation: London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1965.

Notes

See also

Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters

External links

Biography Website with Strauss quotations "Plisch und Plum" caricature (1967) by Luis Murschetz

Category:1915 births Category:1988 deaths Category:Ministers-President of Bavaria Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Category:Members of the Bavarian Order of Merit Category:Defence ministers of Germany Category:Finance ministers of Germany Category:Members of the Bundestag Category:People from Munich Category:German Roman Catholics Category:Lockheed scandal figures

bar:Franz Josef Strauß cs:Franz Josef Strauß da:Franz Josef Strauß de:Franz Josef Strauß es:Franz Josef Strauß fr:Franz Josef Strauß hr:Franz Josef Strauß hu:Franz Josef Strauss it:Franz Josef Strauß la:Franciscus Iosephus Strauß nl:Franz Josef Strauß ja:フランツ・ヨーゼフ・シュトラウス no:Franz Josef Strauss nds:Franz Josef Strauß pl:Franz Josef Strauß ro:Franz Josef Strauß ru:Штрау�, Франц Йозеф sq:Franc Josef Shtraus simple:Franz Josef Strauß sk:Franz Josef Strauß fi:Franz Josef Strauß sv:Franz Josef Strauß

name	Franz Joseph I
succession	Emperor of Austria; Apostolic King of Hungary; King of Bohemia; King of Croatia; King of Galicia and Lodomeria; Grand Duke of Cracow
reign	2 December 1848 – 21 November 1916 ()
predecessor	Ferdinand I
successor	Charles I
spouse	Elisabeth of Bavaria
issue	Archduchess Sophie Archduchess Gisela Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria Archduchess Marie-Valerie
house	House of Habsburg-Lorraine
anthem	Gott erhalte, Gott beschütze
father	Archduke Franz Karl of Austria
mother	Princess Sophie of Bavaria
birth date	August 18, 1830
birth place	Schönbrunn Palace Vienna
death date	November 21, 1916
death place	Schönbrunn Palace
buried	Imperial Crypt
favorite word	Ishkabible

Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (, , see the name in other languages; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Croatia, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Galicia and Lodomeria and Grand Duke of Cracow from 1848 until his death in 1916.

In the December of 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria abdicated the throne as part of Ministerpräsident Felix zu Schwarzenberg's plan to end the Revolutions of 1848 in Austria, which allowed Ferdinand's nephew Franz Joseph to ascend to the throne. Largely considered to be a reactionary, Franz Joseph spent his early reign resisting constitutionalism in his domains. The Austrian Empire was forced to cede most of its claim to Lombardy–Venetia to the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia following the conclusion of the Second Italian War of Independence in 1859, and the Third Italian War of Independence in 1866. Although Franz Joseph ceded no territory to the Kingdom of Prussia after the Austrian defeat in the Austro-Prussian War, the Peace of Prague (23 August 1866) settled the German question in favor of Prussia, which prevented the unification of Germany under the House of Habsburg (''Großdeutsche Lösung'').

Franz Joseph was troubled by nationalism during his entire reign. He concluded the ''Ausgleich'' of 1867, which granted greater autonomy to Hungary, hence transforming the Austrian Empire into the Austro-Hungarian Empire under his Dual Monarchy. His domains were then ruled peacefully for the next 45 years, although Franz Joseph's personal life became increasingly tragic after the suicide of his son, the Crown Prince Rudolf in 1889, and the assassination of his wife, the Empress Elisabeth in 1898.

After the Austro-Prussian War, Austria-Hungary turned its attention to the Balkans, which was a hotspot of international tension due to conflicting interests with the Russian Empire. The Bosnian crisis was a result of Franz Joseph's annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908, which had been occupied by his troops since the Congress of Berlin (1878). On 28 June 1914, the assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, at the hands of Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian nationalist, resulted in Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against the Kingdom of Serbia, which was Russia's ally. This activated a system of alliances which resulted in World War I.

Franz Joseph died on 21 November 1916, after ruling his domains for almost 68 years. He was succeeded by his grandnephew Karl.

Early life

Franz Josef was born in the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, the oldest son of Archduke Franz Karl (the younger son of Holy Roman Emperor Francis II), and his wife Princess Sophie of Bavaria. Because his uncle, from 1835 the Emperor Ferdinand, was weak-minded, and his father unambitious and retiring, the young Archduke "Franzl" was brought up by his mother as a future Emperor with emphasis on devotion, responsibility and diligence. Franzl came to idolise his grandfather, ''der Gute Kaiser Franz'', who had died shortly before the former's fifth birthday, as the ideal monarch. At the age of 13, young Archduke Franz started a career as a colonel in the Austrian army. From that point onward, his fashion was dictated by army style and for the rest of his life he normally wore the uniform of a junior officer.

Franz Josef was soon joined by three younger brothers: Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian (born 1832, the future Emperor Maximilian of Mexico); Archduke Karl Ludwig (born 1833), and Archduke Ludwig Viktor (born 1842), and a sister, Maria Anna (born 1835), who died at the age of four.

Following the resignation of the Chancellor Prince Metternich during the Revolutions of 1848, the young Archduke, who it was widely expected would soon succeed his uncle on the throne, was appointed Governor of Bohemia on 6 April, but never took up the post. Instead, Franz was sent to the front in Italy, joining Field Marshal Radetzky on campaign on 29 April, receiving his baptism of fire on 5 May at Santa Lucia. By all accounts he handled his first military experience calmly and with dignity. Around the same time, the Imperial Family was fleeing revolutionary Vienna for the calmer setting of Innsbruck, in Tyrol. Soon, the Archduke was called back from Italy, joining the rest of his family at Innsbruck by mid-June. It was at Innsbruck at this time that Franz Joseph first met his cousin Elisabeth, his future bride, then a girl of ten, but apparently the meeting made little impact.

Following victory over the Italians at Custoza in late July, the court felt safe to return to Vienna, and Franz Josef travelled with them. But within a few months Vienna again appeared unsafe, and in September the court left again, this time for Olmütz in Moravia. By now, Alfred I, Prince of Windisch-Grätz, the influential military commander in Bohemia, was determined to see the young Archduke soon put onto the throne. It was thought that a new ruler would not be bound by the oaths to respect constitutional government to which Ferdinand had been forced to agree, and that it was necessary to find a young, energetic emperor to replace the kindly, but mentally unfit Emperor.

It was thus at Olmütz on 2 December that, by the abdication of his uncle Ferdinand and the renunciation of his father, the mild-mannered Franz Karl, Franz Joseph succeeded as Emperor of Austria. It was at this time that he first became known by his second as well as his first Christian name. The name "Franz Joseph" was chosen deliberately to bring back memories of the new Emperor's great-granduncle, Emperor Joseph II, remembered as a modernising reformer.

Imperial absolutism, 1848–1860

Under the guidance of the new prime minister Prince Schwarzenberg, the new emperor at first pursued a cautious course, granting a constitution in early 1849. At the same time, military campaigns were necessary against the Hungarians, who had rebelled against Habsburg central authority under the name of their ancient liberties. Franz Joseph was also almost immediately faced with a renewal of the fighting in Italy, with King Charles Albert of Sardinia taking advantage of setbacks in Hungary to resume the war in March 1849. Soon, though, the military tide began to turn in favor of Franz Joseph and the Austrian whitecoats. Almost immediately, Charles Albert was decisively beaten by Radetzky at Novara, and forced both to sue for peace and to abdicate his throne. In Hungary, the situation was more grave and Austrian defeat was quite possible. Franz Joseph, sensing a need to secure his right to rule sought help from Russia, requesting the intervention of Tsar Nicholas I, in order "to prevent the Hungarian insurrection developing into a European calamity." Russian troops entered Hungary in support of the Austrians and the revolution was crushed by late summer of 1849. With order now restored throughout the Empire, Franz Joseph felt free to go back on the constitutional concessions he had made, especially as the Austrian parliament, meeting at Kremsier, had behaved, in the young Emperor's view, abominably. The 1849 constitution was suspended, and a policy of absolutist centralism was established, guided by the Minister of the Interior, Alexander Bach.

The next few years saw the seeming recovery of Austria's position on the international scene following the near disasters of 1848–1849. Under Schwarzenberg's guidance, Austria was able to stymie Prussian scheming to create a new German Federation under Prussian leadership, excluding Austria. After Schwarzenberg's premature death in 1852, he could not be replaced by statesmen of equal stature, and the Emperor effectively took over himself as prime minister.

Assassination attempt in 1853

On 18 February 1853, the Emperor survived an assassination attempt by Hungarian nationalist János Libényi. The emperor was taking a stroll with one of his officers, Maximilian Karl Lamoral O'Donnell, on a city-bastion, when Libényi approached him. He immediately struck the emperor from behind with a knife straight at the neck. Franz Joseph almost always wore a uniform, which had a high collar that almost completely enclosed the neck. The collar of the uniforms at that time was made out of very sturdy material exacty to counter this kind of attack. Even though the Emperor was wounded and bleeding, the collar saved his life. Count O'Donnell (descendant of the Irish noble dynasty O'Donnell of Tyrconnell) struck Libényi down with his sabre. O'Donnell, hitherto only a Count by virtue of his Irish nobility, was thereafter made a Count of the Habsburg Empire, conferred with the Commander's Cross of the Royal Order of Leopold, and his customary O'Donnell arms were augmented by the initials and shield of the ducal House of Austria, with additionally the double-headed eagle of the Empire. These arms are emblazoned on the portico of no. 2 Mirabel Platz in Salzburg, where O'Donnell built his residence thereafter. Another witness who happened to be nearby, the butcher Joseph Ettenreich, quickly overwhelmed Libényi. For his deed he was later elevated to nobility by the Emperor and became Joseph von Ettenreich. Libényi was subsequently put on trial and condemned to death for attempted regicide. He was executed on the Simmeringer Haide. After the unsuccessful attack the Emperor's brother Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph, the later Emperor of Mexico, called upon Europe's Royal families for donations to a new church on the site of the attack. The church was to be a votive offering for the rescue of the Emperor. It is located on Ringstraße in the district of Alsergrund close to the University of Vienna, and is known as the Votivkirche.

Family life

It was generally felt in the court that the Emperor should marry and produce heirs as soon as possible. Various potential brides were considered: Princess Elisabeth of Modena, Princess Anna of Prussia and Princess Sidonia of Saxony. Although in public life the Emperor was the unquestioned director of affairs, in his private life his formidable mother still had a crucial influence. She wanted to strengthen the relationship between the Houses of Habsburg and Wittelsbach, and hoped to match Franz Joseph with her sister Ludovika's eldest daughter, Helene ("Nené"), four years the Emperor's junior. However, the Emperor became besotted with Nené's younger sister, Elisabeth ("Sisi"), a girl of sixteen, and insisted on marrying her instead. Sophie acquiesced, despite some misgivings about Sisi's appropriateness as an imperial consort, and the young couple were married on 24 April 1854 in St. Augustine's Church, Vienna.

Their married life was not happy. Sisi never really adapted herself to the court and always had disagreements with the Imperial Family; their first daughter Sophie died as an infant; and their only son, Crown Prince Rudolf, died, allegedly by suicide in 1889, in the infamous Mayerling Incident. The Empress was an inveterate traveller, horsewoman, and fashion ''maven'' who was rarely seen in Vienna. She was stabbed to death by an Italian anarchist in 1898; Franz Joseph never fully recovered from the loss. According to the future Empress-Consort Zita of Bourbon-Parma he usually told his relatives: "You'll never know how important she was for me" or, according to some sources, "She will never know how much I loved her" (although there is no definite proof he actually said this).

The 1850s witnessed several failures of Austrian external policy: the Crimean War and break-up with Russia, and defeat in the Second Italian War of Independence. The setbacks continued in the 1860s with defeat in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, which resulted in the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867.

Political difficulties in Austria mounted continuously through the late 1800s and into the 20th century. But Franz Joseph remained immensely respected. His patriarchal authority held the Empire together while the politicians squabbled.

Later reign and death

In 1885 Franz Joseph met Katharina Schratt, a leading actress of the Vienna stage, and she became his mistress. This relationship lasted the rest of his life, and was, to a certain degree, tolerated by Sisi. Franz Joseph built Villa Schratt in Bad Ischl for her, and also provided her with a small palace in Vienna.

After the death of Rudolf, the heir to the throne was his nephew Archduke Franz Ferdinand. When Franz Ferdinand decided to marry a mere countess, Franz Joseph opposed the marriage strenuously, and insisted that it must be morganatic; he did not even attend the wedding. After that, the two men disliked and distrusted each other.

In 1903, Franz Joseph's veto of Cardinal Rampolla's election to the papacy was transmitted to the conclave by Cardinal Jan Puzyna. It was the last use of such a veto, because new Pope Pius X provided penalties for such.

In 1914, Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo, leading to World War I. When he heard the news of the assassination, Franz Joseph said that "''in this manner a superior power has restored that order which I unfortunately was unable to maintain.''"

Franz Joseph died in the Schönbrunn Palace in 1916, aged 86, in the middle of the war. He was succeeded by his grandnephew Karl. But two years later, after defeat in World War I, the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy dissolved.

His 68-year reign is the third-longest in the recorded history of Europe (after those of Louis XIV of France and Johannes II, Prince of Liechtenstein).

Gallery

Issue

15 July 1856 21 August 1858 22 April 1868

style="width:20%;"	Name!! style="width:15%;"|Birth!! style="width:15%;"|Death!! style="width:45%;"|Notes
colspan=4	By Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria (24 December 1837 – 10 September 1898; married on 24 April 1854 in St. Augustine's Church, Vienna)
	5 March 1855	29 May 1857
Archduchess Gisela of Austria	''Gisela'' Louise Marie	|	27 July 1932	married, 1873 her second cousin, Prince Leopold of Bavaria; had issue
Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria	''Rudolf'' Francis Charles Joseph	|	30 January 1889	died in the Mayerling Incidentmarried, 1881, Princess Stephanie of Belgium; had issue
Archduchess Marie Valerie of Austria	Marie ''Valerie'' Mathilde Amalie	|	6 September 1924	married, 1890 her second cousin, Archduke Franz Salvator, Prince of Tuscany; had issue

Ancestors

{{ahnentafel-compact5 |style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%; |border=1 |boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0; |boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc; |boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9; |boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc; |boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc; |boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe; |1= 1. Franz Joseph I of Austria |2= 2. Archduke Franz Karl of Austria |3= 3. Princess Sophie of Bavaria |4= 4. Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor |5= 5. Maria Teresa of the Two Sicilies |6= 6. Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria |7= 7. Caroline of Baden |8= 8. Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor |9= 9. Maria Louisa of Spain |10= 10. Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies |11= 11. Marie Caroline of Austria |12= 12. Count Palatine Frederick Michael of Zweibrücken |13= 13. Countess Palatine Maria Franziska of Sulzbach |14= 14. Margrave Charles Louis of Baden |15= 15. Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt |16= 16. Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor(Francis III Stephen, Duke of Lorraine) |17= 17. Maria Theresa of AustriaQueen of Hungary & Bohemia |18= 18. Charles III of Spain |19= 19. Maria Amalia of Saxony |20= 20. Charles III of Spain (=18) |21= 21. Maria Amalia of Saxony (=19) |22= 22. Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor (=16)(Francis III Stephen, Duke of Lorraine) |23= 23. Maria Theresa of Austria (=17)Queen of Hungary & Bohemia |24= 24. Christian III, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken |25= 25. Caroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken |26= 26. Count Palatine Joseph Charles of Sulzbach |27= 27. Countess Palatine Elizabeth Augusta Sophie of Neuburg |28= 28. Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden |29= 29. Karoline Luise of Hesse-Darmstadt |30= 30. Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt |31= 31. Karoline of Zweibrücken }}

Orders, decorations, and honours

type	Monarchical
name	Franz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary
reference	His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty
spoken	Your Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty
alternative	My Lord }}

Emperor Franz Joseph held the following chivalric orders:

Order of the Golden Fleece (ex officio as Emperor of Austria)

Military Order of Maria Theresa (''Militär Maria-Theresien-Orden'', ex officio as Emperor of Austria)

Royal Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen (''Königlich ungarischer St. Stephan-Orden'', ex officio as Emperor of Austria)

Order of Leopold (''Leopold-Orden'', ex officio as Emperor of Austria)

Order of the Iron Crown (''Orden der Eisernen Krone'', ex officio as Emperor of Austria)

Order of the Garter, Great Britain, awarded 1867 and expelled 1914

Order of the Black Eagle (''Schwarzer-Adler-Orden''), Prussia

Order of the Red Eagle (''Roter-Adler-Orden''), First Class, Prussia

''Pour le Mérite'' (''Orden Pour le Mérite'', the "Blue Max"), Prussia

Royal House Order of Hohenzollern (''Königlich Hausorden von Hohenzollern''), Prussia

type	Monarchical
name	Franz Joseph I of Austria
reference	His Imperial Majesty
spoken	Your Imperial Majesty
alternative	My Lord }}

He founded the following orders:

Order of Franz Joseph (''Franz Joseph-Orden''), 1849

Order of Elizabeth (''Elizabeth-Orden''), 1898

type	Monarchical
name	Franz Joseph I of Hungary
reference	His Royal Apostolic Majesty
spoken	Your Royal Apostolic Majesty
alternative	My Lord }}

He held the following honorary appointments:

Colonel-in-chief, 1st (The King's) Dragoon Guards, British Army, 25 March 1896 - 1914

Colonel-in-chief, Kexholm Life Guards Grenadier Regiment, Russian Army, until 26 June 1914

Colonel-in-chief, 12th Belgorod Lancer Regiment, Russian Army, until 26 June 1914

Colonel-in-chief, 16th (Schleswig-Holstein) Hussars, German Army

Colonel-in-chief, 122nd (Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria, King of Hungary (4th Württemberg) Fusiliers

Field Marshal, British Army, 1 September 1903 - 1914

Legacy

The archipelago Franz Josef Land in the Russian high Arctic was named in his honor in 1873. Franz Josef Glacier in New Zealand's South Island also bears his name.

Franz Joseph founded in 1872 the ''Franz Joseph University'' (Hungarian: ''Ferenc József Tudományegyetem'', Romanian: ''Universitatea Francisc Iosif'') in the city of Cluj-Napoca (at that time a part of Austria-Hungary under the name of Kolozsvár). The university was moved to Szeged after Cluj became a part of Romania, becoming the University of Szeged.

Official Grand Title

''His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty,''

''Franz Joseph I, by the Grace of God Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, Bohemia, King of Lombardy and Venice, of Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Galicia, Lodomeria and Illyria; King of Jerusalem etc., Archduke of Austria; Grand Duke of Tuscany and Cracow, Duke of Lorraine, of Salzburg, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola and of the Bukovina; Grand Prince of Transylvania; Margrave of Moravia; Duke of Upper and Lower Silesia, of Modena, Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla, of Auschwitz, Zator and Teschen, Friuli, Ragusa (Dubrovnik) and Zara (Zadar); Princely Count of Habsburg and Tyrol, of Kyburg, Gorizia and Gradisca; Prince of Trent (Trento) and Brixen; Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia and in Istria; Count of Hohenems, Feldkirch, Bregenz, Sonnenberg, etc.; Lord of Trieste, of Cattaro (Kotor), and over the Windic march; president of The German Confederation''.

After 1867:

''His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty,''

''Francis Joseph I, by the grace of God Emperor of Austria; Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Bohemia, Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Galicia, Lodomeria, Illyria; King of Jerusalem, etc.; Archduke of Austria; Grand Duke of Tuscany, Crakow; Duke of Lorraine, Salzburg, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, the Bukovina; Grand Prince of Transylvania; Margrave of Moravia; Duke of the Upper & Lower Silesia, Modena, Parma, Piacenza, Guastalla, Oswiecin, Zator, Cieszyn, Friuli, Ragusa, Zara; Princely Count of Habsburg, Tyrol, Kyburg, Gorizia, Gradisca; Prince of Trent, Brixen; Margrave of the Upper & Lower Lusatia, in Istria; Count of Hohenems, Feldkirch, Bregenz, Sonnenberg, etc.; Lord of Triest, Kotor, the Wendish March; Grand Voivode of the Voivodship of Serbia etc. etc.''.

Personal motto

mit vereinten Kräften = Viribus Unitis = "With united forces" ''(as the Emperor of Austria)''. A homonymous war ship existed. Bizalmam az �si Erényben = Virtutis Confido = "My trust in [the ancient] virtue" ''(as the Apostolic King of Hungary)''

==Names in other languages ==

Nicknames

Italian: ''Ceccobeppe'', ''Cecco Beppe'' or ''Cecco Peppe'' (various dialectal forms) from shortened forms of ''Francesco Giuseppe'', used mockingly, especially by Italian troops who fought during World War I. There is also a pacifist poem written by Italian poet Trilussa, "Ninna nanna de la guerra" ("War's lullaby"), where Franz Joseph is called ''Cecco Peppe''.

Czech: ''Starej Procházka'' (Old Prochazka or "Walker") or ''František Procházka'' (Francis Procházka/"Walker"). Procházka is a common Czech surname which approximates to the English "Walker". It was applied to Franz Joseph after his visit to Prague in 1901 when a picture of him crossing a bridge on foot was published in Czech newspapers with the caption: "Strolling on a bridge" (Czech: "Procházka na mostě")). This, however, may be an urban legend. According to some historians, Franz Joseph was called ''Starej Procházka'' much earlier than 1901, the reason being that his arrival was being announced by a cavalryman named Procházka.

Hungarian: ''Ferenc Jóska'', in which Jóska means ''Joey'', mocking his young age when he became the ruler and later his old aged image of an old uncle of the people.

References in popular culture

In Robert Musil's novel The Man Without Qualities, a central part of the plot deals with the (ultimately futile) preparations for the seventieth anniversary of Franz Joseph's reign.

The satirical Czech anti-war novel The Good Soldier Švejk of 1932, by Jaroslav Hašek, satirized with comic absurdity, the aging monarch as ''Old Prochazka'', as being totally out of touch with the times.

''Radetzkymarsch'' (The Radetzky March), a 1932 novel by the Austrian writer Joseph Roth, where he is portrayed as a lonely, forgetful, ageing autocrat, awaiting death.

''Sissi'', a 1955 film depicting the fictionalized and romanticized idyll between a young Franz Joseph and Elisabeth of Bavaria. Franz Joseph was played by Karlheinz Böhm.

Kenneth MacMillan's 1978 ballet, ''Mayerling''

The Michael Kunze/Sylvester Levay musical ''Elisabeth'' portrays Franz Joseph's marriage with Elisabeth as a love triangle between the two and Death.

''The Illusionist'', a 2006 film where a fictional son of Franz Joseph plans to overthrow him. Franz Joseph does not actually appear in the film, but the illusionist magically creates a painting of the emperor to impress the fictional prince's court.

Frequent references are made to a stamp of Franz Josef I in Bruno Schulz's short story "Spring."

Franz Joseph appears frequently in the novel ''Flashman and the Tiger'' by George MacDonald-Fraser. (1999/Harper Collins).

In Episode 6 of Hidekaz Himaruya's anime series, Hetalia: Axis Powers, Franz Joseph is referenced extensively by the character Austria, who praises his frugality.

In the Tom and Jerry episode, ''Johann Mouse'', there is a very accurate depiction of Franz Joseph I.

Indirect mention by Anna Wolfe in the 1997 video game ''The Last Express''.

See also

Rulers of Germany family tree. He was related to every other ruler of Germany.

List of coupled cousins

Notes

Further reading

Beller, Steven. ''Francis Joseph''. Profiles in power. London: Longman, 1996.

Bled, Jean-Paul. ''Franz Joseph''. Oxford: Blackwell, 1992.

Cunliffe-Owen, Marguerite. ''Keystone of Empire: Francis Joseph of Austria''. New York: Harper, 1903.

Gerö, András. ''Emperor Francis Joseph: King of the Hungarians''. Boulder, Colo.: Social Science Monographs, 2001.

Palmer, Alan. ''Twilight of the Habsburgs: The Life and Times of Emperor Francis Joseph''. New York: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1995.

Redlich, Joseph. ''Emperor Francis Joseph Of Austria''. New York: Macmillan, 1929.

Van der Kiste, John. ''Emperor Francis Joseph: Life, Death and the Fall of the Habsburg Empire''. Stroud, England: Sutton, 2005.

External links

Biography at WorldWar1.com

Details at Regiments.org

Genealogy

Mayerling tragedy

Miklós Horthy reflects on Franz Josef

Internet museum of Emperor Franz Joseph I, Wilhelm II and First World War

Category:1830 births Category:1916 deaths Category:19th-century monarchs in Europe Category:Austrian Field Marshals Category:Bohemian princes Category:Emperors of Austria Category:Grand Masters of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Category:Grand Masters of the Order of the Golden Fleece Category:House of Habsburg-Lorraine Category:Hungarian monarchs Category:Rulers of Transylvania Category:Kings of Croatia Category:Knights of the Golden Fleece Category:Knights of the Order of the Norwegian Lion Category:Military Order of Maria Theresa recipients Category:People from Vienna Category:People of the Edwardian era Category:People of the Revolutions of 1848 Category:People of the Victorian era Category:Attempted assassination survivors Category:Recipients of the Military Order of Max Joseph Category:Recipients of the Order of the Black Eagle Category:Knights of the Order of the Most Holy Annunciation Category:Recipients of the Order of the Red Eagle Category:Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Category:Roman Catholic monarchs Category:Recipients of the Order of Prince Danilo I Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Danilo I of Montenegro Category:Degraded Extra Knights Companion of the Garter Category:Annulled Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Category:Annulled Recipients of the Royal Victorian Chain Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Military William Order

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