Gustav Heinemann

(b. Schwelm, Ruhr, 23 July 1899; d. 7 July 1976) German; President of Federal Republic of Germany 1969 – 74 Heinemann was elected third President of the Federal Republic in 1969, the first, and so far only, Social Democrat to hold this position. His election was due to Liberal FDP support. It was seen as a victory of the "democrats from conviction" rather than of those who were fair-weather democrats.

Heinemann was the son of a Krupp director and, after studying law and economics, worked for Krupp, serving from 1936 to 1949 as a director of the steel company Rheinische Stahlwerke. From 1933 onwards he was also a director of a coal-mining company. Remarkably, he was also an organizer of the anti-Nazi Confessing church.

In common with most of his social class he joined the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in 1945, and was appointed Justice Minister for North Rhine-Westphalia. Adenauer, in need of prominent Protestants for his new government, appointed Heinemann Minister of the Interior in 1949. Heinemann held the job for just over a year, resigning because of Adenauer's authoritarian style, the drift to the right in the CDU, and his opposition to German rearmament and Western integration without reunification.

In 1952 Heinemann resigned from the CDU and in the following year established the All-German People's Party (GVP). The party stood for total neutrality of a united Germany. In the 1953 election it attracted only 1.2 per cent of the votes, a result that led to the party being dissolved and most of its members, including Heinemann, joining the SPD. From 1957 until 1969 Heinemann was a member of the Bundestag, serving as Minister of Justice in the grand coalition 1966 – 9. Heinemann remained a committed Christian, serving on the Executive of the Evangelical Church from 1945 to 1967. This helped in his election as Federal President on the third ballot with only the smallest of margins over his CDU opponent. As President he helped to create a more tolerant atmosphere in West Germany. He served until 1974, not seeking re-election.

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Gustav Heinemann
5th President of Germany 3rd President of the Federal Republic of Germany
In office July 1, 1969 – June 30, 1974
Preceded by	Heinrich Lübke
Succeeded by	Walter Scheel
Minister of the Interior
In office September 29, 1949 – October 11, 1950
Preceded by	-
Succeeded by	Robert Lehr
Minister of Justice
In office December 1, 1966 – March 26, 1969
Preceded by	Richard Jaeger
Succeeded by	Horst Ehmke
Born	July 23, 1899(1899-07-23) Schwelm, Germany
Died	July 7, 1976 (aged 76) Essen, Germany
Nationality	German
Political party	Christian Social People's Service (1929-1933) Christian Democratic Union (1945-1952) All-German People's Party (1952-1957) Social Democratic Party of Germany (1957-1976)
Spouse(s)	Hilda Heinemann (1896-1979)
Religion	Evangelicalism

Gustav Walter Heinemann, GCB (July 23, 1899 - July 7, 1976) was a German politician. He was Minister of Interior Affairs from 1949 to 1950, Minister of Justice from 1966 to 1969 and President of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1969 to 1974. He was famous for being open-minded with respect to the student protests of 1968, and he tried to keep his office as down-to-earth as possible (e.g. when asked whether he loved Germany, he answered that he loved his wife).

In the Weimar Republic Heinemann was member of the Christian Social People's Service (CSVD). After World War II he was one of the founders of the CDU and became mayor of the city of Essen. He was Minister of the Interior in the first cabinet of Konrad Adenauer. In 1950 he left the cabinet and the CDU in 1952 to form the All-German People's Party (GVP) with Helene Wessel and other CDU- and Center Party members. In 1957 he, and most GVP members, joined the SPD. In the grand coalition (1966-69) he was Minister of Justice.

In 1969 he became the first SPD member to be elected President of Germany since the death of Reichspräsident Friedrich Ebert (president since 1919) in 1925.

His daughter Uta Ranke-Heinemann ran for the German presidency unsuccessfully in 1999. The president who was elected that year (Johannes Rau) was the husband of Heinemann's granddaughter (Uta Ranke-Heinmann's niece) Christina Delius.

The Gustav-Heinemann-Friedenspreis (Gustav Heinemann Peace Prize) is awarded every year to a book judged to have best promoted the cause of world peace.

Heinemann, at the general synod of the Evangelical Church in Germany, 1949

Political offices
Preceded by Heinrich Lübke	President of Germany 1969–1974	Succeeded by Walter Scheel

v • d • e Presidents of Germany Weimar Republic Friedrich Ebert · Walter Simons (acting) · Hans Luther (acting) · Paul von Hindenburg Federal Republic Theodor Heuss · Heinrich Lübke · Gustav Heinemann · Walter Scheel · Karl Carstens · Richard von Weizsäcker · Roman Herzog · Johannes Rau · Horst Köhler

v • d • e Interior Ministers of Germany Imperial Interior Secretaries (1871–1918) Rudolf Delbrück · Karl Hofmann · Karl Heinrich von Bötticher · Count Arthur Adolf von Posadowsky-Wehner · Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg · Klemens Delbrück · Karl Helfferich · Max Wallraf · Karl Trimborn Federal Interior Ministers (1918–) Friedrich Ebert · Hugo Preuß · Eduard David · Erich Koch-Weser · Georg Gradnauer · Adolf Köster · Rudolf Oeser · Wilhelm Sollmann · Karl Jarres · Martin Schiele · Otto Geßler · Wilhelm Külz · Walter von Keudell · Carl Severing  · Joseph Wirth · Wilhelm Groener · Wilhelm Freiherr von Gayl · Franz Bracht · Wilhelm Frick · Heinrich Himmler · Wilhelm Stuckart · Gustav Heinemann · Robert Lehr · Gerhard Schröder · Hermann Höcherl · Paul Lücke · Ernst Benda · Hans-Dietrich Genscher · Werner Maihofer · Gerhart Baum · Jürgen Schmude · Friedrich Zimmermann · Wolfgang Schäuble · Rudolf Seiters  · Manfred Kanther · Otto Schily · Wolfgang Schäuble · Thomas de Maizière

v • d • e Secretaries and Ministers of Justice of Germany Heinrich Friedberg | Hermann von Schelling | Otto von Ohlschläger | Robert Bosse | Eduard von Hanauer | Rudolf Arnold Nieberding | Hermann Lisco | Paul Georg Christof von Krause | Wilhelm Dittmann | Otto Landsberg | Eugen Schiffer | Andreas Blunck | Eugen Schiffer | Gustav Radbruch | Rudolf Heinze | Gustav Radbruch | Erich Emminger | Kurt Joël | Josef Frenken | Hans Luther | Wilhelm Marx | Johannes Bell | Oskar Hergt | Erich Koch-Weser | Theodor von Guérard | Johann Viktor Bredt | Kurt Joël | Franz Gürtner | Franz Schlegelberger | Otto Georg Thierack | Thomas Dehler | Fritz Neumayer | Hans-Joachim von Merkatz | Fritz Schäffer | Wolfgang Stammberger | Ewald Bucher | Karl Weber | Richard Jaeger | Gustav Heinemann | Horst Ehmke | Gerhard Jahn | Hans-Jochen Vogel | Jürgen Schmude | Hans A. Engelhard | Klaus Kinkel | Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger | Edzard Schmidt-Jortzig | Herta Däubler-Gmelin | Brigitte Zypries

Persondata
NAME	Heinemann, Gustav
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	German politician, President of Germany 1969-1974
DATE OF BIRTH	July 23, 1899
PLACE OF BIRTH	Schwelm, Germany
DATE OF DEATH	July 7, 1976
PLACE OF DEATH	Essen, Germany

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