(b. Ebingen, Württemberg, 6 Apr. 1904; d. 9 Mar. 1988) German; Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany 1966 – 9 When Kiesinger was elected Chancellor in 1966, with the support of Brandt's SPD, millions of Germans were dismayed. Kiesinger had been a member of Hitler's NSDAP from 1933 until 1945 and worked during the war as deputy director of the radio propaganda department of the Foreign Ministry. The Allies interned him for eighteen months.
Kiesinger had worked as a lawyer until 1940; in 1948 he returned to legal practice and joined the CDU. In 1949 he was elected to the first Bundestag, chairing the foreign affairs committee (1954 – 8). In 1958 he was elected Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg, where he remained until 1966. Kiesinger's past was a disadvantage for him as Chancellor. During this period, 1966 – 9, the far right National Democratic Party (NPD) succeeded in gaining election to most of the regional parliaments. Kiesinger's own NSDAP membership made it more difficult to attack the Nazi credentials of NPD leaders. This was also the period of student protest. Left-wing students attacked Kiesinger and others like him, questioning their moral authority. They also criticized the Bundestag in which, due to the grand coalition, there was virtually no opposition. The Bundestag adopted for the first time emergency powers laws. From the liberal point of view, this appeared a step in the direction of authoritarianism. One other highly controversial issue was the extension of the period during which Nazi crimes could be prosecuted.
Kiesinger had difficulties with his government as it comprised the leading figures of both major parties. He was most active in foreign affairs, but had to share the glory with Brandt. They sought better relations with the Soviet bloc, establishing diplomatic relations with Romania. However, the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 made progress more difficult.
The election of Social Democrat Heinemann to the presidency on 5 March 1969 marked the end for Kiesinger. By voting for the SPD candidate the FDP showed that its offer of a coalition with Brandt was genuine. The loss of support for the CDU/CSU in the 1969 election led Heinemann to ask Brandt to form a government. Kiesinger served as Chairman of the CDU from 1967 to 1971 and remained in the Bundestag until 1976.
Kurt Georg Kiesinger
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Kurt Georg Kiesinger
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| In office 1 December 1966 – 21 October 1969 |
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| President | Heinrich Lübke (1966-1969) Gustav Heinemann (1969) |
| Deputy | Willy Brandt |
| Preceded by | Ludwig Erhard |
| Succeeded by | Willy Brandt |
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| In office 1958 – 1966 |
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| Preceded by | Gebhard Müller |
| Succeeded by | Hans Filbinger |
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| Born | 6 April 1904 Ebingen, Germany |
| Died | 9 March 1988 (aged 83) |
| Political party | NSDAP (1933-45), CDU |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Kanzlergalerie Berlin
Kurt Georg Kiesinger (6 April 1904–9 March 1988) was a conservative German politician and Chancellor of West Germany from 1 December 1966 until 21 October 1969.
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Early career and wartime activities
Born in Ebingen, Germany, Kiesinger was educated in Berlin and became a lawyer. As a student, he joined the (non-couleur wearing) Roman Catholic corporations Alamannia Tübingen and Askania-Burgundia Berlin. He was a member of the Nazi Party since 1933. From 1940 on, Kiesinger worked at the German foreign ministry's radio propaganda department where he was responsible for that ministry's connection with the propaganda ministry. After the war, he was interned and spent several months in the Ludwigsburg camp before being acquitted[citation needed] by the denazification courts. During the controversies of 1966 the magazine Spiegel unearthed a Nazi-era protocol of the RSHA which noted that he was hampering anti-Jewish actions in his department.
Post war rise
By the time the first national elections were held in the Federal Republic in 1949, Kiesinger had joined the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and won a seat in the Bundestag, the West German parliament. In 1951 he became a member of the CDU executive board. During that time, he became known for his rhetorical brilliance, as well as his in-depth knowledge of foreign affairs. However, despite the recognition he enjoyed within the Christian Democrat parliamentary faction, he was passed over during various cabinet reshuffles. Consequently, he decided to switch from federal to state politics: He was appointed Prime Minister (Ministerpräsident) of the state of Baden-Württemberg on 17 December 1958, an office in which he served until 1 December 1966.
Chancellorship and last years
In 1966 following the collapse of the existing CDU/CSU-FDP coalition Kiesinger was elected to replace Ludwig Erhard as Chancellor, heading a new CDU/CSU-SPD alliance. The government formed by Kiesinger remained in power for nearly three years with the SPD leader Willy Brandt as Deputy Federal Chancellor and Foreign Minister. Kiesinger reduced tensions with the Soviet bloc nations establishing diplomatic relations with Czechoslovakia, Romania and Yugoslavia but he opposed any major conciliatory moves.
One of his low points as chancellor was in 1968 when activist Beate Klarsfeld publicly slapped him in the face during the 1968 Christian Democrat convention, while calling him a Nazi. She did so in French but - whilst being dragged out of the room by two ushers - repeated her words in German saying "Kiesinger! Nazi! Abtreten!" ("Kiesinger! Nazi! Step down!") Kiesinger, holding his left cheek and being close to tears, did not respond. Up to his death he refused to comment on the incident. Other prominent critics included the writers Heinrich Böll and Günter Grass, who wrote a 1966 open letter urging him not to accept the chancellorship, and the philosopher Karl Jaspers, already a resident of Switzerland, who surrendered his German passport in protest.
After the election of 1969, the SPD preferred to form a coalition with the FDP, ending the uninterrupted post-war reign of the CDU chancellors. Kiesinger was succeeded as Chancellor by Willy Brandt. Kiesinger continued to head the CDU/CSU in opposition until July 1971 and remained a member of the Bundestag until 1980. Of his memoirs only part one (Dark and Bright Years) was completed, covering the years up to 1958. He died in Tübingen. After a requiem mass in Stuttgart's St. Eberhard church, his funeral procession was followed by protesters (mainly students) who wanted his entire legacy remembered - even after his death - especially his former membership in the Nazi Party.
Kiesinger's Ministry
1 December 1966 - 21 October 1969
- Kurt Georg Kiesinger (CDU) - Chancellor
- Willy Brandt (SPD) - Vice Chancellor and Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Gerhard Schröder (CDU) - Minister of Defense
- Paul Lücke (CDU) - Minister of the Interior
- Franz Josef Strauß (CSU) - Minister of Finance
- Gustav Heinemann (SPD) - Minister of Justice
- Karl Schiller (SPD) - Minister of Economics
- Hans Katzer (CDU) - Minister of Labour and Social Affairs
- Hermann Höcherl (CSU) - Minister of Food, Agriculture, and Forestry
- Georg Leber (SPD) - Minister of Transport
- Lauritz Lauritzen (SPD) - Minister of Construction
- Bruno Heck (CDU) - Minister of Family and Youth
- Käte Strobel (SPD) - Minister of Health
- Gerhard Stoltenberg (CDU) - Minister of Scientific Research
- Hans-Jürgen Wischnewski (SPD) - Minister of Economic Cooperation
- Werner Dollinger (CSU) - Minister of Posts and Communications
- Kai-Uwe von Hassel (CDU) - Minister of Displaced Persons, Refugees, and War Victims
- Herbert Wehner (SPD) - Minister of All-German Affairs
- Carlo Schmid (SPD) - Minister of Bundesrat and State Affairs
- Kurt Schmücker (CDU) - Minister of Federal Treasure
Changes
- 2 April 1968 - Ernst Benda (CDU) succeeds Lücke as Minister of the Interior.
- 16 October 1968 - Aenne Brauksiepe (CDU) succeeds Heck as Minister of Family and Youth. Erhard Eppler (SPD) succeeds Wischnewski as Minister of Economic Cooperation.
- 7 February 1969 - Heinrich Windelen (CDU) succeeds Hassel as Minister of Displaced Persons, Refugees, and War Victims.
Literature
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kurt Georg Kiesinger |
- Gassert, Philipp. Kurt Georg Kiesinger 1904-1988. Kanzler zwischen den Zeiten DVA, München 2006.
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| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Ludwig Erhard |
Chancellor of Germany 1966–1969 |
Succeeded by Willy Brandt |
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