Helmut Schmidt
Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt (23 December 1918 – 10 November 2015) was a German politician. He was Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1974 to 1982.
Helmut Schmidt | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Chancellor of Germany (West Germany) | |
| President | Gustav Heinemann Walter Scheel Karl Carstens |
| Preceded by | Willy Brandt Walter Scheel (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Helmut Kohl |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt 23 December 1918 Hamburg, Weimar Republic (now Germany) |
| Died | 10 November 2015 (aged 96) Hamburg, Germany |
| Spouse(s) | Loki Schmidt (1942–2010; her death) |
| Alma mater | University of Hamburg |
Helmut Schmidt was born in Hamburg in 1918. He finished school in 1937 with the Abitur. Afterwards he had to join the working service and later the army. At the end of World War II, he was a First Lieutenant. He became a prisoner of war in 1945.
After he was set free, he started to study macro economy. He finished his studies in 1949. Then he started to work for the administration of Hamburg.
Schmidt joined into the Social Democratic Party of Germany in 1949. In 1953, he became a member of the Bundestag first time. From 1961 to 1965, he was Senator in the state government of Hamburg.
From 1969 to 1972, he was Minister of Defence of West Germany. From 1972 to 1974 he was Minister of Finance.
After Willy Brandt gave up his job as Bundeskanzler, Helmut Schmidt was elected as new chancellor.
In July 2013, it was discovered that Schmidt bought 38,000 cigarettes due to a fear of them being banned in Europe.[1]
Schmidt died in Hamburg on 10 November 2015 from complications of surgery he had to cure a blood clot in his left left.[2] He was 96 years old.[3]
References
- ↑ "Former German leader Helmut Schmidt buys 38,000 menthol cigarettes to avoid EU ban". The Commentator.com. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
- ↑ "German ex-Chancellor Schmidt dies at 96". BBC. 10 November 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
- ↑ "Altkanzler Helmut Schmidt ist tot" (in German). Tagesschau. 10 November 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
Other websites
- 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
- Booknotes interview with Schmidt on Men and Powers, 15 April 1990.