Willy Brandt
| Willy Brandt | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) | |
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In office 21 October 1969 – 7 May 1974 |
|
| President | Gustav Heinemann |
| Deputy | Walter Scheel |
| Preceded by | Kurt Georg Kiesinger |
| Succeeded by | Helmut Schmidt |
| Vice Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) | |
|
In office 1 December 1966 – 20 October 1969 |
|
| Chancellor | Kurt Georg Kiesinger |
| Preceded by | Hans-Christoph Seebohm |
| Succeeded by | Walter Scheel |
| Minister for Foreign Affairs | |
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In office 1 December 1966 – 20 October 1969 |
|
| Chancellor | Kurt Georg Kiesinger |
| Preceded by | Gerhard Schröder |
| Succeeded by | Walter Scheel |
| Governing Mayor of West Berlin | |
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In office 3 October 1957 – 1 December 1966 |
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| Preceded by | Otto Suhr |
| Succeeded by | Heinrich Albertz |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm 18 December 1913 Lübeck, German Empire |
| Died | 8 October 1992 (aged 78) Unkel, Germany |
| Political party |
Social Democratic Party (1930–1931, 1948–1992) Socialist Workers’ Party (1931–1946) |
| Spouse(s) | Carlotta Thorkildsen (1941–1948) Rut Hansen (1948–1980) Brigitte Seebacher (1983–1992) |
| Children | 4 |
| Religion | Lutheranism |
| Signature |  |
Willy Brandt (German pronunciation: [ˈvɪli ˈbʁant]; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German statesman and politician, who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and served as Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) from 1969 to 1974. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971 for his efforts to strengthen cooperation in western Europe through the EEC and to achieve reconciliation between West Germany and the countries of Eastern Europe. He was the first Social Democrat chancellor since 1930.
Fleeing to Norway and then Sweden during the Nazi regime and working as a leftist journalist, he took the name Willy Brandt as a pseudonym to avoid detection by Nazi agents, and then formally adopted the name in 1948. Brandt was originally considered one of the leaders of the right wing of the SPD, and earned initial fame as Governing Mayor of West Berlin. He served as Foreign Minister and as Vice Chancellor in Kurt Georg Kiesinger's cabinet, and became chancellor in 1969. As chancellor, he maintained West Germany's close alignment with the United States and focused on strengthening European integration in western Europe, while launching the new policy of Ostpolitik aimed at improving relations with Eastern Europe. Brandt was controversial on both the right wing, for his Ostpolitik, and on the left wing, for his support of American policies, including the Vietnam War, and right-wing authoritarian regimes. The Brandt Report became a recognised measure for describing the general North-South divide in world economics and politics between an affluent North and a poor South. Brandt was also known for his fierce anti-communist policies at the domestic level, culminating in the Radikalenerlass (Anti-Radical Decree) in 1972.
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