Kurt Georg Kiesinger | |
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Chancellor of Germany (West Germany) |
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In office 1 December 1966 – 21 October 1969 |
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President |
Heinrich Lübke Gustav Heinemann |
Deputy | Willy Brandt |
Preceded by | Ludwig Erhard |
Succeeded by | Willy Brandt |
Minister President of Baden-Württemberg | |
In office 17 December 1958 – 1 December 1966 |
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Preceded by | Gebhard Müller |
Succeeded by | Hans Filbinger |
Member of the Bundestag | |
In office 1949–1958 |
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In office 1969–1980 |
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Personal details | |
Born |
Ebingen, Germany |
6 April 1904
Died | 9 March 1988 Tübingen, West Germany (now Germany) |
(aged 83)
Political party |
Christian Democratic Union (1946–1988) Nazi Party (1933–1945) |
Spouse(s) | Marie-Luise Schneider |
Children | 2 |
Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Signature |
Kurt Georg Kiesinger (German: [ˈkʊʁt ˈɡeːɔʁk ˈkiːzɪŋɐ]; 6 April 1904 – 9 March 1988) was a German politician who served as Chancellor of Germany (West Germany) from 1 December 1966 to 21 October 1969. Before he became Chancellor he served as Minister President of Baden-Württemberg from 1958 to 1966 and as President of the Federal Council from 1962 to 1963. He was Chairman of the Christian Democratic Union from 1967 to 1971.
Kiesinger studied law and worked as a lawyer in Berlin from 1935 to 1940. To avoid conscription, he found work at the Foreign Office in 1940, and became deputy head of the Foreign Office's broadcasting department. During his service at the Foreign Office, he was denounced by two colleagues for his anti-Nazi stance. He had nevertheless joined the Nazi Party in 1933, but remained a largely inactive member. In 1946 he became a member of the Christian Democratic Union. He was elected to the Bundestag in 1949, and was a member of the Bundestag until 1958 and again from 1969 to 1980. He left federal politics for eight years to serve as Minister President of Baden-Württemberg, and subsequently became Chancellor by forming a grand coalition with Willy Brandt's Social Democratic Party.
Kiesinger was considered an outstanding orator and mediator, and was dubbed "Silver Tongue." He was an author of poetry and various books, and founded the universities of Konstanz and Ulm as Minister President of Baden-Württemberg.