Ludwig Erhard
| Ludwig Erhard | |
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Chancellor of Germany (West Germany) |
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In office 16 October 1963 – 1 December 1966 |
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| President | Heinrich Lübke |
| Deputy | Erich Mende |
| Preceded by | Konrad Adenauer |
| Succeeded by | Kurt Georg Kiesinger |
| Vice Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) | |
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In office 29 October 1957 – 15 October 1963 |
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| Chancellor | Konrad Adenauer |
| Preceded by | Franz Blücher |
| Succeeded by | Erich Mende |
| Minister for Economics | |
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In office 20 September 1949 – 15 October 1963 |
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| Chancellor | Konrad Adenauer |
| Preceded by | Walther Funk |
| Succeeded by | Kurt Schmücker |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Ludwig Wilhelm Erhard 4 February 1897 Fürth, Kingdom of Bavaria |
| Died | 5 May 1977 (aged 80) Bonn, West Germany |
| Political party | Independent |
| Other political affiliations |
Christian Democratic Union (Affiliated) |
| Spouse(s) | Luise Lotter |
| Children | 1 |
| Alma mater | Goethe University |
| Religion | Lutheranism |
| Signature |  |
Ludwig Wilhelm Erhard (German: [ˈluːtvɪç ˈe:ʁhaʁt]; 4 February 1897 – 5 May 1977) was a German politician affiliated with the CDU and the second Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) from 1963 until 1966. He is often famed for leading German postwar economic reforms and economic recovery ("Wirtschaftswunder," German for "economic miracle") in his role as Minister of Economics under Chancellor Konrad Adenauer from 1949 to 1963. During that period he promoted the concept of the social market economy (soziale Marktwirtschaft), on which Germany's economic policy in the 21st century continues to be based. In his tenure as chancellor, however, Erhard failed to win confidence in his handling of a budget deficit and his direction of foreign policy, and his popularity waned. He resigned his chancellorship on 1 December 1966.
Born in Fürth, Kingdom of Bavaria, Erhard was a commercial apprentice from 1913 to 1916. After his apprenticeship he worked as retail salesman in his father's draper's shop.
In 1916, during World War I, he joined the German forces as an artilleryman. He fought in Romania and was seriously injured near Ypres in 1918. Because of his injury he could no longer work as a draper and started learning economics. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Frankfurt in 1925, for a dissertation written under Franz Oppenheimer.
During his time in Frankfurt he married Luise Lotter (1893–1975), widow Schuster, on 11 December 1923. After his graduation they moved to Fürth and he became executive in his parents' company in 1925. After three years he became assistant at the Institut für Wirtschaftsbeobachtung der deutschen Fertigware, a marketing research institute. Later, he became deputy director of the institute.
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