Theodor Heuss
| Theodor Heuss | |
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President Heuss in 1953
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President of Germany (West Germany) |
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In office 12 September 1949 – 12 September 1959 |
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| Chancellor | Konrad Adenauer |
| Preceded by | None (office created) |
| Succeeded by | Heinrich Lübke |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
31 January 1884 Brackenheim, Kingdom of Württemberg, German Empire |
| Died | 12 December 1963 (aged 79) Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany |
| Nationality | German |
| Political party | Progressive People's Party (1910–1918) German Democratic Party (1918–1933) Democratic Party of Germany (1947–1948) Free Democratic Party (1948–1963) |
| Spouse(s) | Elly Knapp (1881–1952) |
| Children | 1 |
| Alma mater | Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich |
| Profession | Journalist |
| Religion | Lutheran |
| Signature |  |
Theodor Heuss (31 January 1884 – 12 December 1963) was a liberal German politician who served as the first President of the Federal Republic of Germany (then West Germany) from 1949 to 1959. Beside the stern chancellor Konrad Adenauer, Heuss's cordial manners largely contributed to the stabilization of democracy in West Germany during the Wirtschaftswunder years.
Heuss was born in Brackenheim, a small town in Württemberg near Heilbronn. This “wine community” lies close to the border of Swabian to the Franconian area. He studied economics, art history and political science at the universities of Munich and Berlin, receiving his doctorate in 1905 in Munich with Lujo Brentano as his thesis adviser. On 11 April 1908, he married Elly Heuss-Knapp (1881–1952), with whom he had a son. The minister at the Lutheran wedding ceremony held in Straßburg was Albert Schweitzer, a close friend of Elly's.
After his studies Heuss worked as a political journalist in Berlin and from 1905 until 1912 presided over the magazine Die Hilfe ("The Aid") published by Friedrich Naumann. From 1912 to 1918, he was editor in chief of the Neckarzeitung (Neckar Newspaper) in Heilbronn. In Berlin, he worked as editor for the weekly newsletter Deutsche Politik ("German Politics"). With Naumann, Heuss in 1903 he joined the liberal Free-minded Union, which in 1910 merged in the Progressive People's Party (Fortschrittliche Volkspartei), in which he was engaged until its dissolution in 1918.
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