Fourth Cabinet of Konrad Adenauer Cabinet Adenauer IV | |
---|---|
4th Cabinet of West Germany | |
14 November 1961 – 15 October 1963 (until 17 October 1963 as caretaker government) | |
Date formed | 14 November 1961 |
Date dissolved | 15 October 1963 (1 year, 11 months and 1 day) |
People and organisations | |
President | Heinrich Lübke |
Chancellor | Konrad Adenauer |
Vice-Chancellor | Ludwig Erhard |
Member parties | |
Opposition party | Social Democratic Party |
Opposition leader | Erich Ollenhauer (SPD) |
History | |
Election(s) | 1961 West German federal election |
Legislature term(s) | 4th Bundestag |
Predecessor | Adenauer III |
Successor | Erhard I |
The Fourth Adenauer cabinet (German: Kabinett Adenauer IV) was formed by incumbent Chancellor Konrad Adenauer after the 1961 federal election. The cabinet was sworn in on 14 November 1961.
The Spiegel affair in 1962 caused the coalition to fall apart over Defence Minister Franz Josef Strauss' actions which violated press freedom, leading to all FDP ministers resigning in protest. As a result, the cabinet was a minority government of the CDU/CSU for just under a month in the fall of 1962 before Adenauer was able to convince the FDP to return to the coalition by assuring Strauß' resignation.
Shortly after the Spiegel affair, the resignation of Defence Minister Franz Josef Strauss was required to gain back the FDP's support for the cabinet, leading to a reshuffle. The heavily reshuffled cabinet is sometimes referred to as cabinet Adenauer V; [1] however, this is not constitutionally correct, since no new election of the chancellor took place. The government still drew its constitutional legitimacy from Adenauer's election on 14 November 1961. Adenauer decided to retire just a few months later, following which Ludwig Erhard was elected as Chancellor and formed the first Erhard cabinet on 17 October 1963.
Portfolio | Minister | Took office | Left office | Party | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chancellor | 14 November 1961 | 15 October 1963 | CDU | ||
Vice-Chancellor & Federal Minister for Economy | 14 November 1961 | 15 October 1963 | CDU | ||
Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs | 14 November 1961 | 15 October 1963 | CDU | ||
Federal Minister of the Interior | 14 November 1961 | 15 October 1963 | CSU | ||
Federal Minister of Justice | 14 November 1961 | 19 November 1962 | FDP | ||
14 December 1962 | 15 October 1963 | FDP | |||
Federal Minister of Finance | 14 November 1961 | 19 November 1962 | FDP | ||
14 December 1962 | 15 October 1963 | FDP | |||
Federal Minister for Food, Agriculture and Forests | 14 November 1961 | 15 October 1963 | CDU | ||
Federal Minister for Labour and Social Affairs | 14 November 1961 | 15 October 1963 | CDU | ||
Federal Minister of Defence | 14 November 1961 | 16 December 1962 (de facto) 9 January 1963 (de jure) | CSU | ||
9 January 1963 | 15 October 1963 | CDU | |||
Federal Minister of Transport | 14 November 1961 | 15 October 1963 | CDU | ||
Federal Minister of Post and Telecommunications | 14 November 1961 | 15 October 1963 | CSU | ||
Federal Minister of Housing Construction | 14 November 1961 | 15 October 1963 | CDU | ||
Federal Minister of Displaced Persons, Refugees and War Victims | 14 November 1961 | 19 November 1962 | FDP | ||
Wolfgang Mischnick | 14 December 1962 | 15 October 1963 | FDP | ||
Federal Minister of All-German Affairs | 14 November 1961 | 11 December 1962 | CDU | ||
14 December 1962 | 15 October 1963 | CDU | |||
Federal Ministry of Nuclear Energy | 14 November 1961 | 13 December 1962 | CSU | ||
Federal Ministry of Scientific Research | 14 December 1962 | 15 October 1963 | FDP | ||
Federal Minister of Family and Youth Affairs | 14 November 1961 | 11 December 1962 | CDU | ||
14 December 1962 | 15 October 1963 | CDU | |||
Federal Minister of Bundesrat and State Affairs | 14 November 1961 | 13 December 1962 | CDU | ||
14 December 1962 | 15 October 1963 | CSU | |||
Federal Minister of the Treasury | 14 November 1961 | 19 November 1962 | FDP | ||
14 December 1962 | 15 October 1963 | CSU | |||
Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation | 14 November 1961 | 19 November 1962 | FDP | ||
Walter Scheel | 14 December 1962 | 15 October 1963 | FDP | ||
Federal Minister of Health | 14 November 1961 | 15 October 1963 | CDU | ||
Federal Minister for Special Affairs | 14 November 1961 | 15 October 1963 | CDU |
The Christian Social Union in Bavaria is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. Having a regionalist identity, the CSU operates only in Bavaria while its larger counterpart, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), operates in the other fifteen states of Germany. It differs from the CDU by being somewhat more conservative in social matters, following Catholic social teaching. The CSU is considered the de facto successor of the Weimar-era Catholic Bavarian People's Party.
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is the major catch-all party of the centre-right in German politics.
The Spiegel affair of 1962 was a political scandal in West Germany. It stemmed from the publication of an article in Der Spiegel, West Germany's weekly political magazine, about the nation's defense forces. Several Spiegel staffers were detained on charges of treason, but were ultimately released without trial.
Franz Josef Strauss was a German politician. He was the long-time chairman of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU) from 1961 until 1988, member of the federal cabinet in different positions between 1953 and 1969 and minister-president of the state of Bavaria from 1978 until 1988. Strauss is also credited as a co-founder of European aerospace conglomerate Airbus.
Walter Scheel was a German statesman. A member of the Nazi Party that joined the Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP) in 1946, he first served in government as the Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development from 1961 to 1966 and later as President of Germany from 1974 to 1979. He led the FDP from 1968 to 1974.
Federal elections were held in West Germany on 28 September 1969 to elect the members of the 6th Bundestag. The CDU/CSU remained the largest faction and the Social Democratic Party remained the largest single party in the Bundestag, winning 237 of the 518 seats. After the election, the SPD formed a coalition with the Free Democratic Party and SPD leader Willy Brandt became Chancellor.
Federal elections were held in West Germany on 17 September 1961 to elect the members of the fourth Bundestag. The CDU/CSU remained the largest faction, winning 242 of the 499 seats. However, the loss of its majority and the All-German Party losing all its seats led to the CDU having to negotiate a coalition with the long-term junior coalition partner, the Free Democratic Party, leading to a demand for long-term chancellor Konrad Adenauer to leave office in 1963, halfway through his term.
Thomas Dehler was a German politician. He was the Federal Republic of Germany's first Minister of Justice (1949–1953) and chairman of Free Democratic Party (1954–1957).
Erich Mende was a German politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He was the leader of FDP from 1960 to 1968 and the vice chancellor of Germany from 1963 to 1966.
Franz Josef Jung is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He became Federal Minister of Defence in the Grand coalition cabinet of Angela Merkel on 22 November 2005. In October 2009 he became Minister of Labour and Social Affairs but resigned a month later.
The Fibag scandal was in 1961/1962 a German political scandal around minister of defense Franz Josef Strauss, which, together with the Starfighter scandal and the Spiegel scandal, led to Strauss' dismissal as defense minister and halted his political career at least temporarily.
Siegfried Balke was a German politician (CSU).
Werner Dollinger was a German politician and economist, a member of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU). He served as Federal Minister for the Treasury from 1962 to 1966, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation in 1966, Federal Minister for Post and Telecommunications from 1966 to 1969, and as Federal Minister of Transport from 1982 to 1987.
The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of the federal government of Germany, and the commander-in-chief of the German Armed Forces during wartime. The chancellor is the chief executive of the Federal Cabinet and heads the executive branch. The chancellor is elected by the Bundestag on the proposal of the federal president and without debate.
The First Adenauer cabinet was the 1st Government of Federal Republic of Germany in office from 20 September 1949 until 20 October 1953. It was the first democratically-elected German cabinet after World War II. The cabinet was formed after the 1949 elections. Konrad Adenauer reached an agreement on a coalition with the Free Democratic Party (FDP), German Party (DP) and his Christian Democratic Union (CDU) together with their Bavarian sister party Christian Social Union (CSU), setting the stage for Adenauer to become the first Chancellor of Germany. Franz Blücher (FDP) served as Vice-Chancellor of Germany and Federal Minister of Matters of the Marshall Plan. The cabinet was succeeded by the Second Adenauer cabinet.
The Second Merkel cabinet was the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany during the 17th legislative session of the Bundestag. Installed after the 2009 federal election, it left office on 17 December 2013. It was preceded by the first Merkel cabinet and succeeded by the third Merkel cabinet. Led by Chancellor Angela Merkel, it was supported by a coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU), and the Free Democratic Party (FDP).
The Third Merkel cabinet was the 23rd Government of the Federal Republic of Germany during the 18th legislative session of the Bundestag. Installed after the 2013 federal election, it left office on 14 March 2018. It was preceded by the second Merkel cabinet and succeeded by the fourth Merkel cabinet. Led by Chancellor Angela Merkel. The government was supported by a coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU) and the Social Democrats (SPD). Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) replaced Philipp Rösler (FDP) as Vice Chancellor of Germany and became Federal Minister for Economics and Energy.
The Third Schmidt cabinet was the government of Germany between 6 November 1980 and 1 October 1982, during the 9th legislature of the Bundestag. Led by the Social Democrat Helmut Schmidt. After the 1980 federal election, incumbent Chancellor Schmidt continued the social-liberal coalition between his SPD and the FDP.