Fourth Adenauer cabinet

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Fourth Cabinet of Konrad Adenauer
Cabinet Adenauer IV
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4th Cabinet of West Germany
14 November 1961 – 15 October 1963
(until 17 October 1963 as caretaker government)
Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F078072-0004, Konrad Adenauer.jpg
Date formed14 November 1961 (1961-11-14)
Date dissolved15 October 1963 (1963-10-15)
(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.

Contents

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.

Composition

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.

PortfolioMinisterTookofficeLeftofficeParty
Chancellor 14 November 196115 October 1963  CDU
Vice-Chancellor &
Federal Minister for Economy
14 November 196115 October 1963  CDU
Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs 14 November 196115 October 1963  CDU
Federal Minister of the Interior 14 November 196115 October 1963  CSU
Federal Minister of Justice 14 November 196119 November 1962  FDP
14 December 196215 October 1963  FDP
Federal Minister of Finance 14 November 196119 November 1962  FDP
14 December 196215 October 1963  FDP
Federal Minister for Food, Agriculture and Forests 14 November 196115 October 1963  CDU
Federal Minister for Labour and Social Affairs 14 November 196115 October 1963  CDU
Federal Minister of Defence 14 November 196116 December 1962 (de facto)
9 January 1963 (de jure)
  CSU
9 January 196315 October 1963  CDU
Federal Minister of Transport 14 November 196115 October 1963  CDU
Federal Minister of Post and Telecommunications 14 November 196115 October 1963  CSU
Federal Minister of Housing Construction14 November 196115 October 1963  CDU
Federal Minister of Displaced Persons, Refugees and War Victims 14 November 196119 November 1962  FDP
Wolfgang Mischnick
14 December 196215 October 1963  FDP
Federal Minister of All-German Affairs 14 November 196111 December 1962  CDU
14 December 196215 October 1963  CDU
Federal Ministry of Nuclear Energy 14 November 196113 December 1962  CSU
Federal Ministry of Scientific Research 14 December 196215 October 1963  FDP
Federal Minister of Family and Youth Affairs 14 November 196111 December 1962  CDU
14 December 196215 October 1963  CDU
Federal Minister of Bundesrat and State Affairs14 November 196113 December 1962  CDU
14 December 196215 October 1963  CSU
Federal Minister of the Treasury 14 November 196119 November 1962  FDP
14 December 196215 October 1963  CSU
Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation 14 November 196119 November 1962  FDP
Walter Scheel
14 December 196215 October 1963  FDP
Federal Minister of Health 14 November 196115 October 1963  CDU
Federal Minister for Special Affairs 14 November 196115 October 1963  CDU

References and notes

  1. "Kabinette Adenauer".

Further reading

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