Editing Walter Scheel

{{Short description|President of Germany From 1974 to 1979}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name         = Walter Scheel
| image        = Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1989-047-20, Walter Scheel.jpg
| imagesize    = 
| caption      = Scheel in 1974
| office       = [[President of Germany]]{{efn|Due to the division of Germany, Walter Scheel was only the President of [[West Germany]]. The term '''West Germany''' is the common English name for the '''Federal Republic of Germany''' between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the [[German reunification]] through the accession of [[East Germany]] on 3 October 1990.}}
| chancellor   = [[Helmut Schmidt]]
| term_start   = 1 July 1974
| term_end     = 30 June 1979
| predecessor  = [[Gustav Heinemann]]
| successor    = [[Karl Carstens]]
| office1      = [[Chancellor of Germany]]{{efn|Due to the division of Germany, Walter Scheel was only the chancellor in [[West Germany]]. The term '''West Germany''' is the common English name for the '''Federal Republic of Germany''' between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the [[German reunification]] through the accession of [[East Germany]] on 3 October 1990. The office of chancellor did not exist in East Germany.}}
|term_label1   = Acting
| president1   = [[Gustav Heinemann]]
| term_start1  = 7 May 1974
| term_end1    = 16 May 1974
| predecessor1 = [[Willy Brandt]]
| successor1   = [[Helmut Schmidt]]
| office2      = [[Vice Chancellor of Germany]]
| term_start2  = 22 October 1969
| term_end2    = 16 May 1974
| chancellor2  = [[Willy Brandt]]<br />''himself'' (acting)
| predecessor2 = Willy Brandt
| successor2   = [[Hans-Dietrich Genscher]]
| office3      = [[Minister for Foreign Affairs (Germany)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]
| term_start3  = 21 October 1969
| term_end3    = 16 May 1974
| chancellor3  = [[Willy Brandt]]<br />''himself'' (acting)
| predecessor3 = [[Willy Brandt]]
| successor3   = [[Hans-Dietrich Genscher]]
| office4      = [[Presidium of the Bundestag|Vice President of the Bundestag]]<br />(on proposal of the FDP group)
| 1blankname4        = {{nowrap|[[President of the Bundestag|President]]}}
| 1namedata4         = [[Eugen Gerstenmaier]]<br />[[Kai-Uwe von Hassel]]
| term_start4  = 8 September 1967
| term_end4    = 19 October 1969
| predecessor4 = [[Thomas Dehler]]
| successor4   = [[Liselotte Funcke]]
| office5      = [[Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development|Minister for Economic Cooperation]]
| term_start5  = 14 November 1961
| term_end5    = 28 October 1966
| chancellor5  = [[Konrad Adenauer]]<br />[[Ludwig Erhard]]
| predecessor5         = ''Office established''
| successor5   = [[Werner Dollinger]]
{{Collapsed infobox section begin |last=yes |Parliamentary constituencies
 |titlestyle=border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes
| office6            = [[Member of the German Bundestag|Member]] of the [[Bundestag]] <br /> for [[North Rhine-Westphalia]]
| term_start6        = [[1953 West German federal election|6 October 1953]]
| term_end6          = 27 June 1974
| predecessor6       = ''multi-member district''
| successor6         = Karl-Hans Laermann
| constituency6      = [[Electoral system of Germany|Free Democratic Party List]]
| office7             = [[Member of the European Parliament|Member]] of the [[European Parliament]] <br /> for [[West Germany]]
| term_start7         = 1 July 1956
| term_end7           = 20 November 1961
| predecessor7        = ''multi-member district''
| successor7          = ''multi-member district''
| office8             = Member of the<br />[[Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia]] <br /> for Remscheid
| term_start8         = 5 July 1950
| term_end8           = 13 July 1954
| predecessor8        = [[Hugo Paul (politician)|Hugo Paul]]
| successor8          = Walter Frey{{Collapsed infobox section end}}}}
| birth_name   = Walter Scheel
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|df=yes|1919|7|8}}
| birth_place  = [[Solingen|Höhscheid]], Rhine Province, [[Free State of Prussia]], [[Weimar Republic]] (now [[Solingen#City administration|Solingen-Höhscheid]], North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany)
| death_date   = {{death date and age|df=yes|2016|8|24|1919|7|8}}
| death_place  = [[Bad Krozingen]], Baden-Württemberg, Germany
| party        = [[Free Democratic Party (Germany)|Free Democratic Party]] (1946–2016)
| otherparty   = [[Nazi Party]] (1942–1945)
| occupation          = {{hlist|Politician|Businessman|Consultant}}
| spouse       = {{ubl|{{marriage|Eva Charlotte Kronenberg|1942|1966|end=d}}|{{marriage|Mildred Wirtz|1969|1985|end=d}}|{{marriage|Barbara Wiese|1988}}}}
| children     = 4<!--Ulrich<br>Cornelia<br>Simon Martin <br>Andrea-Gwendoline-->
| signature    = Signatur Walter Scheel.jpg
}}
'''Walter Scheel''' ({{IPA|de|ˈvaltɐ ˈʃeːl|lang|De-Walter Scheel.ogg}}; 8 July 1919 – 24 August 2016)<ref>[https://m.geboren.am/person/walter-scheel Profile of Walter Scheel]</ref> was a German statesman. A member of the [[Nazi Party]] who joined the [[Free Democratic Party (Germany)|Free Democratic Party of Germany]] (FDP) in 1946, he first served in government as the [[Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development|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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Walter Scheel (1974–1979)|url=http://www.bundespraesident.de/EN/TheGermanFederalPresidents/WalterScheel/walterscheel-node.html|publisher=German Federal Presidency|access-date=13 July 2013}}</ref>

During the chancellorship of [[Willy Brandt]], Scheel was [[Minister for Foreign Affairs (Germany)|Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs]] and the [[Vice-Chancellor of Germany|Vice Chancellor]]. Scheel became [[Chancellor of Germany|acting Chancellor of West Germany]] from 7–16 May 1974 following Brandt's resignation after the [[Guillaume Affair]]. He was elected shortly after as the [[President of Germany|president of West Germany]], remaining in the role until 1979. Scheel was a member of the [[Protestant Church in Germany]].

==Early life==
Scheel was born in [[Solingen]] (now in [[North Rhine-Westphalia]]). He completed his ''[[Abitur]]'' at the [[Gymnasium Schwertstraße|Reformrealgymnsasium Schwertstraße]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rp-online.de/nrw/staedte/solingen/aus-hoehscheid-in-die-geschichtsbuecher-aid-1.3708560|title=Aus Höhscheid in die Geschichtsbücher|last=Lohausen|first=Carsten|date=28 September 2013|website =Rheinische Post|language=de|access-date=21 February 2016}}</ref>

Scheel became a member of the [[Nazi Party]] in 1942.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=DOPJa3vAnigC&dq=scheel+nsdap&pg=PA152 Geschichte und Politik in den Reden der deutschen Bundespräsidenten 1949-1984, Matthias Rensing,p. 152]</ref> During [[World War II]], he served in the [[Luftwaffe]] during the last years of the war as a radar operator on a [[Messerschmitt Bf 110|Bf 110]] [[night fighter]].{{citation needed|date=October 2016}}

==Political career==
{{more citations needed|section|date=February 2017}}
When his [[Free Democratic Party of Germany|Free Democratic Party]] reentered government in a coalition with [[Konrad Adenauer]]'s [[Christian Democratic Union (Germany)|Christian Democratic Union]] in 1961, Scheel was appointed federal minister of economic cooperation and development. He continued in that office under Chancellor [[Ludwig Erhard]] but brought about the downfall of the latter in late 1966 by resigning.

A Christian Democratic/[[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democratic]] Grand Coalition followed. During this time, in 1968, Scheel took over the party presidency from right wing liberal [[Erich Mende]]. According to one study, the election of Walter Scheel to the FDP leadership in 1968 “represented a turn to the left and the Free Democrats then indicated their wooing of the SPD by voting for the successful Social Democratic candidate for the Presidency of the Republic, Gustav Heinemann, in 1969.”<ref>{{cite book|last1=Childs|first1=David|last2=Johnson|first2=Jeffrey|title=West Germany, politics and society|date=1981|publisher=St. Martin's Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-312-86300-5}}</ref>{{page needed|date=August 2016}}

In 1969, he led his party to form a new coalition with the Social Democrats. Under Chancellor [[Willy Brandt]], Scheel became [[Foreign Minister of Germany|Foreign Minister]] and [[Vice-Chancellor of Germany|Vice Chancellor]]. Under their leadership, West Germany pursued a course of rapprochement and détente with the Soviet bloc and officially recognized the existence of the [[German Democratic Republic]] (GDR). This policy caused a massive public debate, with various Free and Social Democrats switching sides to the opposition. Though an attempt to oust Brandt failed, the coalition had lost its slender majority. The parliamentary stalemate was ended by the dissolution of parliament and early elections in 1972, which brought great gains for the Social Democrats and enabled the coalition to continue.

On 7 May 1974, Brandt resigned as [[Chancellor of Germany|chancellor]] after one of his aides, [[Günter Guillaume]], was arrested as a spy for the East German state. Though this had been internally suspected since 1973, Brandt accepted responsibility and resigned. Scheel, as acting chancellor, chaired the government meetings for a little over a week, until [[Helmut Schmidt]] was elected.<ref>{{cite news|title=16. Mai 2004 - Vor 30 Jahren: Helmut Schmidt wird zum Bundeskanzler gewählt|url=https://www1.wdr.de/stichtag/stichtag174.html|access-date=24 August 2016|work=WDR|language=de}}</ref> One of his first official acts as acting Chancellor was the award of the war blind radio play prize to Alfred Behrens on 8 May 1974. On 14 May, he chaired the cabinet meeting once.<ref>[https://www.br.de/mediathek/podcast/kanzlercast/bonus-walter-scheel-der-10-tage-kanzler/1836054/ Walter Scheel - Der 10-Tage-Kanzler] In: ''BR Podcast'', 26 October 2021.</ref> [[Hans Dietrich Genscher]] became Scheel's successor as party chairman and as minister.{{citation needed|date=October 2016}}
[[File:Scheel Carter.jpg|250px|right|thumb|Scheel with U.S. President [[Jimmy Carter]], 1978]]
Scheel was elected [[President of Germany|President of West Germany]], a week after relinquishing his other government roles. He held the office from July 1974 until June 1979. At the funeral of [[Hanns Martin Schleyer]] in October 1977, Scheel gave a speech entitled ''shame''. After the federal presidency, Scheel was Chairman of the [[Bilderberg Conference]] as well as President of the [[European Movement]] in Germany from 1980 to 1985. From 1980 to 1989 he was also President of the German section of the [[Union of European Federalists (UEF)]]. He was named honorary chairman of the [[Friedrich Naumann Foundation]] in 1991.{{citation needed|date=August 2016}}

==Death==
Scheel died on 24 August 2016 following a long illness.<ref>{{cite news|title=Früherer Bundespräsident (1974-1979): Walter Scheel ist tot|url=http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/walter-scheel-ist-tot-a-1109294.html|access-date=24 August 2016|work=SPIEGEL ONLINE|language=de}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Ehemaliger Bundespräsident Walter Scheel ist tot|url=http://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2016-08/ehemaliger-bundespraesident-walter-scheel-ist-tot|access-date=24 August 2016|work=Die Zeit|language=de}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/08/25/world/europe/walter-scheel-west-germany-obituary.html |title=Walter Scheel, Leading Figure in West German Thaw With the East, Dies at 97 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=24 August 2016 |access-date=25 August 2016}}</ref> Having lived to {{Age in years and days|1919|07|08|2016|08|24|mf=y}} he holds the record as the longest-lived German head of state, either imperial or elected.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

==Publications==
* with [[Karl-Hermann Flach]] and [[Werner Maihofer]]: ''Die Freiburger Thesen der Liberalen.'' Rowohlt, Hamburg 1972, {{ISBN|3-499-11545-X}}.
* ''Die Zukunft der Freiheit – Vom Denken und Handeln in unserer Demokratie.'' Econ, 1979.
* ''Wen schmerzt noch Deutschlands Teilung? 2 Reden zum 17. Juni'', Rowohlt, Reinbek 1986, {{ISBN|3-499-18346-3}}.
* with [[Otto Graf Lambsdorff]]: ''Freiheit in Verantwortung, Deutscher Liberalismus seit 1945.'' Bleicher, 1988, {{ISBN|3-88350-047-X}}.
* with Jürgen Engert: ''Erinnerungen und Einsichten''. Hohenheim-Verlag, Stuttgart 2004, {{ISBN|3-89850-115-9}}.
* with Tobias Thalhammer: ''Gemeinsam sind wir stärker – Zwölf erfreuliche Geschichten über Jung und Alt''. Allpart Media, Berlin 2010, {{ISBN|978-3-86214-011-4}}.

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

==Literature==
* [[Hans-Dietrich Genscher]] (Hrsg.): ''Heiterkeit und Härte: Walter Scheel in seinen Reden und im Urteil von Zeitgenossen''. Deutsche Verlagsanstalt, Stuttgart 1984, {{ISBN|3-421-06218-8}}.
* Hans-Roderich Schneider: ''Präsident des Ausgleichs. Bundespräsident Walter Scheel. Ein liberaler Politiker.'' Verlag Bonn aktuell, Stuttgart 1975, {{ISBN|3-87959-045-1}}.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons|Walter Scheel}}
*[https://www.bundespraesident.de/EN/TheGermanFederalPresidents/WalterScheel/walterscheel-node.html The German Federal Presidents]

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{{Succession box
|title=[[Vice Chancellor of Germany|Vice-Chancellor of West Germany]]
|before=[[Willy Brandt]]
|after=[[Hans-Dietrich Genscher]]
|years=1969–1974
}}
{{Succession box
|title=[[Foreign Minister of Germany|Foreign Minister of West Germany]]
|before=[[Willy Brandt]]
|after=[[Hans-Dietrich Genscher]]
|years=1969–1974
}}
{{Succession box
|title=[[President of Germany|President of West Germany]]
|before=[[Gustav Heinemann]]
|after=[[Karl Carstens]]
|years=1974–1979
}}
{{S-end}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Scheel, Walter}}
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