Franz Josef Strauss
Franz Josef Strauss | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Minister-President of Bavaria | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 6 November 1978 – 3 October 1988 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Deputy |
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Preceded by | Alfons Goppel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Max Streibl | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Leader of the Christian Social Union | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 18 March 1961 – 3 October 1988 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
General Secretary |
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Preceded by | Hanns Seidel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Theo Waigel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Franz Josef Strauß 6 September 1915 Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire (now Bavaria, Germany) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 3 October 1988 Regensburg, Bavaria, West Germany | (aged 73)||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Political party | Christian Social Union (1946–1988) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spouse |
Marianne Zwicknagl
(m. 1957; died 1984) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Children | 3, including Monika | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alma mater | Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Occupation |
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Franz Josef Strauss (German: Strauß [fʁants ˈjoːzɛf ˈʃtʁaʊs]; 6 September 1915 – 3 October 1988) 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.
After the
Early life
Born in Munich on 6 September 1915, as the second child of a butcher,[2] Strauss studied German letters, history and economics at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich from 1935 to 1939.
World War II
In
Early post-war years
In 1945 he served as translator for the U.S. Army. He called himself Franz Strauß until soon after the war when he started using his middle name Josef as well.[3]
Political life 1945–1961
After the war, in 1945, he was appointed deputy Landrat (chief executive and representative of the district) of Schongau by the American military government and was involved in founding the local party organization of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU).[4] Strauss became a member of the first Bundestag (Federal Parliament) in 1949.
In 1953 Strauss became Federal Minister for Special Affairs in the second cabinet of
Strauss stated in a letter to HIAG in March 1957: "I think you know how I personally think about the front line units of the Waffen-SS. They are included in my admiration for the German soldiers of the last world war."[5]
Lockheed bribery scandals
Former
Spiegel affair
Strauss was forced to step down as defence minister in 1962 in the wake of the Spiegel affair. Rudolf Augstein, owner and editor-in-chief of the influential Der Spiegel magazine, published German defense information that Strauss's department alleged was top secret. He was arrested on Strauss's request and was held for 103 days. On 19 November, the five FDP ministers of the cabinet resigned, demanding that Strauss be fired. This put Chancellor Adenauer himself at risk. He found himself publicly accused of backing the suppression of a critical press with the resources of the state. Strauss had no choice but to admit that he had lied to the parliament, and was forced to resign. Strauss himself was exonerated by the courts on the charge of acting against the constitution.[7]
Rivalry between Kohl and Strauss
This section needs additional citations for verification. (July 2016) |
Strauss was appointed minister of the treasury again in 1966, in the cabinet of Kurt Georg Kiesinger. In cooperation with the SPD minister for economy, Karl Schiller, he developed a groundbreaking economic stability policy; the two ministers, quite unlike in physical appearance and political background, were popularly dubbed Plisch und Plum , after two dogs in a 19th-century cartoon by Wilhelm Busch.[8]
After the SPD was able to form a government without the conservatives, in 1969, Strauss became one of the most vocal critics of Willy Brandt's Ostpolitik. After Helmut Kohl's first run for chancellor in 1976 failed, Strauss cancelled the alliance between the CDU and CSU parties in the Bundestag, a decision which he only reversed months later when the CDU threatened to extend their party to Bavaria (where the CSU holds a political monopoly for the conservatives). In the 1980 federal election, the CDU/CSU opted to nominate Strauss as their candidate for chancellor. Strauss had continued to be critical of Kohl's leadership, so providing Strauss a shot at the chancellery may have been seen as an endorsement of either Strauss' policies or style (or both) over Kohl's. But many, if not most, observers at the time believed that the CDU had concluded that Helmut Schmidt's SPD was likely unbeatable in 1980, and felt that they had nothing to lose in running Strauss. Schmidt's victory was seen by Kohl's supporters as a vindication of their man, and though the rivalry between Kohl and Strauss persisted for years, once the CDU/CSU was able to take power in 1982, it was Kohl who became chancellor. He remained in power well beyond Strauss's death.
European integration
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Strauss wrote a book called The Grand Design, in which he set forth his views of how the future unification of Europe might be achieved.[9]
Airbus
As an aerospace enthusiast, Strauss was a key player in the creation of
Minister-President of Bavaria
From 1978 until his death in 1988, Strauss was
Strauss was a strong Bavarian monarchist.[citation needed]
Wackersdorf nuclear reprocessing plant (WAA)
Strauß campaigned vehemently for the construction of the
The ecclesiastical resistance in particular, which met primarily at the Franziskus-Marterl, was a nuisance for Strauss and he explained that anyone who confuses people, whoever causes them to feel insecure, excited and afraid for no reason, is doing the work of the devil.[13][14]
Visit to Albania
Strauss visited communist Albania on 21 August 1984, while Enver Hoxha, the ruler from the end of World War II until his death in 1985, was still in power. Strauss was one of the few Western leaders, if not the only one, to visit the isolationist Albania in decades. This fuelled speculation that Strauss might be preparing the way for diplomatic links between Albania and West Germany and, indeed, relations were established in 1987.[15]
In 2017, Strauss was honored with the Albanian
Death
On 1 October 1988, Strauss collapsed while out hunting with
Family
Strauss married Marianne Zwicknagl in 1957. She died in a car accident in 1984.[2] They had three children: Maximilan Josef , Franz Georg , and Monika, who was member of the Landtag of Bavaria and a Bavarian minister. In 2009 she was elected to the European Parliament.
Legacy
Strauss shaped post-war Bavaria and polarized the public like few others. He was an articulate leader of conservatives and a skilled rhetorician. His outspoken right-leaning political standpoints made him an opponent of more moderate politicians and the entire political left. His association with several large-scale scandals made many politicians distance themselves from him. His policies contributed to changing Bavaria from an agrarian state to one of Germany's leading industry centres, and one of the wealthiest regions of Germany.[1][17]
According to British diplomat Richard Hiscocks:
Strauss is without doubt one of the most remarkable personalities that has yet emerged in Germany since the war and, from a democratic point of view, the most dangerous…. he has great ambition and combines with it the advantages of considerable intellectual gifts, an exceptional memory, immense resilience and capacity for work, and the ability to make quick decisions....On the other hand, these positive qualities are offset by equally pronounced defects. The unscrupulousness of his political methods exceeds even Adenauer’s and is not counterbalanced, as with Adenauer, by good judgment and serenity of manner. Above all he is lacking in self-control and knowledge of men, and has the habit of picking weak and sycophantic companions....His quick decisions therefore have often been the wrong ones. Martin Walser once wrote of him, “He can defend us against everything, only not against himself.”[18]
Notes
- ^ a b David Wilsford, ed. Political Leaders of Contemporary Western Europe: A Biographical Dictionary (Greenwood, 1995) pp. 432–40.
- ^ a b c d Serge Schmemann (4 October 1988). "Franz Josef Strauss Is Dead at 73; Conservative Led Bavarian State". The New York Times. Bonn. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
- ^ "Fragen zur Person" [Question about the person] Archived 12 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine from the Hanns Seidel Foundation (in German)
- ^ "Strauss, Franz Josef – Federal Republic of Germany – Minister of Defense". Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). July 1961. Archived from the original on 17 May 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
- ^ "Waffen-SS". Der Spiegel (in German). 25 March 1964.
- ^ "Scandals: The Lockheed Mystery (Contd.)". Time. 13 September 1976. Archived from the original on 15 October 2007. Retrieved 6 December 2011. (subscription required)
- ISBN 978-1-136-79864-1.
- ^ "Plisch und Plum" by Felix Rexhausen, Der Spiegel, 30 January 1967 (in German)
- ISSN 0947-9511.
- ^ Airbus Corporate Information – The Airbus story
- .
- ^ »Los, jetzt sogts amoi was!« - Spiegel-Reporter Hans-Joachim Noack über das Wackersdorf-Hearing in Neunburg vorm Wald - (Der Spiegel, 14. August 1988)
- Youtube, ca. 17 Min.)
- ^ Ihr schaut’s ja aus wie die Raubritter. - (Tom Schimmeck, Der Spiegel, 11. July 1988)
Ausstieg ist nicht Christenpflicht – Mit dem Beistand der Amtskirche will die CSU den Protest gegen die Atomfabrik Wackersdorf brechen – (Der Spiegel, 18. August 1986) - ^ Milo, P. (2008a) 'Marrëdhënie shqiptaro-gjermane 1987–2007', Polis, (7), pp. 80–92. doi. Available at: https://www-1ceeol-1com-186jynlg2047d.zugang.nationallizenzen.de/search/article-detail?id=694267
- ^ Note Archived 27 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine on the website of the President of Albania (in Albanian)
- .
- ^ Richard Hiscock, The Adenauer era (1966) pp 241—242.
Further reading
- Ahonen, Pertti. "Franz‐Josef Strauss and the German nuclear question, 1956–1962." The Journal of Strategic Studies 18#2 (1995): 25–51.
- Ford, Graham. "Constructing a Regional Identity: The Christian Social Union and Bavaria's Common Heritage, 1949–1962." Contemporary European History 16#3 (2007): 277–297.
- Kieninger, Stephan. "Freer movement in return for cash: Franz Josef Strauß, Alexander Schalck-Golodkowski, and the Milliardenkredit for the GDR, 1983–1984." in New Perspectives on the End of the Cold War (Routledge, 2018) pp. 117–137.
- ISBN 978-3-492-05640-3.
- Pridham, Geoffrey. "The European Policy of Franz Josef Strauss and its Implications for the Community." Journal of Common Market Studies (1980) 18#4 pp 313–332.
- Ridley, Hugh. "The Spiegel Affair." in Law in West German Democracy (Brill, 2019) pp. 130–145.
Primary sources
- Franz Josef Strauss. The Grand Design: A European Solution to German Reunification. English translation: London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1965.
in German
- Karl Rösch: Franz Josef Strauß. Bundestagsabgeordneter im Wahlkreis Weilheim 1949–1978, Utz, München 2014, ISBN 978-3-8316-4392-9.
- Wilfried Scharnagl: Mein Strauß. Staatsmann und Freund. Ars Una, Neuried 2008, ISBN 978-3-89391-860-7.
- Wilhelm Schlötterer: Macht und Missbrauch. Franz Josef Strauß und seine Nachfolger. Aufzeichnungen eines Ministerialbeamten. Fackelträger, Köln 2009, ISBN 978-3-453-60168-0).
- Walter Schöll (ed): Franz Josef Strauss. Der Mensch und der Staatsmann. Ein Porträt. Schulz, Kempfenhausen am Starnberger See 1984, ISBN 3-7962-0152-0.
- Thomas Schuler: Strauß. Die Biografie einer Familie. Scherz, Frankfurt am Main 2006, ISBN 3-502-15026-5.
- Peter Siebenmorgen: Franz Josef Strauß, Ein Leben im Übermaß. Siedler, München 2015, ISBN 978-3-8275-0080-9.
- Franz Georg Strauß: Mein Vater. Erinnerungen. Herbig, München 2008, ISBN 978-3-7766-2573-8.
- Michael Stephan: "Franz Josef Strauß" in: Katharina Weigand (Hrsg.): Große Gestalten der bayerischen Geschichte. Utz, München 2011, ISBN 978-3-8316-0949-9.
External links
- Media related to Franz Josef Strauß at Wikimedia Commons