Helmut Schmidt

Helmut Schmidt
Schmidt in 1977
Chancellor of West Germany[a]
In office 16 May 1974 – 1 October 1982
President	Gustav Heinemann Walter Scheel Karl Carstens
Vice-Chancellor	Hans-Dietrich Genscher Egon Franke
Preceded by	Willy Brandt
Succeeded by	Helmut Kohl
Minister of Finance
In office 7 July 1972 – 16 May 1974
Chancellor	Willy Brandt
Preceded by	Karl Schiller
Succeeded by	Hans Apel
Minister for Economics
In office 7 July 1972 – 15 December 1972
Chancellor	Willy Brandt
Preceded by	Karl Schiller
Succeeded by	Hans Friderichs
Minister of Defence
In office 22 October 1969 – 7 July 1972
Chancellor	Willy Brandt
Preceded by	Gerhard Schröder
Succeeded by	Georg Leber
Leader of the Social Democratic Party in the Bundestag
In office 14 March 1967 – 22 October 1969
Deputy	See list Alex Möller Karl Schiller Egon Franke Martin Hirsch Ernst Schellenberg Hans-Jürgen Junghans Hans Apel Friedrich Schäfer
Preceded by	Fritz Erler
Succeeded by	Herbert Wehner
Senator of the Interior of Hamburg
In office 13 December 1961 – 14 December 1965
First Mayor	Paul Nevermann Herbert Weichmann
Preceded by	Wilhelm Kröger
Succeeded by	Heinz Ruhau
Parliamentary constituencies Member of the Bundestag for Hamburg In office 20 October 1969 – 18 February 1987 Preceded by Nikolaus Jürgensen Succeeded by Rolf Niese Constituency Hamburg-Bergedorf In office 19 October 1965 – 20 October 1969 Electoral list Social Democratic Party Preceded by Multi-member district Succeeded by Multi-member district In office 15 October 1957 – 19 January 1962 Preceded by Willy Max Rademacher Succeeded by Eugen Glombig Constituency Hamburg VIII In office 6 October 1953 – 15 October 1957 Electoral list Social Democratic Party Preceded by Multi-member district Succeeded by Multi-member district Member of the European Parliament for West Germany In office 27 February 1958 – 29 November 1961 Preceded by Multi-member district Succeeded by Multi-member district
Personal details
Born	Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt (1918-12-23)23 December 1918 Barmbeck, Hamburg, German Reich
Died	10 November 2015(2015-11-10) (aged 96) Hamburg, Germany
Resting place	Ohlsdorf Cemetery
Political party	SPD (from 1946)
Spouse	Hannelore "Loki" Glaser ​ ​ (m. 1942; died 2010)​
Children	2
Alma mater	University of Hamburg
Occupation	Politician civil servant publisher economist
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Germany
Branch/service	Luftwaffe
Years of service	1937–1945
Rank	Oberleutnant (d.R.)
Unit	1st Panzer Division
Battles/wars	Second World War Eastern Front Operation Barbarossa Siege of Leningrad Battle of Moscow Western Front Battle of the Bulge
Awards	Iron Cross 2nd Class

Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt (German: [ˈhɛlmuːt ˈʃmɪt] ^ⓘ; 23 December 1918 – 10 November 2015) was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), who served as the chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982.

Before becoming chancellor, he served as the minister of defence (1969–1972) and the minister of finance (1972–1974) in the government of Willy Brandt. In the latter role he gained credit for his financial policies. He had also briefly been minister of economics and acting foreign minister.

As chancellor, he focused on international affairs, seeking "political unification of Europe in partnership with the United States" amidst the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and issuing proposals that led to the NATO Double-Track Decision in 1979 to deploy U.S. Pershing II missiles to Europe.^[1] He was an energetic diplomat who sought European co-operation and international economic co-ordination and was the leading force in creating the European Monetary System in 1978. He was re-elected chancellor in 1976 and 1980, but his coalition fell apart in 1982 with the switch by his coalition allies, the Free Democratic Party.

He retired from Parliament in 1986, after clashing with the SPD's left-wing, which opposed him on defence and economic issues. In 1986, he was a leading proponent of European monetary union and a European Central Bank.

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