Adenauer, Konrad
Adenauer, Konrad (1876–1967), a German statesman. He was the first chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). He had the leading role in the revival and rearmament of West Germany after World War II and led his country into close alliance with Western Europe and the United States. He supported the European Defense Community and brought West Germany into NATO.
Adenauer was born in Cologne. He became a lawyer, engaged in politics, and was mayor of Cologne and a member of the Prussian legislature, 1917–33. When the Nazis came into power he lost his offices. In 1934 and again in 1944 he was imprisoned briefly.
In 1945 Adenauer helped found the Christian Democratic Union and soon became president of the party. When the West German government was set up in 1949 he was elected to the Bundestag (lower house of parliament) and later that year was elected chancellor. He was reelected in 1953, 1957, and 1961. He was also foreign minister during 1951–55. Holding an office of great powers, Adenauer exercised his authority to the limit. Critics dubbed his government a Demokratur—implying “democratic dictatorship.” To admirers he was Der Alte—“the old man.”
Under pressure because of his extreme age and his inflexible policies, Adenauer retired unwillingly in October, 1963, in favor of Ludwig Erhard.
Adenauer wrote Memoirs, 1946–1953 (1965; English translation, 1966).