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| Affiliation | Christian Democratic |
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| Name | Kurt Georg Kiesinger |
| Address |
Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg , Germany |
| Email | None |
| Website | None |
| Born |
April 06, 1904 |
| Died |
March 09, 1988
(84 years) |
| Contributor | 411 Name Removed |
| Last Modifed | 411 Name Removed
Sep 19, 2005 11:41pm |
| Tags |
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| Info | Kurt Georg Kiesinger was a conservative German politician and Chancellor of Germany from 1 December 1966 until 21 October , 1969.
Born in Ebingen, Germany Kiesinger was educated in Berlin and became a lawyer. He joined the Nazi Party in 1933. From 1940, Kiesinger worked at the German foreign ministry's radio propaganda department. After the war, he was interned and spent several months in the Ludwigsburg camp before being acquitted by the denazification courts.
During the first elections held in the Federal Republic in 1949, Kiesinger had joined the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and won a seat in the Bundestag, the lower house of the German federal parliament. In 1951 he became a member of the CDU executive board. During that time, he became known for his rhetorical brilliance, as well as his in-depth knowledge of foreign affairs. However, despite the recognition he enjoyed within the Christian Democrat legislative party, he was passed over during various cabinet reshuffles. Consequently, he decided to switch from federal to provincial politics: He was appointed Premier (Ministerpräsident) of Baden-Württemberg province on 17 December 1958, an office in which he served until 1 December 1966).
In 1966 following the collapse of the existing CDU/CSU-FDP coalition Kiesinger was elected to replace Ludwig Erhard as Chancellor, heading a new CDU/CSU-SPD alliance. The government formed by Kiesinger remained in power for nearly three years with the SPD leader Willy Brandt as Deputy Federal Chancellor and Foreign Minister. Kiesinger reduced tensions with the Soviet bloc nations establishing diplomatic relations with Czechoslovakia, Romania and Yugoslavia but he opposed any major conciliatory moves.
One of his low points as chancellor was in 1968 when activist Beate Klarsfeld publicly slapped him in the face during the 1968 Christian Democrat convention, while calling him a Nazi.
In the election of 1969, the SPD preferred to form a leftist coalition with the FDP, ending the uninterrupted post-war reign of the CDU chancellors. Kiesinger was succeeded as Chancellor by Willy Brandt.
Kiesinger continued to head the CDU/CSU in opposition until July 1971 and remained a member of the Bundestag until 1980.
Kiesinger was known for great eloquence and nicknamed "Häuptling Silberzunge" - "Chief Silver Tongue".
He died in Tübingen, West Germany.
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