Helmut Schmidt, Former Chancellor of
the Federal Republic of Germany
Helmut Schmidt was born in Hamburg in 1918.
After military service (1937-1945) he completed
his education in Hamburg, studying economics
and political science and graduating in 1949. Mr.
Schmidt joined the Social Democratic Party (SPD)
in 1946. During his political career, he held numerous
executive positions: Member of the German
Bundestag (1953–1961, 1965-1987), Member of
the SPD Federal Executive (1958–1983), Minister
of Domestic Affairs in Hamburg (1961–1965),
Chairman of the SPD Parliamentary Party (1967–
1969), Federal Minister of Defence (1969–1972),
Federal Minister of Economics and Finance, then
Federal Minister of Finance (1972–1974), Federal
Chancellor of Germany (1974–1982). Since 1983,
Mr. Schmidt is publisher of the German weekly DIE
ZEIT and wrote a multitude of books.
He holds numerous honorary degrees, e.g. from
the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and is
Honorary Chairman of the “Hamburg Summit:
China meets Europe”.