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Only the stupidest
calves choose their own butcher. - Konrad Adenauer
[PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.azquotes.com/quote/733007]
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Only the stupidest calves choose their own butcher.
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer
(German pronunciation: [ˈkɔnʁaːt ˈhɛɐ̯man ˈjoːzəf ˈaːdəˌnaʊ̯ɐ];
5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman who served as the first
post-war Chancellor of
Germany (West Germany) from 1949 to 1963. He led his country
from the ruins of World War II to a productive and prosperous nation that
forged close relations with France, the United Kingdom and the United States.
During his years in power West Germany achieved democracy, stability,
international respect and economic prosperity ("Wirtschaftswunder",
German for "economic miracle"). He was the first leader of the Christian Democratic Union
(CDU), a Christian Democratic party that under his
leadership became one of the most influential parties in the country.
Adenauer, the
Chancellor till age 87 was dubbed "Der Alte" ("the old
man"). British historian Roy
Jenkins says he was "the oldest statesman ever to function in elected
office." He belied his age by his intense work habits and his uncanny
political instinct. He displayed a strong dedication to a broad vision of market-based
liberal democracy and anti-communism.
A shrewd politician, Adenauer was deeply committed to a Western-oriented foreign policy and restoring the
position of West Germany on the world stage. He worked to restore the West German economy from the
destruction of World War II to a central position in Europe, presiding over the
German Economic Miracle. He reestablished the
German military (Bundeswehr) in 1955. He came to terms with France, which made possible the
economic unification of Western Europe. Adenauer opposed rival East
Germany and made his nation a member of NATO and a firm ally
of the United States.
A devout Roman
Catholic, he had been a leading Centre Party politician in the Weimar
Republic, serving as Mayor
of Cologne (1917–1933) and as president of the Prussian State Council (1922–1933).
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