| Gustav Heinemann |
|
|
In office
July 1, 1969 – June 30, 1974 |
| Preceded by | Heinrich Lübke |
| Succeeded by | Walter Scheel |
|
In office
September 29, 1949 – October 11, 1950 |
| Preceded by | - |
| Succeeded by | Robert Lehr |
|
In office
December 1, 1966 – March 26, 1969 |
| Preceded by | Richard Jaeger |
| Succeeded by | Horst Ehmke |
|
| Born | July 23, 1899(1899-07-23)
Schwelm, Germany |
| Died | July 7, 1976 (aged 76)
Essen, Germany |
| Nationality | German |
| Political party | Christian Social People's Service
(1929-1933)
Christian Democratic Union
(1945-1952)
All-German People's Party
(1952-1957)
Social Democratic Party of Germany
(1957-1976) |
| Spouse(s) | Hilda Heinemann (1896-1979) |
| Religion | Evangelicalism |
Gustav Walter Heinemann, GCB (July 23, 1899 - July 7, 1976) was a German politician. He was Minister of Interior Affairs from 1949 to 1950, Minister of Justice from 1966 to 1969 and President of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1969 to 1974. He was famous for being open-minded with respect to the student protests of 1968, and he tried to keep his office as down-to-earth as possible (e.g. when asked whether he loved Germany, he answered that he loved his wife).
In the Weimar Republic Heinemann was member of the Christian Social People's Service (CSVD). After World War II he was one of the founders of the CDU and became mayor of the city of Essen. He was Minister of the Interior in the first cabinet of Konrad Adenauer. In 1950 he left the cabinet and the CDU in 1952 to form the All-German People's Party (GVP) with Helene Wessel and other CDU- and Center Party members. In 1957 he, and most GVP members, joined the SPD. In the grand coalition (1966-69) he was Minister of Justice.
In 1969 he became the first SPD member to be elected President of Germany since the death of Reichspräsident Friedrich Ebert (president since 1919) in 1925.
His daughter Uta Ranke-Heinemann ran for the German presidency unsuccessfully in 1999. The president who was elected that year (Johannes Rau) was the husband of Heinemann's granddaughter (Uta Ranke-Heinmann's niece) Christina Delius.
The Gustav-Heinemann-Friedenspreis (Gustav Heinemann Peace Prize) is awarded every year to a book judged to have best promoted the cause of world peace.
Heinemann, at the general synod of the Evangelical Church in Germany, 1949
