Biography

• Born on 14th December 1914 in Bremen.
• Studied Law and Political Science at the Universities of Frankfurt, Munich, Königsberg and Hamburg, doctorate (LLD) in 1937.
• After military service (1939–1945) he practised as a lawyer in Bremen. From 1949 to 1954 he was legal advisor for Bremen, representing Bremen at the central government in Bonn. In 1952 he qualified as a professor at Cologne University; where in 1960 he became Director of the Institute of Law of the European Communities.
• From 1954 to 1955 he represented the Federal Republic of Germany as Delegate in the Council of Europe. Afterwards he worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was amongst other things responsible for preparing the negotiations on the Treaties of Rome. In 1960 he became initially Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1960–1966), then in the Ministry of Defence (1967) and later Director at the Chancellor’s Office (1968–1969). From 1970 to 1972 he headed the Research Institute of the German Council on Foreign Relations.
• He was elected in 1972 as Member of Parliament for the CDU; in 1973 he became chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group. From 1976 to 1979 he was President of the Bundestag.
• From 1979 to 1984 he held the office of President of the Federal Republic of Germany.
• Died on 30th May 1992.