Walter Scheel

President of West Germany (1974-1979)

Fame61.0
Momentum9.5
Germany rank#242

Source-basedRising

Fame61.0
Momentum9.5
Germany rank#242
Wikipedia14.3K

Lived 1919–2016, aged 97Germany

Germany PoliticiansPolitician

Wikipedia
66 languages
Cross-language footprint
Rank in Germany
#242
Politicians
Era
1919–2016
Aged 97
Awards
27
recognised works

Summary

Updated 2026-06-09

West Germany's foreign minister during détente, then president — the FDP leader who helped steer Ostpolitik and briefly held the chancellorship when Willy Brandt fell.

Biography

About

Walter Scheel was born 8 July 1919 and joined the Nazi Party before the war ended; in 1946 he entered the Free Democratic Party instead. He served as Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development from 1961 to 1966, then led the FDP from 1968 to 1974. As Willy Brandt's foreign minister and vice chancellor, Scheel advanced the opening to the East. When the Guillaume Affair brought Brandt down in May 1974, Scheel became acting chancellor for nine days. He was elected President of West Germany shortly after and served until 1979. He died 24 August 2016.

Gallery