Ludwig Erhard

Ludwig Erhard (1897-1977), German politician and economist, whose policies guided West Germany's economic recovery after World War II. Born February 4, 1897, in Furth, Erhard was educated at the University of Frankfurt. He was an economist and academic official in Nuremberg from 1928 to 1945, but was considered untainted by Nazi connections. In 1945 he became minister of trade and industry in Bavaria. Because of his successful currency-reform programme, he was appointed federal economics minister of West Germany in 1949. In this position, which he held for 14 years, he was largely responsible for the so-called economic miracle that rebuilt the German economy. Erhard was made vice-chancellor of the West German Republic in 1957 and succeeded Konrad Adenauer to the chancellorship in 1963. His Christian Democratic government won a decisive victory at the polls in 1965, but the following year he was forced to resign, having failed to receive the support of a parliamentary majority for his proposed economic reforms. Erhard died in Bonn on May 5, 1977.