Franz Josef Strauss

Franz Josef Strauss , 1915-88, West German political figure, leader of the Christian Social Union. He became prominent in the Bavarian Christian Social Union (the Bavarian wing of the Christian Democratic Union) after World War II. Elected to the Bundestag in 1949, he became (1956) minister of defense of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) in the coalition government of Christian Democratic chancellor Konrad Adenauer . In 1962, Strauss was widely attacked for his role in the government raids on the offices of the opposition news magazine Der Spiegel and arrests of the magazine's personnel. As a result of the Der Spiegel affair Adenauer was forced to form a new cabinet from which Strauss was excluded. He later served (Dec., 1966-Oct., 1969) as finance minister in the government of Christian Democratic chancellor Kurt Kiesinger. He opposed the 1973 treaty normalizing relations between East and West Germany on the grounds that it violated the constitutional provision requiring the government to seek reunification. In 1978 Strauss was elected premier of Bavaria, a position that served as a springboard for his 1980 bid for election as chancellor of West Germany. Nominated by the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union, Strauss lost the election to Helmut Schmidt . He remained premier of Bavaria until his death.

Strauss, Franz Josef (b. 6 Sept. 1915, d. 3 Oct. 1988). Bavarian Minister President 1978–88 One of the co-founders of the CSU in 1946, he became its general secretary in 1949, deputy president in 1952, and president in 1961. A member of the federal parliament 1949–78, he became Secretary for Special Affairs in 1953, Secretary for Nuclear Issues in 1955, and Foreign Secretary in 1956, when he oversaw the rearmament of the West German army as part of NATO begun in 1955. He resigned over allegations of lying to Parliament in 1962, but he rejoined the government as Finance Secretary 1966–9. His briskness and his right-wing views were constant points of friction with the more centrist CDU, and also cost him general popular support outside Bavaria. As a result, under his leadership in the 1980 elections against H. Schmidt, the CDU/CSU sustained the worst defeat since the parties' creation. By contrast, his popularity in Bavaria, where he continued to win the state elections with record majorities, remained extremely high.