Strauss, Franz Josef

Strauss, Franz Josef

(fräns yō`zĕf shtrous), 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 AdenauerAdenauer, Konrad
, 1876–1967, West German chancellor. A lawyer and a member of the Catholic Center party, he was lord mayor of Cologne and a member of the provincial diet of Rhine prov. from 1917 until 1933, when he was dismissed by the National Socialist (Nazi) regime.
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. 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 SchmidtSchmidt, Helmut
, 1918–2015, German political leader, chancellor of West Germany (1974–82). After serving in World War II, he entered politics and joined the Social Democratic party. He was elected to the Bundestag in 1953.
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. He remained premier of Bavaria until his death.