Rainer Barzel

Rainer Barzel
File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F029561-0005, Essen, CDU-Bundestagswahlkongress, Barzel.jpg Barzel speaking at a 1969 CDU conference
Federal Minister of All-German Affairs
In office 14 December 1962 – 11 October 1963
Chancellor	Konrad Adenauer
Preceded by	Ernst Lemmer
Succeeded by	Erich Mende
Federal Minister of Intra-German Relations
In office 4 October 1982 – 29 March 1983
Chancellor	Helmut Kohl
Preceded by	Egon Franke
Succeeded by	Heinrich Windelen
President of the Bundestag
In office 29 March 1983 – 25 October 1984
Preceded by	Richard Stücklen
Succeeded by	Philipp Jenninger
Personal details
Born	20 June 1924 Braunsberg, East Prussia
Died	Munich, Bavaria
Nationality	German
Political party	CDU
Spouse(s)	Kriemhild (m. 1948 – d. 1980) Helga (m. 1983 – d. 1995) Ute (m. 1997 – 2006)
Children	Claudia
Alma mater	University of Cologne
Profession	Lawyer
Religion	Roman Catholicism

File:Rainer Barzel.jpg

Rainer Barzel, 1971

Rainer Candidus Barzel (June 20, 1924 – August 26, 2006) was a German politician of the CDU.

Born in Braunsberg, East Prussia (present-day Braniewo, Poland), Barzel served as Chairman of the CDU from 1971 and 1973 and ran as the CDU's candidate for Chancellor of Germany in the 1972 federal elections, losing to Willy Brandt's SPD.

The 1972 election is commonly regarded as an indirect referendum on Chancellor Brandt's Ostpolitik (Eastern Policy), which called for normalized relations with East Germany and the Soviet Union, which Barzel vehemently opposed. On April 27, 1972, Barzel and the CDU/CSU called a constructive vote of no confidence against Brandt's government. Had the motion carried, Barzel would have succeeded Brandt as Chancellor of Germany. The implications of this vote were far-reaching. Brandt's nitial reaction was that he, along with his policy of Ostpolitik, was finished. Several German trade unions went on strike in anticipation of his loss in the no confidence motion. However, the final tally received 247 votes; 249 were needed to expel Brandt from office. Later, it was found out that two members of Parliament,

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The government, in consideration of the fact that it had lost its parliamentary majority and that parliamentary work was stalled, reacted by calling new elections, which it won decisively. 1972 was the only time before 1998 and after World War II that the SPD outpolled the CDU, and it still represents the SPD's high-water mark as a vote share. That year's elections had the highest turnout ever.

Within the CDU group of the German parliament, Barzel's credibility suffered when it became apparent that he had lied about substantial outside income from work as a lawyer outside parliament.

Barzel served as Minister of All-German Affairs (1962–63) under Konrad Adenauer, as Parliamentary group leader of the CDU/CSU (1964–1973), as Minister of Intra-German Relations (1982–1983) in Helmut Kohl's cabinet, and as President of the Bundestag (1983–1984).

It was not the lost nonconfidence motion/or the lost parliamentary elections that, on May 8, 1973, eventually prompted Barzel to resign from both the CDU party chair and the leadership of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group. It was the refusal by the parliamentary group to support a government bill for the accession of both German states to the United Nations.

He resigned from politics in 1984 after he was accused of being entangled in the Flick scandal, a charge rejected by the Flick inquiry committee and the prosecuting authorities two years later.

Barzel died in Munich, Bavaria, after a long illness, on August 26, 2006.

Further reading

• Michael F. Feldkamp (ed.), Der Bundestagspräsident. Amt - Funktion - Person. 16. Wahlperiode, München 2007, ISBN 978-3-7892-8201-0