Photo Gallery Germany Loses Its Elder Statesman
Helmut Schmidt served as German chancellor from 1974 to 1982, but his impact on Germany went far beyond the years he spent in the Chancellery in Bonn. In the several decades since he left office, he became the country's most important commentator on political and current events.
Schmidt gained a reputation for erudition and for being a man of action. His eight years in office were marked primarily by crisis management, but he was also a deep political thinker. Here, he is pictured with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev in Bonn in 1981.
Schmidt came to office in 1974 when his predecessor, Willy Brandt, resigned after it became known that his closest advisor was an East German spy. Schmidt admitted later to having been frightened by the office of chancellor.
A native of Hamburg, Schmidt was terse, yet loyal, and his sharp tongue became well-known in the decades after the end of his political career as a result of his frequent appearances on talk shows. He was also brought on board as publisher by the influential weekly Die Zeit, ensuring that he remained in the spotlight.
Schmidt was a passionate sailor in his free time. He has been credited with guiding Germany through the economic challenges of the 1970s as well as with standing up to the left-wing terrorist group, the Red Army Faction (RAF).
Helmut Schmidt's government fell in 1982 after his coalition partner, the Free Democrats, pulled its ministers out of his cabinet. This image shows him congratulating his successor Helmut Kohl on his election to the Chancellery on Oct. 1, 1982.
Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher together with Helmut Schmidt in parliament. It was Genscher who ultimately engineered Schmidt's fall, for which Schmidt never forgave him.
