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Franz Josef Strauss
Historical figureGermany1915-1988

Franz Josef Strauss

Minister-President of Bavaria (1978-1988) · Chairman of the CSU (1961-1988)

Bavarian conservative who led the CSU from 1961 until his death, rebuilt West Germany's army as defence minister and divided opinion more than any other postwar politician on the right.

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ECONOMYSTATESOCIETYWORLDOwnershipMarketsWelfareAuthoritySecurityStructureMoralityReligionTechnologyCultureTradeForeign
Where they stood

Franz Josef Strauss, axis by axis

  1. 01Ownership+45
    PublicPrivate
  2. 02Markets+30
    PlannedFree

    He attacked socialism fiercely, yet he also ran an active industrial policy, heading the Deutsche Airbus board and wooing large companies to Bavaria. The score leans moderately toward free markets.

  3. 03Welfare+20
    SharedSelf-reliant
  4. 04Authority+15
    DemocraticStrong leader

    He worked inside the parliamentary system, but the 1962 Spiegel affair ended his time in the defence ministry after reporters were arrested.

  5. 05Security+65
    LibertyOrder
  6. 06Structure-35
    LocalCentral

    He stood up for Bavaria's own powers and for the CSU's independence from its sister party, the CDU.

  7. 07Morality+60
    ProgressiveTraditional
  8. 08Religion+55
    SecularReligious
  9. 09Technology-40
    EmbraceCaution

    He held the first West German post for atomic matters and backed the aircraft and space industries.

  10. 10Culture+55
    MulticulturalNational identity
  11. 11Trade-20
    GlobalProtected
  12. 12Foreign policy+45
    CooperationStrength

    He was a committed anti-communist who fought Ostpolitik and later arms-control moves, yet in 1983 he helped arrange a big loan for East Germany.

Who was Franz Josef Strauss?

Franz Josef Strauss was born in Munich, the son of a butcher. He served as an officer in the German army in the war and helped set up the Christian Social Union, the CSU, in 1945. He entered the Bundestag in 1949. Chancellor Adenauer made him a minister, first for atomic questions and later for the armed forces. The Spiegel affair cost him the defence job in 1962. From 1961 he chaired the CSU, and later he was finance minister in the Grand Coalition. From 1978 he ran Bavaria until he died in 1988. In 1980 he stood for chancellor and lost to Helmut Schmidt.

Political views

  • Drove the growth of the new West German army after becoming defence minister in 1956.Source: hdg.de
  • As finance minister from 1966 to 1969 he lowered taxes and teamed up with the Social Democrat Karl Schiller on a policy of steering demand that ended the recession.Source: hdg.de
  • Fought hard against Willy Brandt's opening to the East, known as Ostpolitik.Source: hdg.de
  • Fought the 1976 election with a simple choice for voters: freedom, or socialism.Source: hdg.de
  • Helped East Germany get a credit of one billion marks in 1983, and he sat down with Erich Honecker.Source: hdg.de
  • Spoke against the disarmament steps taken under Helmut Kohl in 1987.Source: hdg.de
  • Was a driving force behind the creation of Airbus and headed the German company's oversight board.Source: en.wikipedia.org

Legacy

Admirers say Strauss built up the Bundeswehr, made the CSU a party with a mass membership and turned Bavaria from a farming region into a centre of high-tech industry. Tens of thousands came to his funeral. Critics saw a politician who threatened democratic habits. The 1962 Spiegel affair is the main charge. He admitted a role in the raid on the magazine and in the arrests of its owner, Rudolf Augstein, and of an editor, Conrad Ahlers. Five FDP ministers quit in protest, and soon he was out of the cabinet too. Questions were also asked about the Fibag affair. In 1984 he accepted a decoration from South Africa's apartheid state. Willy Brandt called him a strong engine with a weak brake.

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Franz Josef Strauss: questions

Was Franz Josef Strauss a conservative?

Yes. He stood on the right of German politics, as a hardline anti-communist and defender of tradition and church values. He also backed state-led industrial projects such as Airbus, so his economics were not simply laissez-faire.

What was the Spiegel affair about?

In 1962 police raided the offices of the magazine Der Spiegel after it printed a report on West German defence. Its publisher and an editor were arrested. Strauss had taken part in the action, and the scandal ended his time as defence minister.

Did Strauss ever become chancellor?

No. He was the joint CDU and CSU candidate for chancellor in 1980 but lost to the sitting chancellor, Helmut Schmidt. He then stayed in Bavaria as its minister-president until he died in 1988.

Sources