Konrad
Adenauer was born in Germany in 1876. He
studied at Freiburg University before becoming a lawyer in Cologne.
In 1917 Adenauer became Mayor of Cologne.
Adenauer,
a member of the Catholic
Centre Party,
was elected to the Provincial Diet and in 1920 became President of
the Prussian State Council. A strong opponent of Adolf
Hitler and the Nazi
Party, Adenauer was imprisoned in 1934. He also went to
prison during the Second World War.
After
the war Adenauer was briefly Mayor of Cologne but was removed by the
British authorities for alleged inefficiency. In 1945 he helped establish
the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and in 1949 became the first
Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. He held power for the
next fourteen years and during that time played an important role
in restoring good relations with France and
the United States.
Konrad
Adenauer,
who retired from office in October 1963, died in 1967.
History
of the European Union: Integration Process and European Citizenship
