Helmut Schmidt

Helmut Schmidt (1918–2015) was a German politician and author. Born in Hamburg, he joined the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in 1946 and served as federal minister of defense, economics and finance from 1969 to 1974. He was Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1974 to 1982. From 1983, he was co-publisher of the weekly newspaper Die Zeit. His publications included Menschen und Mächte, Außer Dienst and Vertiefungen. Neue Beiträge zum Verständnis unserer Welt. He co-authored Unser Jahrhundert. Ein Gespräch with Fritz Stern and edited Die Deutschen und ihre Nachbarn with Richard von Weizsäcker. Schmidt died in Hamburg in 2015.