Fourth Adenauer cabinet explained

Cabinet Name:Fourth Cabinet of Konrad Adenauer
Cabinet Adenauer IV
Cabinet Number:4th
Jurisdiction:West Germany
Flag:Flag of Germany.svg
Incumbent:14 November 1961 – 15 October 1963
(until 17 October 1963 as caretaker government)
Date Dissolved:
Government Head Title:Chancellor
Government Head:Konrad Adenauer
Deputy Government Head Title:Vice-Chancellor
Deputy Government Head:Ludwig Erhard
State Head Title:President
State Head:Heinrich Lübke
Opposition Party:Social Democratic Party
Opposition Leader:Erich Ollenhauer (SPD)
Election:1961 West German federal election
Legislature Term:4th Bundestag
Predecessor:Adenauer III
Successor:Erhard I

The Fourth Adenauer cabinet (German: Kabinett Adenauer IV) was formed by incumbent Chancellor Konrad Adenauer after the 1961 federal election. The cabinet was sworn in on 14 November 1961.

The Spiegel affair in 1962 caused the coalition to fall apart over Defence Minister Franz Josef Strauss' actions which violated press freedom, leading to all FDP ministers resigning in protest. As a result, the cabinet was a minority government of the CDU/CSU for just under a month in the fall of 1962 before Adenauer was able to convince the FDP to return to the coalition by assuring Strauß' resignation.

Composition

Shortly after the Spiegel affair, the resignation of Defence Minister Franz Josef Strauss was required to gain back the FDP's support for the cabinet, leading to a reshuffle. The heavily reshuffled cabinet is sometimes referred to as cabinet Adenauer V;[1] however, this is not constitutionally correct, since no new election of the chancellor took place. The government still drew its constitutional legitimacy from Adenauer's election on 14 November 1961. Adenauer decided to retire just a few months later, following which Ludwig Erhard was elected as Chancellor and formed the first Erhard cabinet on 17 October 1963.

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Kabinette Adenauer.