First Adenauer cabinet

First Cabinet of Konrad Adenauer Cabinet Adenauer I
1st Cabinet of the Federal Republic of Germany
20 September 1949 – 6 October 1953 (until 20 October 1953 as caretaker government)
Date formed	20 September 1949
Date dissolved	20 October 1953 (4 years and 1 month)
People and organisations
President	Theodor Heuss
Chancellor	Konrad Adenauer
Vice-Chancellor	Franz Blücher
Member party	Christian Democratic Union   Christian Social Union   Free Democratic Party   German Party (DP)
Status in legislature	Coalition majority
Opposition party	Social Democratic Party   Communist Party   Bavaria Party   Economic Reconstruction Union   Centre Party (Germany)   Deutsche Rechtspartei   South Schleswig Voters' Association
Opposition leader	Kurt Schumacher † (SPD)[a] Erich Ollenhauer (SPD)[b]
History
Election	1949 West German federal election
Legislature term	1st Bundestag
Predecessor	Flensburg Government (1945) Allied Control Council (1945–1949)
Successor	Adenauer II

The First Adenauer cabinet (German: Kabinett Adenauer I) was the 1st Government of Federal Republic of Germany in office from 20 September 1949 until 20 October 1953.^[1]

It was the first democratically-elected German cabinet after World War II. The cabinet was formed after the August 1949 elections. Konrad Adenauer reached an agreement on a coalition with the Free Democratic Party (FDP), German Party (DP) and his Christian Democratic Union (CDU) together with their Bavarian sister party Christian Social Union (CSU), setting the stage for Adenauer to become the first Chancellor of Germany, to be appointed by a German President that was not yet in office, but pre-determined in the same coalition agreement to be Theodor Heuss, the FDP leader. With support of third party delegates Heuss was elected in the indirect 1949 West German presidential election that included additional voters sent from state parliaments.

Apart from appointing the elected government, the role of a post-war German president is mostly representative. Adenauer was the leading figure, not only Chancellor, but also assumed the role of Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs as soon as the Allied occupation statute permitted to (re)establish the Auswärtiges Amt in March 1951. Franz Blücher (FDP) served as Vice-Chancellor of Germany and Federal Minister of Matters of the Marshall Plan.

Following the 6 September 1953 West German federal election, the new Bundestag convened on 6 October 1953, and the old administration was caretaker in transition. Adenauer soon formed the Second Adenauer cabinet.

Composition

Cabinet members

Portfolio	Minister	Took office	Left office	Party
Chancellor & Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs[c]	Konrad Adenauer	20 September 1949	20 October 1953		CDU
Vice-Chancellor & Federal Minister of Matters of the Marshall Plan	Franz Blücher	20 September 1949	20 October 1953		FDP
Federal Minister of the Interior	Gustav Heinemann	20 September 1949	11 October 1950		CDU
	Robert Lehr	11 October 1950	20 October 1953		CDU
Federal Minister of Justice	Thomas Dehler	20 September 1949	20 October 1953		FDP
Federal Minister of Finance	Fritz Schäffer	20 September 1949	20 October 1953		CSU
Federal Minister of Economics	Ludwig Erhard	20 September 1949	20 October 1953		CDU
Federal Minister of Food, Agriculture, and Forestry	Wilhelm Niklas	20 September 1949	20 October 1953		CSU
Federal Minister of Labour	Anton Storch	20 September 1949	20 October 1953		CDU
Federal Minister of Transport	Hans-Christoph Seebohm	20 September 1949	20 October 1953		DP
Federal Minister of Post and Communications	Hans Schuberth	20 September 1949	20 October 1953		CSU
Federal Minister of Public Housing	Hermann-Eberhard Wildermuth	20 September 1949	9 March 1952		FDP
	Fritz Neumayer	9 March 1952	20 October 1953		FDP
Federal Minister of Displaced Persons	Hans Lukaschek	20 September 1949	20 October 1953		CDU
Federal Minister of All-German Affairs	Jakob Kaiser	20 September 1949	20 October 1953		CDU
Federal Minister for Affairs of the Bundesrat of Germany	Heinrich Hellwege	20 September 1949	20 October 1953		DP

Notes

1. until his death on 20 August 1952
2. from 20 August 1952
3. Adenauer was also Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs from March 15, 1951 after the office was re-established in 1951.

References

1. Osterheld, Horst (1996). "Konrad Adenauer". The German Chancellors. Chicago: Edition Q. pp. 18–19, 30. ISBN 1883695058.