Georg Leber

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Georg Leber (born October 7, 1920 in Obertiefenbach, near Limburg an der Lahn) is a German politician in the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).

After serving in the Luftwaffe (the German air force) in World War 2, he joined the SPD in 1947. In 1957, he was elected the to the Bundestag, which he was a member of until 1983.

In 1966, Leber was appointed to the position of Minister for Transportation for the Grand coalition. He kept this position and became Minister for Postal Service and Long-Distance Communication under the joint SPD-FDP administration. 1972 he gave up both positions and became Minister of Defence. Under his ministership the Bundeswehr was expanded and the Universities of the Bundeswehr were founded in Munich and Hamburg. In 1978 he retired from his position after being involved in controversies involving eavesdropping. From 1979 to 1983, at which point he gave up his mandate, he was the Vice-President of the Bundestag.