Franz Blücher

Franz Blücher
Vice-Chancellor of Germany
In office 20 September 1949 – 29 October 1957
Preceded by	vacant last office holder: Hermann Göring
Succeeded by	Ludwig Erhard
Federal Minister for Matters of the Marshall Plan later renamed Minister for Economic Cooperation
In office 20 September 1949 – 29 October 1957
Preceded by	new office
Succeeded by	Hermann Lindrath as Minister for Federal Patrimony
Personal details
Born	24 March 1896 Essen, German Empire
Died	26 March 1959(1959-03-26) (aged 63) Bad Godesberg, West Germany
Political party	FDP Free People's Party (FVP) DP

Franz Blücher (24 March 1896 – 26 March 1959) was a German politician and member of the German Parliament (Bundestag).

Blücher was born in Essen, Rhine Province, German Empire.

After World War II, Blücher was one of the founders of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and served as chairman in the British occupation zone (1946-1949) and as Federal Chairman (1949-1954).

From 1949 to 1957, he was a member of Chancellor Konrad Adenauer's cabinet. As representative of the second-largest government party, he occupied the position of Vice-Chancellor of Germany and also held the Ministry for Matters of the Marshall Plan, which in 1953 was renamed Ministry for Economic Cooperation.

In 1956, he - along with other fifteen ministers and parliamentarians - sided with Chancellor Adenauer against his party and formed the Free People's Party (FVP), which early in 1957 merged with the German Party (DP).

Franz Blücher died on 26 March 1959 in Bad Godesberg, North Rhine-Westphalia.

Honours and awards

Blücher was awarded honorary doctorates from the University of Berlin (1954) and the University of the Punjab in Lahore (1957). In 1954 he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit and the Grand Cross of the Greek Order of George I. In 1955, he received the Grand Cross of Merit of the Italian Republic.

In 1956, Blücher received the Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria.^[1]

References

Vice Chancellors of Germany German Empire (1871–1918) Otto zu Stolberg-Wernigerode Karl Heinrich von Boetticher Arthur von Posadowsky-Wehner Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg Clemens von Delbrück Karl Helfferich Friedrich von Payer Weimar Republic (1919–1933) Eugen Schiffer Bernhard Dernburg Matthias Erzberger Eugen Schiffer Erich Koch-Weser Rudolf Heinze Gustav Bauer Robert Schmidt Karl Jarres Oskar Hergt Hermann Dietrich Third Reich (1933–1945) Franz von Papen Hermann Göring Federal Republic (1949–) Franz Blücher Ludwig Erhard Erich Mende Hans-Christoph Seebohm Willi Brandt Walter Scheel Hans-Dietrich Genscher Egon Franke Hans-Dietrich Genscher Jürgen Möllemann Klaus Kinkel Joschka Fischer Franz Müntefering Frank-Walter Steinmeier Guido Westerwelle Philipp Rösler Sigmar Gabriel