Strauß had to resign as defence minister in 1962 because of the Spiegel scandal. The important magazine "Der Spiegel" said that the Bundeswehr could not defend Germany. Strauß said this was treason and Rudolf Augstein, editor of the magazine, was arrested for 103 days.
Strauß had to admit that he had lied to the Bundestag, and had to resign. He complained that he was treated like a "Jew who had dared appear at an NSDAP party convention".
Strauß became minister of finance in 1966, in the cabinet of Kurt Georg Kiesinger.
He worked with the SPD minister for economy, Karl Schiller, but after the SPD was able to form a government without the CDU/CSU, in 1969, Strauß lost his job and became a critic of Willy Brandt's "Ostpolitik."
In 1976, when Helmut Kohl failed to become chancellor Strauß cancelled the alliance between the CDU and CSU parties in the Bundestag. He only started the alliance again when the CDU threatened to move into Bavaria.
In the 1980 federal election Strauß was the CDU/CSU candidate for chancellor. Some people thought that this showed that the CDU and CSU leaders thought Strauß had better policies and style than Kohl. Others said that the CDU/CSU thought that Helmut Schmidt and the SPD was bound to win the 1980 election, and felt that they had nothing to lose in running Strauß: but it might stop Strauß criticising anyone whon disagreed with him.
From 1978 until his death in 1988, Strauß was minister president of Bavaria. He served as President of the Bundesrat in 1983/84.
After he lost the 1980 federal election, he left federal politics. But he did not stay quiet, and often commented on federal affairs from his safe seat in Bavaria. He especially criticised Kohl's ideas, even after Kohl ascended to the Chancellorship.
In 1983, Strauß helped to arrange a loan of 3 billion Deutschmarks for East Germany. This was not popular, and today it is regarded by some as having artificially prolonged the life of the then-bankrupt communist state.
Strauß visited communist Albania on 21 August 1984, while Enver Hoxha, the absolute dictator from the end of World War II until his death in 1985, was still alive. Strauß was one of the few Western leaders to visit Albania in decades. Some thought Strauß might be helping to start diplomatic links between Albania and West Germany but the visit did not result in anything concrete.
On 1 October 1988, Strauß collapsed while hunting with the Prince of Thurn and Taxis in the Thurn and Taxis forests, east of Regensburg. He died in a Regensburg hospital on October 3 without having regained consciousness.
Strauß was very important in post-war Germany even though he was not very well known outside Germany. He polarized (split) the public like few other politicians.
A well known spokesman for conservatives, and brilliant speech-maaker, he was a "red flag" to the left (his ideas made left wing people very angry).
He helped transform Bavaria from a farming state to a centre of technology in Germany. He was an aerospace enthusiast, and supported the Airbus in the 1970s. This is why the new airport in Munich was named after him in 1992 (see Franz Josef Strauß International Airport).
President of the German Bundesrat
The President of the German Bundesrat () is the speaker or chair of the German Bundesrat, which is the upper house of the German parliament.
Each of the ministers president of the federal "Länder" (states) acts as the president of the Bundesrat for one year.
The President of the Bundesrat can also act as deputy to the Federal President if the Federal President is out of Germany or not able to act because of illness etc. If the Federal President dies or is removed from office the President of the Bundestag will act as President until a new president is elected, which must be within thirty days.
The President of the Bundesrat is usually elected on the 1 November in one year, and serves until the 31 October of the next year. The Basic Law says, in Article 52.1, that "the Bundesrat elects its President for one year". However, in practice the presidency rotates among all Länder equally, in accordance with a predetermined order. The order changes sometimes, because it depends on each state's population.
If the head of government of a "Land" changes during the term of the President of the Bundesrat then the presidency passes to the new minister-president for the remainder of its one year duration. This happened in April 1999 when Roland Koch replaced Hans Eichel as minister-president of Hesse. The current order of rotation of the presidency of the Bundesrat is as follows:
German TV
German TV was a German-speaking television program for viewers in the USA and in Canada.
It was founded as a joint program from ARD and ZDF, which formed 40% each of the broadcast output. The remaining 20% was from Deutsche Welle.
The channel broadcast 24 hours-a-day. The editorial staff and the management of German TV were in the offices of Deutsche Welle TV in Berlin.
German TV sent news and information as well as sport, children's programs, shows and other entertainment programs as well as various films from different areas.
German TV went on the air in April, 2002. It was able to be received in the USA, and in wide parts of Canada and Latin America, by Satellite or Cable TV.
List of Presidents of the German Bundesrat
The President of the German Bundesrat () is the German Bundesrat's chairperson or speaker.
The office rotates among the ministers president of each of the federal "Länder" annually. The new Bundesratspräsident is elected during October and takes office on 1 November. In 1950 the Ministers President of the Länder agreed to elect the Bundesratspräsident on a rota, so that every state had a chance to preside over the Bundesrat and to show that the Bundesrat represents all of Germany, rather than the most successful political party.
The rota is based on the state's population.
Maximilien de Robespierre
Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) is one of the best-known leaders of the French Revolution. He was born in Arras, France and he went to school to become a lawyer and got his degree at law school. He was elected to the Estates General to help make laws for France. He fought against the French Monarchy, the death penalty, and slavery, and for democratic reforms and the people to have more power. He gained a reputation for defending the poor. His friends called him "incorruptible" for sticking to his moral values and killing his enemies. Later he was elected president of the powerful Jacobin political group.
Robespierre led the committee of public safety during 1793. Through it, he was able to execute the king. Even though Robespierre got thousands of people executed, Robespierre cared about the working class.
He executed King Louis XVI because he was convicted of treason. Under the advice of Robespierre, the Committee of Public Safety came to control France. The period that the Committee of Public Safety ruled France is known as “The Reign of Terror” and Maximilien de Robespierre was their leader. Robespierre was caught and executed with 21 of his followers with a guillotine. The National Convention were the people who overthrew Maximilien de Robespierre.
Maximilien de Robespierre was born in Arras in the old French province of Artois. His family has been traced back to the 12th century in Picardy; some of his ancestors in the male line worked as notaries in Carvin near Arras from the beginning of the 17th century. It has been suggested that he was of Irish descent, his surname possibly a corruption of "Robert Speirs".
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen