GermanyWho was Ludwig Erhard?
Ludwig Erhard was an economist from Fürth who refused to join the Nazi party and after the war became Bavarian economics minister and director of economics in the Western occupation zones. In June 1948, alongside the currency reform, he ended rationing and freed most prices. As federal economics minister from 1949 to 1963 he became the public face of the social market economy and the postwar boom. He also served as vice chancellor from 1957. He succeeded Konrad Adenauer as chancellor in 1963 and resigned in 1966 after his coalition broke apart over the budget.
Political views
Lifted rationing and most price controls in 1948, arguing that market prices rather than administration should allocate goods.
Source: hdg.deWanted private initiative to rebuild the economy, checked by rules against monopoly, cartels and excessive concentration of economic power.
Source: encyclopedia.comPromoted "prosperity for all" as the aim of economic policy, the title of his 1957 book.
Source: bundeskanzler.deSaw the market itself as social and supported only a minimum of welfare legislation.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgAs chancellor gave priority to relations with the United States and Israel and opened trade missions in several Eastern Bloc states.
Source: bundeskanzler.dePursued budget austerity during West Germany's first postwar downturn in 1966.
Source: hdg.deDefended the 1948 liberalization against protests, strikes and a failed SPD no-confidence motion in the Bizone's Economic Council.
Source: hdg.deTook office as chancellor in 1963 promising a "policy of the center and understanding".
Source: hdg.de
Legacy
Erhard is widely regarded as the architect of West Germany's economic miracle, and market-liberal economists and his own foundation continue to cite him as a model. His economic model was formally adopted by the CDU in 1949, and the federal government's official profile describes him as for many years the most popular politician in West Germany. Critics note that he worked for a consumer research institute that advised the Nazi regime, that his competition law was weakened by compromise in 1957, and that his chancellorship is generally judged less successful than his time as economics minister.