Richard von Weizsäcker

Dr. Richard Freiherr von Weizs?cker (, born April 15 1920) is a German politician (CDU). He was President of Germany from 1984 to 1994.

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He was born in Stuttgart as son of the diplomat Ernst von Weizs?cker and brother of physicist and philosopher Carl Friedrich von Weizs?cker, and lived several years in Switzerland and Denmark due to his father's diplomatic duties. When he was 17 years old he moved to Britain and studied philosophy and history at Balliol College, Oxford, later he studied in Grenoble in France. After the outbreak of the war, he served in the Army, finally as a captain of the Reserve. He was wounded in East Prussia in 1945 and was transported home to Stuttgart. Then he continued his study of history in G?ttingen, and eventually studied law. He took his first judicial state exam in 1950, and the second in 1953, and was 1955 promoted doctor juris. He married 1953 Marianne von Kretschmann; they have four children.

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Richard von Weizs?cker joined the CDU in 1954 and became member of the German Parliament in 1969. In 1981 he was elected Governing Mayor of West Berlin.

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He was elected President of Germany by the Federal Assembly in 1984, succeeding Karl Carstens. Richard von Weizs?cker is famous for his speeches. Due to the high esteem in which he is being held by Germany's political establishment, he is so far the only candidate to have stood for elections for the office of federal president uncontested; he was elected in such a way to a second term of office in 1989. Although now an elder statesman, Richard von Weizs?cker is still involved in politics and charitable affairs. He was the chair of a commission installed by the current social democratic-green government for reforming the Bundeswehr.

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1920: 1920 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar)...

German: German may mean:...

CDU: CDU as a three-letter abbreviation can refer to:...

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