| 1918 | Born in Hamburg (December 23rd, 1918) |
| 1937 | Secondary School Certificate (Abitur) |
| 1937-1945 | By draft labour and military service (AA unit), finishing up as 1st Lieutenant of the Reserve and Battery Commander, british POW April-August, 1945 |
| 1942 | Married to Hannelore Glaser (one child) |
| 1945-1949 | Studied economics at Hamburg University (M.A.) |
| 1946 | Member of Social Democratic Party (SPD) |
| 1949-1953 | Economic Councellor, Head of Section, finally Head of the Transport Department in the Hamburg State Administration |
| 1953-1961 | Member of the Bundestag |
| 1958-1983 | Member of the SPD Federal Executive |
| 1961-1965 | Senator for Internal Affairs in Hamburg |
| 1965-1987 | Member of the Bundestag |
| 1967-1969 | Chairman of the SPD Parliamentary Party |
| 1968-1984 | Deputy Chairman of the SPD |
| 1969-1972 | Federal Minister of Defence |
| 1972-1974 | Federal Minister of Economics and Finance, then Federal Minister of Finance |
| 1974-1982 | Federal Chancellor |
| 1983- | Publisher of the German weekly DIE ZEIT |
Honarary Degrees:
i.a. Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Leuven, Joshns Hopkins, Sorbonne, Keio, and others
|
| Author of i.a.: | "Defence or Retaliation" |
| "Verteidigung oder Vergeltung" (1962) |
| "The Balance of Power" |
| "Strategie des Gleichgewichts" (1971) |
| "A Grand Strategy for the West" (1985) |
| "Eine Strategie fur den Westen" (1986) |
| "Men and Powers" (1990) |
| "Menschen und Machte" (1987) |
| "Die Deutschen und ihre Nachbarn" (1990) |
| "Hendeln fur Deutschland" (1993) |
| "Das Jahr der Entscheidung" (1994) |
| "Weggefahren" (1996) |
HELMUT SCHMIDT 
