Helmut Schmidt: A Pioneer of International Economic and Financial Cooperation marks the 95th birthday of the former German chancellor. The book is a compilation of speeches and writings penned by Schmidt between 1973 and 2003 on international economic and financial cooperation, selected by the historian Hartmut Soell. Preceded by two biographical essays, the selection in particular illustrates Schmidt's reform initiative. The contributions presented in the original English are a testimony to Schmidt's flair for cosmopolitan dialogue.
Marked by the disasters of the 20th century - global economic crisis, dictatorship and war - Helmut Schmidt was already an experienced economist when he entered the political stage. He was also one of the most innovative policymakers between 1960 and 1982. As minister of defense, economics, and finance, and as chancellor, Schmidt managed to implement many of his ideas, leading to closer cooperation between the western industrialized nations on monetary issues and energy policy in the 1970s.
Together with France's president Valérie Giscard d'Estaing, Schmidt laid the foundation for the subsequent G7 summits. His proposals for a joint European monetary system paved the way for the present-day European Economic and Monetary Union. Even after retiring from active politics, Schmidt has continued to be an influential and foresighted political thinker, analyst and commentator. Politicians and the public listen to his evaluations and assessments even today, and his books and columns in the highly respected German weekly newspaper Die Zeit are discussed widely.
Hartmut Soell is the author of an extensive two-volume biography of Helmut Schmidt. A German historian and a Social Democratic member of German parliament for many years, Soell studied history, political science and international law and obtained a doctorate in 1963. After qualifying for a professorship in 1974, Soell became a professor of modern history at Heidelberg University in 1977.
Helmut Schmidt: A Pioneer of International Economic and Financial Cooperation is part of the book series SpringerBriefs on Pioneers in Science and Practice. The series presents the lifetime achievements of great pioneers in the fields of politics and academia. Outstanding conceptual thinkers, scholars, politicians and diplomats who have had an innovative, lasting and far-reaching regional or global influence on humankind are presented in individual volumes. Further volumes are soon to be published on leading figures such as Gandhi, Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker, Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker and the Nobel Laureate, Paul J. Crutzen.
Hartmut Soell
Helmut Schmidt: A Pioneer of International Economic and Financial Cooperation
2014, XXVII, 161 pp. 22 illustrations, 9 in color. Softcover £44.99, $ 54.99
ISBN 978-3-319-03867-4. Also available as an eBook