Fourth Adenauer cabinet

Fourth Adenauer Cabinet (Adenauer IV)
Cabinet of West Germany
Date formed	14 November 1961 (1961-11-14)
Date dissolved	14 December 1962 (1962-12-14)
People and organisations
Head of state	President Heinrich Lübke
Head of government	Konrad Adenauer
Member parties	CDU CSU FDP
Opposition party	SPD
Opposition leader	Erich Ollenhauer
History
Election(s)	West German federal election, 1961
Legislature term(s)	4th Bundestag
Predecessor	Adenauer III
Successor	Adenauer V

The Fourth Adenauer cabinet was formed by incumbent Chancellor Konrad Adenauer after the 1961 federal election. The cabinet was sworn in on 14 November 1961.

The Spiegel affair in 1962 caused the coalition to fall apart over Defence Minister Franz Josef Strauss' actions which violated press freedom, leading to all FDP ministers resigning in protest. As a result, the Adenauer IV cabinet lasted for only little more than a year.

Composition

Portfolio	Minister	Took office	Left office	Party
Federal Chancellor	Konrad Adenauer	15 September 1949	11 October 1963		CDU
Vice-Chancellor Federal Minister for Economy	Ludwig Erhard	29 October 1957	15 October 1963		independent (politician)
Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs	Gerhard Schröder	14 November 1961	30 November 1966		CDU
Federal Minister of the Interior	Hermann Höcherl	14 November 1961	25 October 1965		CSU
Federal Minister of Justice	Wolfgang Stammberger	14 November 1961	19 November 1962		FDP
Federal Minister of Finance	Heinz Starke	14 November 1961	19 November 1962		FDP
Federal Minister for Food, Agriculture and Forests	Werner Schwarz	15 September 1959	26 October 1965		CDU
Federal Minister for Labour and Social Affairs	Theodor Blank	29 October 1957	26 October 1965		CDU
Federal Minister of Defence	Franz Josef Strauss	16 October 1956	16 December 1962		CSU
Federal Minister of Transport	Hans-Christoph Seebohm	20 September 1949	30 November 1966		CDU
Federal Minister of Post and Telecommunications	Richard Stücklen	29 October 1957	1 December 1966		CSU
Federal Minister of Housing Construction	Paul Lücke	29 October 1957	26 October 1965		CDU
Federal Minister of Displaced Persons, Refugees and War Victims	Wolfgang Mischnick	14 November 1961	19 November 1962		FDP
Federal Minister of All-German Affairs	Ernst Lemmer	29 October 1957	11 December 1962		CDU
Federal Ministry of Nuclear Energy	Siegfried Balke	16 October 1956	13 December 1962		CSU
Federal Minister of Family and Youth Affairs	Franz-Josef Wuermeling	20 October 1953	11 December 1962		CDU
Federal Minister of Bundesrat and State Affairs	Hans-Joachim von Merkatz	26 May 1955	13 December 1962		CDU
Federal Minister of the Treasury	Hans Lenz	14 November 1961	19 November 1962		FDP
Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation	Walter Scheel	14 November 1961	19 November 1962		FDP
Federal Minister of Health	Elisabeth Schwarzhaupt	14 November 1961	30 November 1966		CDU
Federal Minister for Special Affairs	Heinrich Krone	14 November 1961	13 July 1964		CDU