Walter Scheel

Walter Scheel (1919–2016) was a German politician and military personnel who served as the president of Germany, Vice-Chancellor of Germany, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Member of the European Parliament. A member of the Free Democratic Party and the Nazi Party, he was also affiliated with the German Academy for Language and Literature. Scheel worked in Düsseldorf, Bonn, Strasbourg, and Brussels, and his career included roles as a general manager and business consultant.

Born in Solingen, he served as a senior lieutenant in the Luftwaffe during World War II. He was married to Mildred Scheel and was a Protestant. Scheel received the Charlemagne Prize, the Order of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia, the Orden wider den tierischen Ernst, and the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. He died of natural causes in Bad Krozingen and is buried in Zehlendorf Forest Cemetery.