1934- . German politician, NATO
secretary-general from 1988. He was elected
for the conservative Christian Democratic
Union (CDU) to the West German Bundestag
(parliament) in 1965 and, as a specialist in
strategic affairs, served as defence minister
under Chancellor Kohl 1982-88. A proponent of
closer European military collaboration, he
succeeded the British politician Peter
Carrington as secretary general of NATO in
July 1988.