Third Adenauer cabinet

The Third Adenauer cabinet was formed by incumbent Chancellor Konrad Adenauer after the 1957 federal election. The cabinet was sworn in on 29 October 1957, and remained until it was succeeded by the fourth Adenauer cabinet on 17 October 1961.

Third Cabinet of Konrad Adenauer Cabinet Adenauer III
3rd Cabinet of the Federal Republic of Germany
29 October 1957 – 17 October 1961 (until 14 November 1961 as caretaker government)
Date formed	29 October 1957 (1957-10-29)
Date dissolved	17 October 1961 (1961-10-17) (3 years, 11 months, 2 weeks and 4 days)
People and organisations
President	Theodor Heuss
Chancellor	Konrad Adenauer
Vice-Chancellor	Ludwig Erhard
Member parties	Christian Democratic Union Christian Social Union German Party (DP) (until 1960)^[1]
Opposition party	Social Democratic Party Free Democratic Party
Opposition leader	Erich Ollenhauer (SPD)
History
Election(s)	1957 West German federal election
Legislature term(s)	3rd Bundestag
Predecessor	Adenauer II
Successor	Adenauer IV

Composition

Portfolio	Minister	Took office	Left office	Party
Chancellor	Konrad Adenauer	15 September 1949	11 October 1963		CDU
Vice-Chancellor & Federal Minister of Economy	Ludwig Erhard	29 October 1957	15 October 1963		Independent
Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs	Heinrich von Brentano	6 June 1955	30 October 1961		CDU
Federal Minister of the Interior	Gerhard Schröder	20 October 1953	13 November 1961		CDU
Federal Minister of Justice	Fritz Schäffer	29 October 1957	14 November 1961		CSU
Federal Minister of Finance	Franz Etzel	29 October 1957	14 November 1961		CDU
Federal Minister of Food, Agriculture and Forests	Heinrich Lübke	20 October 1953	15 September 1959		CDU
	Werner Schwarz	15 September 1959	26 October 1965		CDU
Federal Minister of 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^[1]	20 September 1949	30 November 1966		DP
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	Theodor Oberländer	20 October 1953	4 May 1960		CDU
	Hans-Joachim von Merkatz^[1]	4 May 1960	14 November 1961		CDU
Federal Minister of All-German Affairs	Ernst Lemmer	29 October 1957	11 December 1962		CDU
Federal Ministry of Nuclear Energy and Water Policy	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^[1]	26 May 1955	13 December 1962		DP
Federal Minister of Federal Patrimony	Hermann Lindrath	29 October 1957	27 February 1960 (†)		CDU
	Hans Wilhelmi	4 May 1960	14 November 1961		CDU

References and notes

1. Note: Hans-Christoph Seebohm and Hans-Joachim von Merkatz were originally members of the German Party (DP). Both left it in July 1960 to join the CDU in September of the same year.

• "Kabinette Adenauer". election.de (in German). Retrieved 18 November 2019.