Luise Erhard (' Lotter; formerly Schuster; 18 April 1893 – 9 July 1975) was a German

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and the wife of

Ludwig Erhard Ludwig Wilhelm Erhard (; 4 February 1897 – 5 May 1977) was a German politician and economist affiliated with the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and Chancellor of Germany (1949–), chancellor of West Ge ...

, former Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Biography

Luise Lotter was born in

Langenzenn Langenzenn is a town in the Fürth (district), district of Fürth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 15 km west of Fürth. The town lies on the river Zenn (river), Zenn and has a population of 10,339 (31 December 2012). Geography It bel ...

and later moved to

Fürth Fürth (; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Middle Franconia. It is the Franconia#Towns and cities, s ...

; she lived in the same neighborhood as her future husband, Ludwig Erhard, and was friends with his sister. In 1914, she married Friedrich Schuster, a lawyer, but he was killed a year later while serving in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. She reencountered Erhard while studying business management and accounting in

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

in 1919, and they married in 1923. Luise had a daughter from her first marriage, Eleanore, and had a second daughter, Elizabeth, with Erhard. Although she was an accomplished economist in her own right, Luise Erhard placed her career on hold to support her husband's political career. Ludwig Erhard served as Chancellor from 1963 until 1966. A 1964 profile in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' noted, "In matters of economics, Luise Erhard, it is said, is one of the German Chancellor's most valued counselors. ... Whatever advice she gives remains private. She prefers homemaking to public life."

References

1893 births 1975 deaths Spouses of chancellors of Germany German women economists People from Fürth People from Langenzenn {{Germany-economist-stub