Rainer Barzel

Rainer Barzel
Barzel in 1962
President of the Bundestag West Germany
In office 29 March 1983 – 25 October 1984
Preceded by	Richard Stücklen
Succeeded by	Philipp Jenninger
Federal Minister of Intra-German Relations
In office 4 October 1982 – 29 March 1983
Chancellor	Helmut Kohl
Preceded by	Egon Franke
Succeeded by	Heinrich Windelen
In office 14 December 1962 – 11 October 1963 All-German Affairs
Chancellor	Konrad Adenauer
Preceded by	Ernst Lemmer
Succeeded by	Erich Mende
Leader of the Christian Democratic Union
In office 5 October 1971 – 12 June 1973
General Secretary	Kurt Biedenkopf
Preceded by	Kurt Georg Kiesinger
Succeeded by	Helmut Kohl
Leader of the CDU/CSU Group in the Bundestag
In office 1 December 1964 – 9 May 1973
First Deputy	Franz Josef Strauß Richard Stücklen
Preceded by	Heinrich von Brentano
Succeeded by	Karl Carstens
Member of the Bundestag for North Rhine-Westphalia
In office 4 November 1980 – 18 February 1987
Constituency	Party-list proportional representation
Member of the Bundestag for Paderborn – Wiedenbrück
In office 15 October 1957 – 4 November 1980
Preceded by	Maria Niggemeyer
Succeeded by	Heinrich Pohlmeier
Personal details
Born	Rainer Candidus Barzel 20 June 1924 Braunsberg, East Prussia, Germany (Weimar Republic)
Died	26 August 2006(2006-08-26) (aged 82) Munich, Bavaria, Germany
Political party	Christian Democratic Union
Spouses	Kriemhild Kölner ​ ​ (m. 1948; died 1980)​ Helga Henselder ​ ​ (m. 1983; died 1995)​ Ute Cremer ​ (m. 1997)​
Children	1
Alma mater	University of Cologne

Rainer Candidus Barzel (20 June 1924 – 26 August 2006) was a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He served as the eighth president of the Bundestag from 1983 to 1984.

Barzel had been the leader of his parliamentary group and a short time federal minister, before his party went into opposition in 1969. Subsequently, Barzel became chairman of the party. He tried to become federal chancellor via a constructive vote of no confidence 1972, being the first one in the Federal Republic to have tried so. He unexpectedly came two votes short. In the subsequent general elections of November 1972, he was the unsuccessful main candidate of the CDU/CSU. He lost his chairmanship the year after but remained an influential member of the parliament.