24 May: Proclamation of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany (‘Grundgesetzes der Bundesrepublik Deutschland’)
Four years after the end of the war, Europe is divided into West and East. The Federal Republic of Germany is declared across the American, English and French occupation zones. The Constitution gives the new state a liberal-democratic order. Liberal politician, Theodor Heuss, from the Free Democratic Party (FDP) becomes the first Federal President, and conservative-Catholic Konrad Adenauer of the Christian Democratic Union serves as the first Federal Chancellor.