Hans-Christoph Seebohm: Difference between revisions

| office = [[Vice- Chancellor of West Germany]]

'''Hans-Christoph Seebohm''' (4 August 1903 – 17 September 1967) was a German politician of the national conservative [[German Party (1947)|German Party]] (''Deutsche Partei'', DP) and after 1960 the [[Christian Democratic Union (Germany)|Christian Democratic Union]] (CDU).<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-46176040.html|title=RESPEKT VOR DEM, DER AUTOBAHNEN BAUT|first=Dieter|last=Schröder|newspaper=Der Spiegel |date=11 November 1964|via=Spiegel Online}}</ref> He was the [[Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development|minister of Transport]] for 17 years and the [[vice- chancellor of West Germany]] in 1966.

From 1949 until his death he was a member of the [[Bundestag (Germany)|Bundestag]] for the constituency of [[Hamburg-Harburg]]. From 20 September 1949 until 30 November 1966 he also served as Federal Minister for Transport, firstly under Chancellor [[Konrad Adenauer]], who forced him to join the CDU in 1960 as he wouldn't support the DP any longer; then under [[Ludwig Erhard]], under whom he ultimately, but briefly, served as Vice- Chancellor. Seebohm was a firm supporter of the [[Deutsche Bundesbahn|Bundesbahn]], and went to some length to hamstring the trucking industry.<ref name=G6954>{{cite magazine | ref = G6954 | title = Willkommen im Wohlstand |trans-title=Welcome to Prosperity | language = German | page = 7 | issue = 3 (June/July) | date = 2017 | last = Gräf | first = Holger | magazine = Historischer Kraftverkehr | publisher = Verlag Klaus Rabe | location = Cologne, Germany | issn = 1612-4170 }}</ref> In April 1953, second trailers were prohibited. In 1954 a law was passed dictating that half of all transports in Germany had to be carried by train; this would be promoted by subventioning rates for train transports. Trucking remained popular, however, due to its higher flexibility.<ref name=Gräf8>[[#G6954|Gräf]], p. 8</ref> Thus, in 1956, the rules were tightened yet more: Sunday truck traffic was prohibited, along with a host of other new restrictions. Trucks were restricted to a {{convert|24|t|lb|adj=on|abbr=out}} GVW, with a maximum axle load of {{convert|8|t|lb|abbr=out}}, and a maximum overall length of {{convert|14|m|ft|0|abbr=out}}.<ref name=Gräf10>[[#G6954|Gräf]], p. 10</ref> A minimum [[Power-to-weight ratio|power-to-weight]] requirement of 6&nbsp;PS/tonne (max 373&nbsp;lb/hp) was instituted. These various restrictions forced truck manufacturers to develop entirely new trucks meeting the ever tightening requirements, and had a detrimental effect on exports.<ref name=Gräf10 /> In 1960 an easing of the restrictions was announced; railroad and trucking transport were now working in conjunction. Paradoxically, meeting the tough restrictions had forced the German trucking industry to become lean and innovative, leaving them in a much stronger position than before Seebohm's programs.<ref name=Gräf15>[[#G6954|Gräf]], p. 15</ref>