Helmut Schmidt: Germany's smoking conscience

A giant storm flood descended on the city of Hamburg in February 1962 - the first test for the state's 42-year-old Interior Minister Helmut Schmidt. He decided to call in the Bundeswehr to contribute to the rescue effort. It was a step that some at the time deemed contentious, but that also cemented Schmidt's reputation as a man of action, and won him worldwide approval.

Schmidt entered the national political scene on October 22, 1969, when he became defense minister in the new coalition government between Social Democrats and FDP free-market liberals. He cut mandatory military service from 18 to 15 months. In 1972, Schmidt took on the Finance Ministry, where he worked closely with Chancellor Willy Brandt and Foreign Minister Walter Scheel.

In 1974, Willy Brandt stepped down and was succeeded as chancellor by Helmut Schmidt. He was regarded as a competent economic mind but often faced criticism from within his own party. The party's left wing, in particular, did not always agree with his policies.

Outside of the political arena, his wife Hannelore "Loki" Schmidt was the center of his life. The couple married in 1942 and had two children; their son died before his first birthday. Tolerance and mutual respect marked their long marriage, right up to Loki's death in 2010.

Giving his condolences to the widow of murdered Hanns Martin Schleyer, president of the German Employers Association, in 1977 was one of the hardest things Schmidt had to do as chancellor. The Red Army Faction's leftist terrorism was a trial by fire for crisis manager Schmidt. When the "Landshut" airplane was hijacked, he had an anti-terror squad storm the plane. All 86 passengers were rescued.

In foreign policy matters, Schmidt kept close to western neighbor France, as could be seen in his meeting with French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing in 1978. The two had been friends for a long time and together established the European Monetary Union. Schmidt also continued Germany's close relationship with the United States.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the environmental and peace movements became more and more important. Helmut Schmidt, however, stood by nuclear energy, which wasn't popular. As a result, he faced criticism from fellow Social Democrats and others. The NATO Double-Track Decision threatening Warsaw Pact members with deployment of nuclear weapons was also a highly contentious issue in Germany.

The government coalition with the FDP fell apart in 1982 and meant the end of Helmut Schmidt's chancellery. It would mean the beginning of 16 years in the opposition for the Social Democrats. After he congratulated his successor Helmut Kohl, Schmidt left politics and became co-publisher of weekly newspaper "Die Zeit." He was also an in-demand public speaker around the globe.

Schmidt never stopped participating in domestic and foreign policy discussions. In 2005, he was voted Germany's most popular politician. He also remained an important figure in the SPD. When the party was looking for a candidate for German elections in 2013, he threw in his hat for his longtime chess buddy, Peer Steinbrück, who ended up winning the nomination - though not the general election.