Dr. Heinrich Brüning (November 26, 1885–March 30, 1970) was a German politician who was Chancellor of Germany.

==

Born in Münster in Westphalia, he studied history, law and national economy at various German universities and the London School of Economics before serving in the army in World War I as a machine gunner, receiving rank as an officer. In 1925 he was elected to the Reichstag, the German Parliament, in which he represented Breslau, and in 1929, he became head of the Centre Party, belonging to its right wing.

Recognized for his financial acumen, he was appointed Chancellor of Germany on March 29, 1930, after the collapse of Social Democrat Hermann Müller's coalition government in an effort to remedy the economic crisis caused by the Great Depression. Within a month, however, his remedy to the dire situation -- increased taxes and severe budget cuts -- had been rejected by the Reichstag and were only implemented in the summer, when President Paul von Hindenburg began ruling by decree based on Article 48 of the Weimar constitution, circumventing Parliament. The measures were unsuccessful, and when negotiations over rearmament failed, Brüning resigned his position as Chancellor on May 30, 1932. He was briefly succeeded by Franz von Papen, a member of his party's own right wing, before Adolf Hitler became Chancellor on January 30, 1933.

Brüning fled Germany in 1934 to escape Hitler's political purges. He settled in the United Kingdom and later the United States, where he taught at Harvard University's School of Business Administration. He returned to Germany in 1952 and, not having been able to continue a political career, died in the United States in 1970.

In exile, he wrote "Memoirs 1918 - 1934".

Brünings First Government, March 1930 - October 1931

• Heinrich Brüning (Z) - Chancellor
• Hermann Dietrich (DDP) - Vice Chancellor and Minister of Economics
• Julius Curtius (DVP) - Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Joseph Wirth (Z) - Minister of the Interior
• Paul Moldenhauer (DVP) - Minister of Finance
• Adam Stegerwald (Z) - Minister of Labour
• Johann Viktor Bredt (Economy Party) - Minister of Justice)
• Wilhelm Groener - Minister of Defence
• Georg Schätzel (BVP) - Minister of Posts
• Theodor von Guérard (Z) - Minister of Transport
• Martin Schiele (DNVP) - Minister of Food
• Gottfried Treviranus (Conservative People's Party) - Minister of Occupied Areas

Changes

• May 3, 1930 - Bredt resigns as Justice Minister. He is succeeded by acting Minister. Curt Joël
• June 26, 1930 - Dietrich succeeds Moldenhauer as Finance Minister. Dietrich is succeeded as Economics Minister by acting Minister Ernst Trendelenburg .
• October 1, 1930 - With the evacuation of the Rhineland by the Allies, Treviranus becomes Minister without Portfolio.

Brüning's Second Cabinet, October 1931 - May 1932

• Heinrich Brüning (Z) - Chancellor and Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Hermann Dietrich (DSP) - Vice Chancellor and Minister of Finance
• Wilhelm Groener - Minister of the Interior and Minister of Defence
• Hermann Warmbold - Minister of Economics
• Adam Stegerwald (Z) - Minister of Labour
• Curt Joël - Minister of Justice
• George Schätzel (BVP) - Minister of Posts
• Gottfried Treviranus (Conservative People's Party) - Minister of Transport
• Martin Schiele (Christian State People's Party ) - Minister of Food

Changes

• May 6, 1932 - Warmbold resigns as Economics Minister and is succeeded by acting Minister Ernst Trendelenburg