Willy Brandt, the first Social Democratic Chancellor of West Germany (1969-1974) was perhaps the most charismatic German leader since Hitler. His life reflects German 20th-century history from the Weimar Republic to the new Germany as a result of unification with the GDR. He was mayor of Berlin when the Wall was built (1961) and as Chancellor he initiated Ostpolitik which indirectly contributed to the fall of the Iron Curtain. As Chairman of the North-South Commission he drew the world's attention to the plight of the Third World. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.

BARBARA MARSHALL