History of Germany and coal and distributed the new currency in West Berlin as well. The city thereby became economically integrated into West Germany. Konrad Adenauer (1876–1967) was the dominant leader in West Germany. He was the first chancellor (top official) of the FRG, 1949–63, and until his death was the founder and leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), a coalition of conservatives, ordoliberals, and adherents of Protestant and Catholic social teaching that dominated West Germany politics for most of its history. During his chancellorship, the West Germany economy grew quickly, and West Germany established friendly relations with France, participated in the
Chancellor of Germany (1949–present) Council of Ministers of the GDR "(Vorsitzender des Ministerrats der DDR)". (See Leaders of East Germany.) West Germany's 1949 constitution, the Basic Law ("Grundgesetz"), invests the Federal Chancellor ("Bundeskanzler") with central executive authority. Since the 1961 election, the two major parties (CDU/CSU and SPD) call their leading candidates for the federal election "chancellor-candidate" ("Kanzlerkandidat"), although this is not an official term and any party can nominate a Kanzlerkandidat (even if that party has no chance at all of leading or even becoming part of a government coalition). The Federal Government ("Bundesregierung") consists of the Federal Chancellor and their cabinet ministers,