Also know as West Germany, the Federal Republic was proclaimed on May 23, 1949 after a constitution was developed by the occupying forces of the United States, Britain and France. By September 1949, the population was given "civilian" status and the powers of occupation ceded control to local authorities. In May of 1955 the republic became fully independent. Dr. Konrad Adenauer was made Chancellor on September 15, 1949, re-elected in 1953, 1957 and 1961. Willy Brandt became Chancellor on October 21, 1969 and led the republic to friendship agreements with the USSR and Poland in 1970 and guaranteed western access to Berlin in 1971. In 1973 West Germany signed an agreement with Czechoslovakia normalizing relations and nullifying the 1938 "Munich Agreement." West Germany has experience strong economic growth since the 1950s and leads Europe in provisions for worker participation in industry management. In 1983 a NATO decision to deploy medium range missiles in West Germany drew 400,000 demonstrators and led to an organized peace movement in the country. @
