born Jan. 31, 1884, Brackenheim, German Empire
died Dec. 12, 1963, Stuttgart, W.Ger.
German politician and author.
A member of the German Democratic Party during the Weimar Republic , he served in the Reichstag (1924–28, 1930–33). After Adolf Hitler came to power, Heuss's books on political science were burned as "un-German." After World War II (1939–45), he helped found the Free Democratic Party and served (1948–49) on the parliamentary council that wrote the West German constitution. He served as president of the new state from 1949 until his retirement in 1959.