CHRISTIAN SOCIAL UNION

German Christlich-Soziale Union (CSU) conservative German political party that was founded in Bavaria (Bayern), West Germany, in 1946 by various Roman Catholic and Protestant groups and committed to free enterprise, federalism, and a united Europe that would operate under Christian principles. From 1946 the CSU has held the government of Bavaria continuously with only one exception, in 1954-57, although, until it achieved an absolute majority in 1962, it was forced to form coalition governments with minor parties. On the national scene it has customarily cooperated closely with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which has operated in all the West German states except Bavaria. The CSU chairman from 1961 has been Franz Josef Strauss, a Bundestag member from 1949 and a frequent federal minister in CDU-CSU federal governments, notably minister of defense in 1956-62 and of finance in 1966-69. In the 1980 elections Strauss was the CDU-CSU candidate for chancellor, and the CDU-CSU defeat was a heavy blow to him. After the CDU-CSU victory in the 1983, elections Strauss was not given a cabinet seat, but five other CSU leaders were.