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==Career==
==Career==
Adenauer was born in 1876, in Cologne, the son of a poor law clerk. He became a lawyer and a civil servant in Cologne, specializing in local taxation. Adenauer was elected a deputy mayor, then senior deputy mayor (1911), and served as lord high mayor of Cologne 1917-33.
Adenauer was born in 1876, in Cologne, the son of a poor law clerk. He became a lawyer and a civil servant in Cologne, specializing in local taxation. Adenauer was elected a deputy mayor, then senior deputy mayor (1911), and served as lord high mayor of Cologne 1917-33.
In 1930, Mayor Adenauer and [[Henry Ford]] laid the cornerstone for a Ford automobile factory in that Rhineland city. Adenauer had aggressively courted Ford, hoping to increase the tax base and find jobs for his constituents, who were hard hit by the Depression. For Ford, the deal meant that he had a foothold in one of the greatest commercial and industrial cities in Germany.
Adenauer played a leading role in German national politics as a member of the Catholic [[Center Party]]. From 1917 to 1933 he served in the provincial diet of the Rhineland and in the Prussian state council as a representative of the Center Party. He later became president of the council and was also a member of the executive committee of the Center Party. In 1926 Adenauer publicly advocated a political union of Evangelical and Catholic Christians. He hoped to oppose the philosophy of the socialist class struggle with a program for a Christian social order of society.
Adenauer played a leading role in German national politics as a member of the Catholic [[Center Party]]. From 1917 to 1933 he served in the provincial diet of the Rhineland and in the Prussian state council as a representative of the Center Party. He later became president of the council and was also a member of the executive committee of the Center Party. In 1926 Adenauer publicly advocated a political union of Evangelical and Catholic Christians. He hoped to oppose the philosophy of the socialist class struggle with a program for a Christian social order of society.