While in a prisoner-of-war camp in Mississippi (United-States)
(1944-1946), he taught law to the other prisoners.
The Hallstein Commission
The Hallstein Commission
The Hallstein Commission held office for two mandates, from 7 January 1958 to 30 June 1967. This was the EEC’s very first Commission and, as such, it prepared the ground for the Common Market and the Common Agriculture Policy (1962). It overcame the institutional crisis in the 1960s and succeeded in setting up an efficient administrative system, enabling the expansion of the European institutions to third countries and gaining the trust of numerous investors.
Walter Hallstein in profile
Born in Mainz (Germany) on 17 November 1901, he died in Stuttgart on 29 March 1982 at the age of 80
Before becoming a politician, Walter Hallstein worked as a lawyer
In June 1951, he was appointed under secretary of state by the German Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer. In the same time, the Chancellor made him head of the German delegation for the Schuman Plan negotiations. A few months later, he becamesecretary of state at the foreign ministry. Hallstein remained at the foreign ministry until 1958 where he played a major part in the negotiations on the EEC (European Economic Community) and Euratom treaties.
As a politician, he was a member of the CDU (Christian Democratic Union of Germany). From 1968 to 1974, he was president of the Council of the European Movement
