High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Ludwig Wilhelm Erhard (German pronunciation: ; 4 February 1897 – 5 May 1977) was a German politician affiliated with the CDU and Chancellor of West Germany from 1963 until 1966. He is notable for his leading role in German postwar economic reform and economic recovery ("Wirtschaftswunder", German for "economic miracle"), particularly in his role as Minister of Economics under Chancellor Konrad Adenauer in 1949 to his own ascension to the Chancellorship in 1963.