The year 2026 holds some remarkable anniversaries in store. One of them concerns the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Konrad Adenauer. Born in Cologne in 1876, he became the youngest mayor in German history when he was elected there in 1917. To mark the 150^th anniversary of his birth, the European Central Bank has now issued a new 2-euro commemorative coin. Along with the 2-D-Mark coin featuring his portrait and numerous Cologne emergency money notes with his signature, this coin is already available in our portfolio.

Adenauer was Federal Chancellor from 1949 to 1963 and Foreign Minister from 1951 to 1955. During this time, he drove forward reconstruction, led Germany into NATO and, together with French President Charles de Gaulle, officially ended the so-called “hereditary enmity” between the two neighboring countries. As mayor of Cologne, he inaugurated the first German Autobahn in 1932, among other achievements. Konrad Adenauer died in 1967 at the age of 91.