Ludwig Karl Erhard, Minister of the Economy for West Germany from 1949 until his retirement in 1963 and Chancellor of West Germany from 1963 until his resignation in 1966, passed away on May 5, 1977 at the age of 80. A Bavarian native, he was a first-generation economist, self-taught through books and study, who earned his Ph.D in economics in Munich. He was a proponent of economic liberalization, and his economic reforms were instrumental to West Germany's remarkable post-war economic recovery and the creation of Germany's "economic miracle". Erhard's reforms led to West Germany's increased prominence in the global economy and his legacy lives on today in Germany and beyond. In his later career, Erhard served in the Bundestag from 1950 to 1972, founded the Free Democratic Party of Germany, and led the FDP in coalition with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) until his resignation in 1966. Erhard is survived by his wife, Heidemarie Schleef and their children, Thomas, Fritz, Klaus, and Gerd.