Karl Arnold (21 March 1901 – 29 June 1958) was a German politician. He was Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia from 1947 to 1956.
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Early life and education
Arnold was born in Herrlishöfen in Württemberg on 21 March 1901. He was trained as a shoemaker and later (1920/21) studied at the Soziale Hochschule Leohaus, Munich.
From 1920 onwards, Arnold worked as functionary of the movement of Christian workers. In 1924, he became secretary of the Christian workers union for the Düsseldorf region. He was elected in the town council of Düsseldorf for the Centre Party in 1929.
In 1933, Arnold was co-owner of a sanitary installation shop in Düsseldorf. The Gestapo observed and hunted him in the following years because of his political activities. In 1944, he was jailed by the Gestapo.
Career
After World War II, Arnold became politically active again. In 1945, he was co-founder of the local Christian-Democratic Party in Düsseldorf, which became part of the CDU later in 1945. Also in 1945, the Düsseldorf chapter of the united workers union was founded, presided by Arnold. On 29 January 1946 Arnold was named mayor of Düsseldorf and later elected in the first free elections (26 October 1946).