Konrad Adenauer

Adenauer signed the 1951 treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community for West Germany. It placed key industrial markets within a common framework and a supranational High Authority, following the Schuman initiative and negotiations among six states. This changed where some public authority over industry sat, rather than nationalising the firms concerned. His inclusion broadens the comparison beyond public versus private ownership: governments can also pool regulatory powers to support integration and reduce rivalry.