| Date | Biography |
|---|---|
| 1914 | Born on 14 December in Bremen. |
| Read law and political science in Germany, France and the US. Passed the first and second state law examinations; Completed a master's degree and a doctorate in law | |
| 1939-1945 | Soldier, Lieutenant in the anti-aircraft artillery |
| 1945-1949 | Practised law in Bremen |
| 1949-1954 | Commissioner of Bremen to the Federation |
| 1950-1973 | Lectureship at the University of Cologne |
| 1952 | Qualification to teach constitutional and international law in institutes of higher education |
| 1954-1966 | Member of the Diplomatic Service |
| 1954-1955 | Permanent Representative of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg |
| 1960-1966 | State Secretary of the Federal Foreign Office |
| 1960-1973 | Full professor at the University of Cologne |
| 1967-1968 | State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Defence |
| 1968-1969 | Head of the Federal Chancellery |
| 1969-1972 | Head of the Research Institute of the German Society for Foreign Affairs in Bonn |
| 1972-1979 | Member of the German Bundestag |
| 1973-1976 | Chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the German Bundestag, member of the CDU Federal Executive Committee |
| 1976-1979 | President of the German Bundestag |
| 1979-1984 | Federal President |
| 1992 | Died in Meckenheim |
Karl Carstens was Protestant. He was married to Veronica Carstens, a doctor.