Inclusion Criteria:

1. Essential hypertensive patients who meet the following criteria:

   • Mean supine DBP >= 95 and <= 114 mm Hg at each of Visits 2 and 3.
   • Mean supine DBP must not vary by more than 10 mm Hg between Visit 2 and Visit 3.
   • Mean supine systolic blood pressure (SBP) must be >= 140 and <= 200 mm Hg at Visit 3.

   (The mean DBP and SBP values are calculated as the mean of the three supine measurements taken two minutes apart.)

2. Male or female.
3. Age >= 20 and Age <= 80 years.
4. Outpatient.
5. Able to stop current antihypertensive therapy without risk to the patient.
6. Ability to provide written Informed Consent in accordance with ?Good Clinical Practice (GCP)? (MHW Ordinance No. 28, as of Mar. 27, 1997) and the local legislation.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Known or suspected secondary hypertension (renovascular hypertension, primary aldosteronism, melanocytoma, etc.).
2. Mean supine DBP > 114 mmHg and/or mean supine SBP > 200 mmHg during any visit of the placebo run-in period.
3. Sustained ventricular tachycardia or other clinically relevant cardiac arrhythmias (atrioventricular conduction disturbance (grade II - III), atrial fibrillation etc.).
4. NYHA functional class heart failure III-IV.
5. Myocardial infarction or cardiac surgery within 6 months of signing the informed consent form.
6. Coronary artery bypass surgery or percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) within 3 months of signing the informed consent form.
7. Unstable angina within 3 months of signing the informed consent form.
8. Hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy, aortic stenosis, hemodynamically relevant stenosis of aortic or mitral valve.
9. Stroke or transient ischemic attack within 6 months of signing the informed consent form.
10. History of sudden exacerbation of renal function with AT1 receptor antagonists or ACE inhibitors; post-renal transplant.
11. Patients who have previously experienced characteristic symptoms of angioedema (such as facial, tongue, pharyngeal, laryngeal swelling with dyspnea) during treatment with AT1 receptor antagonists or ACE inhibitors.
12. Known hypersensitivity to any component of the formulation, or a known hypersensitivity to sulfonamides or sulphonamide-derived drugs (e.g. thiazides).

13. Hepatic and/or renal dysfunction as defined by the following laboratory parameters:

    • SGPT(ALT) or SGOT(AST) >= 2 times the upper limit of normal at screening (Visit 1).
    • Patients who have markedly poor bile secretion by the following laboratory parameters: Patients whose direct bilirubin >= 2.0 mg/dL at screening (Visit 1).
    • Serum creatinine >= 2.1 mg/dL at screening (Visit 1).