The primary objective of this study is to demonstrate that telmisartan 80 mg (MICARDIS®) is at least as effective and possibly superior to ramipril 5mg and 10mg in lowering mean ambulatory diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) during the last 6 hours of the 24-hour dosing interval in mild-to-moderate hypertensive patients at the end of an 8 and 14-week treatment period, respectively.