Hans-Jochen Vogel (3 February 192626 July 2020) was a German lawyer and a politician for the
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
For ...
(SPD). He served as
Mayor of Munich from 1960 to 1972, winning the
1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 19 ...
for the city and
Governing Mayor of West Berlin in 1981, the only German ever to lead two cities with a million+ inhabitants. He was
Federal Minister of Regional Planning, Construction and Urban Development from 1972 to 1974, and
Federal Minister of Justice from 1974 to 1981. He served as leader of the SPD in the
Bundestag
The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Comm ...
from 1983 to 1991, and as
Leader of the Social Democratic Party from 1987 to 1991. In 1993, he co-founded the organisation ''
Gegen Vergessen – Für Demokratie
Gegen Vergessen – Für Demokratie (Against Oblivion – For Democracy) is a German organization promoting diversity, tolerance and democratic participation, and opposing racism, prejudice and right-wing and left-wing extremism. It focuses in ...
'' (''Against Oblivion – For Democracy''). He was a member of the
National Ethics Council of Germany from its beginning in 2001.
Early life and professional career
Vogel was born in
Göttingen
Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911.
General information
The ori ...
in the
Province of Hanover,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
on 3 February 1926. He attended the in Göttingen, and from 1935 the in
Gießen,
Hesse
Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are ...
where he achieved the ''
Abitur
''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen ye ...
'' in 1943.
He was an active
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and joined the
Hitler Youth
The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...
and even became one of its squad leaders (''
Scharführer
''Scharführer'' (, ) was a title or rank used in early 20th Century German military terminology. In German, ''Schar'' was one term for the smallest sub-unit, equivalent to (for example) a "troop" , "squad", or "section". The word ''führer'' ...
''). He was not critical of the
Nazi regime and later recalled:
Vogel volunteered for service in the
German Army
The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...
(''Wehrmacht'') in July 1943, aged 17, in the latter stages of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
.
Twice wounded at the
Italian Front, Vogel was an
Unteroffizier at the end of the war, when he was captured by the Americans.
On his return from prison camp he worked as a transport worker for a short while, before he was able to study
law in
Marburg
Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approximat ...
and
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...
. He received his doctorate ("magna cum laude") in 1950.
His professional career began in February 1952, when he became a junior official (''Assessor'') in the .
At the age of 28 he was a county court judge, and in the following year he was appointed chairman of a commission in the Bavarian
Minister-President
A minister-president or minister president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments with a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government where they preside over the council of ministers. I ...
's office which was to review Bavarian law for a new survey published by the
Bavarian state parliament.
The Munich City Council made him their legal secretary (Rechtsreferent) in 1958.
Political career
Mayor in Munich
Vogel became a member of the
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany.
Saskia Esken has been ...
(SPD) in 1950.
At age 34, he was elected
Mayor of Munich on 27 March 1960, with 64.3% of the vote,
then the youngest mayor of a city in Europe with more than a million inhabitants.
His popularity increased further, partly due to his success in tackling the city's traffic problems, and he was re-elected in 1966 with 77.9%.
The fact that Munich was chosen as the venue of the
1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 19 ...
, which had additional beneficial effects on town planning and traffic projects, was to a large extent a result of his efforts.
When Vogel became the leader of the Bavarian Social Democrats and also a member of the executive of the Social Democratic Party of Germany in 1972, he resigned as Mayor of Munich, succeeded by
Georg Kronawitter
Georg Kronawitter (21 April 1928 – 28 April 2016) was a German politician of the SPD. He was mayor of Munich from 1972 to 1978 and from 1984 to 1993.
Early life and education
Kronawitter was born in Oberthann, a part of Schweitenkirchen, i ...
. He described his Munich years in his book ''Die Amtskette'' ("The Chain of Office"), which was published in the same year.
In the Federal Elections of 19 November 1972, Vogel was the top candidate of the Bavarian SPD; two years later he was the SPD's top candidate in the elections for the Bavarian State Parliament. Whereas he could not prevent a victory of the
Christian Social Union of Bavaria
The Christian Social Union in Bavaria (German: , CSU) is a Christian-democratic and conservative political party in Germany. Having a regionalist identity, the CSU operates only in Bavaria while its larger counterpart, the Christian Democra ...
(CSU), he personally gained the best result for any SPD politician in Bavaria after the Second World War.
Minister in Bonn
In December 1972,
Chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
Willy Brandt
Willy Brandt (; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German politician and statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and served as the chancellor of West Ger ...
made Vogel
Federal Minister of Regional Planning, Construction and Urban Development;
Brandt's successor, Helmut Schmidt, made him
Minister of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
in 1974.
Mayor in Berlin
A new challenge came in 1981 when
Dietrich Stobbe
Dietrich Stobbe (25 March 1937 – 19 February 2011) was a German politician who served as the Mayor of West Berlin from 1977 to 1981, as a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). Stobbe also served as President of the Bundesrat from 1 Nove ...
stepped down as
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
of
West Berlin
West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...
, and Vogel was asked to be his successor and take charge of a deeply divided Berlin SPD.
He created a unique "Berlin way" (''Neue Berliner Linie'') of dealing with the problem of "
squats" (''Hausbesetungen'') by granting contracts to the squatters, while preventing any new squats at the same time.
Although he managed to successfully deal with his party's difficulties to a large extent, the SPD lost the following West Berlin elections, only a few months after Vogel had taken office. Governing Mayor of West Berlin became
Richard von Weizsäcker
Richard Karl Freiherr von Weizsäcker (; 15 April 1920 – 31 January 2015) was a German politician ( CDU), who served as President of Germany from 1984 to 1994. Born into the aristocratic Weizsäcker family, who were part of the German nobili ...
(CDU), the later President of Germany. During the following year, Vogel led the opposition in the
West Berlin parliament.
Party leader
Vogel became the SPD's top candidate for the federal elections on 6 March 1983, filling in for
Helmut Schmidt, who had been toppled as chancellor by the
CDU leader,
Helmut Kohl
Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to 1998. Kohl's 16-year tenure is the longes ...
. His campaign focused on
disarmament
Disarmament is the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing weapons. Disarmament generally refers to a country's military or specific type of weaponry. Disarmament is often taken to mean total elimination of weapons of mass destruction, such a ...
and the problems of the labour market ('), but Kohl won the elections.
After the elections, Vogel was one of Berlin's members of the German parliament,
Bundestag
The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Comm ...
.
Herbert Wehner, the previous leader of the parliamentary SPD, nominated him as his successor, and Vogel held that office until 1991.
Under his leadership the Parliamentary SPD turned against atomic energy after the Chernobyl disaster of 1986.
From 1987 to 1991 Vogel was also the leader of the SPD.
He was a member of the Bundestag until 1994.
"I've never pushed myself into the foreground", he said of himself.
Career after political posts
After 1994, Vogel withdrew from political posts, but he continued as a member of the organisation ''
Gegen Vergessen – Für Demokratie
Gegen Vergessen – Für Demokratie (Against Oblivion – For Democracy) is a German organization promoting diversity, tolerance and democratic participation, and opposing racism, prejudice and right-wing and left-wing extremism. It focuses in ...
'' (''Against Oblivion – For Democracy''), aimed at spreading basic democratic values, as a contrast to
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
and
East German
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
concept. Vogel was one of its founders in 1993, and its first chairman.
He served as chairman until 2000.
From the beginning in 2001 to 2005, Vogel belonged to the
National Ethics Council of Germany, looking at ethical aspects such as biotechnology and its consequences for individuals and society.
Awards
Vogel was awarded the Grand Cross 1st class of the
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...
in 1986. He received the for promoting a better understanding between the Jewish community in Berlin and its social surroundings in 1998.
In 2001 he won the , the highest award of the
Central Council of Jews in Germany.
Personal characteristics and private life
Originally on the right wing of the SPD, Vogel became more and more liberal in his views, for instance, with regard to the legislation about asylum seekers, referendums, or the protection of personal data (''Datenschutz'') from the state. In 1992, he visited twelve successor states of the former Soviet Union, meeting numerous presidents, ministers, but also leaders of the opposition, of the Orthodox Church, and of Islam, which broadened his outlook.
In his party, Vogel was a mediator between the various wings, and a centre of integration. He was open to seeking co-operation with the other parties. As the chairman of his party's delegates in a parliamentary commission for reviewing the
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these pr ...
, he achieved the inclusion of the principles of the protection of the environment and of the promotion of women in society. In his final speech in parliament, he said that he would have liked to see a better representation of East German values in the German Constitution after unification.
Vogel summed up his political attitude: "I am a Social Democrat who would like to reconcile something of a vision with the rather stringent and inexorable knowledge that politics cannot be conducted with clouds of words, but with solid work and craftsmanship."
Vogel was the elder brother of CDU politician
Bernhard Vogel.
In 1949, he married his first wife, Ilse, and the couple had three children. They were divorced in 1971.
He married his second wife, Liselotte, in 1972. They moved to a senior citizen's home in 2006.
In 2014, Vogel announced that he had
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms beco ...
which had been diagnosed two years prior.
Vogel died in Munich on 26 July 2020 at the age of 94.
References
External links
*
Hans-Jochen Vogel – Bibliographie und Datenbank – Internetquellen zu Leben und WerkFriedrich Ebert Foundation
The Friedrich Ebert Foundation (''German: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung e.V.; Abbreviation: FES'') is a German political party foundation associated with, but independent from, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Established in 1925 as th ...
Short biographyberlin.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vogel, Hans-Jochen
1926 births
2020 deaths
Politicians from Göttingen
Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians
Justice ministers of Germany
Mayors of West Berlin
Members of the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin
University of Giessen alumni
University of Marburg alumni
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni
Members of the Bundestag for Bavaria
Members of the Bundestag for Berlin
Members of the Bundestag 1990–1994
Members of the Bundestag 1987–1990
Members of the Bundestag 1983–1987
Members of the Bundestag 1980–1983
Members of the Bundestag 1976–1980
Members of the Bundestag 1972–1976
Mayors of Munich
German Army soldiers of World War II
German cooperative organizers
Neurological disease deaths in Germany
Presidents of the Organising Committees for the Olympic Games
People from the Province of Hanover
Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Deaths from Parkinson's disease
Hitler Youth members
German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States