Hans-Jochen Vogel (; 3 February 192626 July 2020) was a German lawyer and a politician for the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He served as Mayor of Munich from 1960 to 1972, winning the 1972 Summer Olympics 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 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 (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 in the Province of Hanover, Germany on 3 February 1926. He attended the in Göttingen, and from 1935 the in Gießen, Hesse where he achieved the Abitur in 1943. He was an active Catholic and joined the Hitler Youth and even became one of its squad leaders (Scharführer). He was not critical of the Nazi regime and later recalled:

Vogel volunteered for service in the German Army (Wehrmacht) in July 1943, aged 17, in the latter stages of World War II. Twice wounded at the Italian Front, Vogel was an Unteroffizier at the end of the war, when he was captured by the Americans.

His professional career began in February 1952, when he became a junior official (Assessor) in the . 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 (SPD) in 1950.

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 (CSU), he personally gained the best result for any SPD politician in Bavaria after the Second World War. 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 (CDU), the later President of Germany. During the following year, Vogel led the opposition in the West Berlin parliament.

From 1987 to 1991 Vogel was also the leader of the SPD.

Career after political posts

After 1994, Vogel withdrew from political posts, but he continued as a member of the organisation Gegen Vergessen – Für Demokratie (Against Oblivion – For Democracy), aimed at spreading basic democratic values, as a contrast to Nazi Germany and East German concept. Vogel was one of its founders in 1993, and its first chairman.

Awards

Vogel was awarded the Grand Cross 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1986. He received the for promoting a better understanding between the Jewish community in Berlin and its social surroundings in 1998.

Personal characteristics and private life

thumb|upright|Vogel in 2015

thumb|upright|The gravestone of Hans-Jochen Vogel with his wife Liselotte, who died in 2024, his brother [[Bernhard Vogel, who died in 2025, and his parents in Munich]]

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, 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. He died in Munich on 26 July 2020 at the age of 94.

References

  • Hans-Jochen Vogel – Bibliographie und Datenbank – Internetquellen zu Leben und Werk Friedrich Ebert Foundation
  • Short biography berlin.de