The former SPD chairman Hans-Jochen Vogel is dead. He died in Munich and died of Parkinson’s disease. His life was marked by many highlights, but also defeats.
The former SPD leader Hans-Jochen Vogel is dead. He died on Sunday at the age of 94 in Munich, as his wife Liselotte Vogel confirmed to the German Press Agency on request.
Oberbrügermeister in Munich
At the age of 34, the son of professors, born in Göttingen in 1926, became mayor of Munich – and thus the youngest city head of a major German city. The 4,444 office days on the Isar were more characteristic of Vogel than later stations. He helped bring the 1972 Olympic Games to Munich. Because of violent clashes with the SPD left, the then representative of the party rights threw in the towel and went into federal politics.
The career of Hans-Jochen Vogel was marked by many highlights, but also defeats: Federal Building and Federal Justice Minister, Mayor in Berlin for almost four months, SPD party and faction leader – and candidate for chancellor. But then he lost to Helmut Kohl.
Bonn, January 28, 1990: CDU chairman Helmut Kohl (left) and SPD chairman Hans-Jochen Vogel. (Source: sepp spiegl / imago images)
In the SPD, Vogel was considered a clear conscience with unshakable moral principles. Apart from the big issue of “social justice”, Vogel was also concerned with another problem into old age: the impending disintegration of Europe. When Britain’s exit from the EU became apparent for the first time, Vogel said that 70 years of peace in Europe could only be achieved by overcoming nationalism.
Gerhard Schröder (l.) And Hans-Jochen Vogel (source: Dieter Bauer / imago images)
Vogel did not make illness public for a long time
Vogel had only made his Parkinson’s disease public a few years before his death, until the last time he lived with his wife Liselotte in a senior residence in Munich. Here he had friends and journalists visit him – if his health allowed it – from friends.
He would also be happy to discuss topical issues with them, such as the refugee crisis or the dangers posed by right-wing currents. From today’s perspective, anyone who wanted to reach Vogel needed a lot of patience – until his death he spurned his cell phone and computer.
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