A life for politics: Bernhard Vogel died at the age of 92

A life for politics: Bernhard Vogel died at the age of 92

On March 3, 2025, Bernhard Vogel, an important politician and former Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate and Thuringia, died at the age of 92. Vogel was born on December 19, 1932 in Göttingen and grew up in a bourgeois home. His father was a professor of animal breeding and dairy farming in Gießen, whereby the family moved to the Hessian city, where Vogel spent his childhood.

The Gießener Bombing Night on St. Nicholas Day in 1944 was particularly formative for his youth, during which he witnessed air strikes and the parental house was bombed out. These traumatic experiences from the time of the Second World War accompanied him for a lifetime. Vogel visited the Landgraf-Ludwigs-Gymnasium (LLG) in Gießen, was a valet in the Catholic community of St. Bonifatius and remained connected to his former classmates until old age.

career and political career

After moving the family to Munich in 1949, Vogel graduated from the Maximiliansgymnasium. He was involved in Catholic youth work and began studying sociology, history and economics at the University of Heidelberg. There he was strongly shaped by important teachers such as Dolf Sternberger and Alfred Weber. After the doctorate in 1960, Vogel joined the CDU and became active in the young Union.

subsequently took over several political offices. From 1967 he was chairman of the CDU district association Pfalz and in 1974 he became the state chairman of the CDU Rhineland-Palatinate. In 1976 he became Minister of Culture and from 1979 to 1983 also a representative for cultural affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany. Finally, on December 2, 1976, he became Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate, an office that he held until November 1988.

Vogel fought after his resignation as Prime Minister after an internal party dispute over his political career and was elected Prime Minister of the Free State of Thuringia in 1992. He held this office until June 2003. His commitment to the Konrad Adenauer Foundation was particularly striking, where he was chairman from 1989 to 1993. Later he became honorary chairman.

personal commitment and legacy

Vogel's personal and political values ​​were strongly shaped by his confessional education. His father was more evangelical while his mother was Catholic. As a sponsor of the owl organ in St. Bonifatius, he not only showed his connection to his hometown, but also to his roots. He spoke at various events, including at anniversary celebrations of the LLG.

Manuel Lösel, a former headmaster of the Landgraf-Ludwigs-Gymnasium, described Vogel as open and warm people with whom there was a regular exchange. Even in old age, Vogel remained mentally and often remembered his childhood in Gießen and the experiences of war.

Bernhard Vogel leaves an extensive political heritage and a lasting influence on the political landscape in Germany. He died in Speyer and leaves a legacy that is shaped by his commitment to democratic values ​​and political education. There is extensive information about his life and work, including at Bundeskanzler-Helmut-kohl-Foundation as well as on the Wikipedia page on Bernhard Vogel .