Political legend Bernhard Vogel died at the age of 92!

Political legend Bernhard Vogel died at the age of 92!

The CDU politician and former Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate and Thuringia, Bernhard Vogel, died. He was 92 years old, such as the CDU Rhineland-Pfalz confirmed. His political career stretched over several decades and was characterized by significant events and decisions that have had a lasting impact on German politics.

Bernhard Vogel was born on December 19, 1932 in Göttingen and grew up in Gießen. His militant political career began in the 1960s. He joined politics as a municipal council in Heidelberg and became Minister of Culture in Rhineland-Palatinate in 1967, where he was particularly committed to the introduction of the Christian community school. In 1971 he moved into the Rhineland-Palatinate state parliament, and as early as 1976 he became Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate, an office that he had until 1988.

pioneering work in politics

Vogel's office hours were characterized by important events. During his first reign, the flight day disaster in Ramstein occurred in 1988, followed by the killing spree from 2002 in Erfurt, both of which threw the light on the challenges of security and education policy. After an internal power struggle, which he lost to Hans-Otto Wilhelm in 1988, Vogel stepped back and took over the management of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation from 1988 to 1992.

his second rise in politics began in 1992 when he became Prime Minister of Thuringia. Previously, his predecessor Josef Duchač had been sold for Stasi allegations, which made Vogel's move to Erfurt a strategic adventure, driven by the Thuringian CDU and on call from Helmut Kohl. From this time until his resignation in 2003, Vogel shaped politics in Thuringia and was considered the "Prime Minister of the Heart".

a life for the CDU

his connection to the CDU was tight and he prevailed against politicians like Heiner Geißler, who was supported by Helmut Kohl. These fights within the party reflect the turbulent history of the CDU, which had to cope with various political complexities after reunification. The CDU, which Bernhard Vogel shaped over many years, had positioned itself heavily since its foundation in 1950 by Konrad Adenauer and was at the government in 52 of 73 years.

Vogel leaves a remarkable legacy in the German political landscape. Norbert Lammert paid tribute to his services to the democratic culture of dispute and the integration of the new federal states into United Germany. Most recently, Vogel lived in Speyer in the Palatinate and, despite his age, was still present at the 36th CDU party conference in 2024.

Bernhard Vogel, who was once part of a political family-a brother Hans-Jochen Vogel was a most prominent SPD member and mayor of Munich-Hat written with his decisions and activities on many levels of political history. His death represents a significant loss for the CDU and German politics, which were enriched by its vision and its commitment.