Commemoration Alumnus and Minister President Bernhard Vogel died
Heidelberg University mourns the loss of politician Bernhard Vogel, who started his political career during his time at Ruperto Carola. The two-time Minister President passed away on 2 March 2025 at the age of 92.
“I took my basic equipment with me, both in science and in human encounters during my years there,” said Bernhard Vogel in a 2012 interview about his time at Heidelberg University. Born in Göttingen on 19 December 1932, Bernhard Vogel grew up in Giessen and Munich as the younger brother of SPD politician Hans-Jochen Vogel. From 1953, he studied political science, history, sociology and economics in Heidelberg and Munich and completed his studies in 1960 with a doctorate under Dolf Sternberger in Heidelberg. From 1961 to 1967, he was a lecturer at the Heidelberg Institute for Political Science.
In 1967, Bernhard Vogel became Minister of Culture of Rhineland-Palatinate in the cabinet of Minister President Peter Altmeier (CDU), and in 1976 he succeeded Helmut Kohl as Minister President. He was Chairman of the Rhineland-Palatinate CDU from 1974 until a fierce internal party dispute at the 1988 state party conference in Koblenz led to a contest for the party chairmanship. Bernhard Vogel was defeated and subsequently resigned as Minister President. In 1992, he was elected Minister President of Thuringia and remained in this office until 2003. From 1993 to 2000, he was Chairman of the Thuringian CDU, of which he was appointed Honorary Chairman in 2004.