Roman Herzog

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Roman Herzog
President of Germany
In office July 1, 1994 – June 30, 1999
Preceded by	Richard von Weizsäcker
Succeeded by	Johannes Rau
Born	April 5, 1934 Landshut, Germany
Spouse	Christiane Krauß (marr. 1959 to 2000) Alexandra Freifrau von Berlichingen

Prof. Dr. jur. Roman Herzog (born April 5, 1934) is a German politician and was the President of Germany from 1994 to 1999.

Roman Herzog was born in Landshut, Germany in 1934 to a Protestant family.

He studied law in Munich and took his first juristic state exam in 1957. In 1958, he gained the title Dr.jur. and worked as an assistant at the University of Munich until 1964, where he also passed his second juristic state exam. For his paper Die Wesensmerkmale der Staatsorganisation in rechtlicher und entwicklungsgeschichtlicher Sicht ("Characteristics of State Organization from a Juristic and Developmental-Historical Viewpoint"), he was awarded the title of professor in 1964, a title of academic distinction in Germany and taught at the University of Munich until 1966. From 1966 he taught state law and political science as a full professor at the Free University of Berlin (FUB). In 1969 he accepted an administrative position at the FUB in Speyer, and was the University President from 1971 to 1972.

In 1973 his political career began as a representative of the state (Land) of Rheinland-Pfalz with the Federal government in Bonn. He was minister for culture and sports in the Baden-Württemberg State Government from 1978. In 1980 he was elected to the State Parliament (Landtag), and took over the state Ministry of the Interior.

Roman Herzog was also always active in the Protestant Church. Until 1980 he was head of the Chamber for public responsibility of the Protestant Church of Germany and since 1982 he has been a member of the synod of the Protestant Church of Germany. He has also been a member of the Evangelical Church in Germany since 1972.

In 1983 he became vice president of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany in Karlsruhe, which he presided over from 1987 to 1994, when he was elected President of Germany by the Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung). He retained this position until 1999, when he was succeeded by Johannes Rau.

His wife, Christiane Herzog, died on June 19, 2000. He later married Alexandra Freifrau von Berlichingen.

Preceded by: Richard von Weizsäcker

President of Germany 1994 – 1999

Succeeded by: Johannes Rau

Presidents of the Federal Republic of Germany
Theodor Heuss  • Heinrich Lübke • Gustav Heinemann • Walter Scheel • Karl Carstens • Richard von Weizsäcker  • Roman Herzog • Johannes Rau • Horst Köhler