Roman Herzog
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| Roman Herzog | |
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| In office July 1, 1994 – June 30, 1999 |
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| Preceded by | Richard von Weizsäcker |
| Succeeded by | Johannes Rau |
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| Born | April 5, 1934 Landshut, Germany |
| Nationality | German |
| Spouse | Christiane Krauß (marr. 1959 to 2000) Alexandra Freifrau von Berlichingen |
| Religion | Protestant |
Roman Herzog (born April 5, 1934) is a German politician (CDU) and was the President of Germany from 1994 to 1999. He was the first President of the Federal Republic of Germany to be elected to office after the reunification of Germany that took place in 1990, and the second person to serve as all-German head of State since the end of WWII.
[edit] Biography
Roman Herzog was born in Landshut, Bavaria 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"), in 1964 he was awarded the title of professor, 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 Rhineland-Palatinate 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 a judge at the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany ("Bundesverfassungsgericht") in Karlsruhe. From 1987 until 1994, he also served as the president of this Court, until he was elected President of Germany by the Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung) in 1994. 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.
[edit] Quote
People have an ever increasing feeling that something is going wrong; that an untransparent, complex, mammoth institution has evolved: divorced from practical problems and national traditions; grabbing ever greater competences and areas of power; that the democratic control mechanisms are failing – in brief, that it cannot go on like this.
(commenting on the current state of the EU, Die Welt, March 2007)
| Preceded by Richard von Weizsäcker |
President of Germany 1994–1999 |
Succeeded by Johannes Rau |
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| Persondata | |
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| NAME | Herzog, Roman |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | President of Germany from 1994 to 1999 |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 5, 1934 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Landshut, Germany |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
