Biography of Herzog, Roman - Archontology
Herzog, Roman

Roman Herzog

b. 5 Apr 1934, Landshut, Bavaria, German Reich
d. 10 Jan 2017, Bad Mergentheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Title: Bundespräsident (Federal President)
Term: 1 Jul 1994 - 30 Jun 1999
Chronology: 23 May 1994, elected, session of the Bundesversammlung (Federal Assembly), Reichstagsgebäude, Berlin [1]
  1 Jul 1994, took an oath of office as Federal President, joint session of the Bundestag and Bundesrat, Reichstagsgebäude, Berlin [2]
  30 Jun 1999, expiration of term
Biography:
Roman Herzog studied law in Munich, where he also taught from 1958 to 1964. In 1965, he became a professor at the Free University of Berlin. In 1969-1973, Herzog worked at the College of Administrative Sciences in Speyer. He joined the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in 1970 and began his political career as a representative of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the federal level in Bonn from 1973 to 1978. He also served as minister of culture and sport (1978-1980) and minister of interior (1980-1983) for the state of Baden-Württemberg. Herzog became vice president of the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe in 1983 and was named president of this body in 1987. Elected first Federal President after the unification of Germany, Herzog supported the process of European integration and confirmed that Germany has no claims in regard to its former lands in Eastern Europe. He proposed to grant amnesty for all those committed crimes in the years of Communist dictatorship in East Germany. Herzog continued his academic activities and published the book "Staat und Recht im Wandel". He often traveled abroad and visited many post-Communist nations. In 1997 Herzog was awarded along with the Czech president Václav Havel with the title of the "European Statesman of the year 1997." After his presidential term expired in 1999, Herzog assumed chairmanship of the "Brandenburger Tor" foundation.
Biographical sources: "Die Bundespräsidenten: Biographien eines Amtes", by Günther Scholz (Heidelberg: Decker & Müller, 1990).
Elections:

Candidate (party) 1st vote (23 May 1994) 2nd vote (23 May 1994) 3rd vote (23 May 1994)
Roman Herzog (CDU/CSU) 604 622 696
Johannes Rau (SPD) 505 559 605
Hildegard Hamm-Brücher, geb. Brücher (FDP) 132 126 -
Jens Reich (Green) 62 - -
Hans Hirzel (Republican) 12 11 11
abstentions 2 0 7
invalid 2 1 1
total votes cast 1,319 1,319 1,320
total votes/absolute majority: 1,324/663 1,324/663 1,324/663
Source of electoral results: 10. Bundesversammlung der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Berlin, Montag, den 23. Mai 1994 (Bonn: Bonner Universitätsdruckerei-Buchdruckerei, 1994), pp. 7-8.

[1] 10. Bundesversammlung der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Berlin, Montag, den 23. Mai 1994 (Bonn: Bonner Universitätsdruckerei-Buchdruckerei, 1994), pp. 3-16.
[2] Deutscher Bundestag - Stenographischer Bericht - 239. Sitzung zugleich 671. Sitzung des Bundesrates Berlin, Freitag, den 1. Juli 1994.
  Image: photograph, Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin.