After serving as mayor of Munich for 12 years, Hans-Jochen Vogel (born 1926) became a member of the West German government. In 1983 he led the Social Democratic Party ticket, but lost to the Christian Democrats led by Helmut Kohl. He was chairman of the Social Democrats from 1987 to 1991.

Hans-Jochen Vogel was born on February 3, 1926, in the north German city of Göttingen. He came from a middle-class, politically active family. His father was a university lecturer, and his mother inspired excellence in her sons. His brother Bernhard became the Christian Democratic Party prime minister of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

During World War II, Vogel served a mandatory term in the Hitler Youth. He served in the German army in 1943 and was wounded in Italy and taken prisoner. After the war, he studied law and became active in politics. Despite his north German origins, Vogel rose to political prominence in...