Roman Herzog who was Germany's second president after reunification died on 10th Jan 2017 in Bad Mergentheim at the age of 82.
Like predecessor Richard bon Weizsacker, Herzog used the presidency, largely a ceremonial post to serve as a guardian for liberal and democratic values.
He was known to stress Germany's moral responsibility for past crimes. He was also known for a 1997 speech in Berlin where he spoke about structural reasons for the malaise.
Herzog called for overhaul of the labor market, the taxation system, health insurance and management of public works.
He also stressed on reduction in regulations and reducing unemployment among low wage workers.
Fellow Christian Democrat Helmut Kohl nominated Herzog for the post of president in 1994. His successor Gerhard Schroeder pushed in measures like cuts in unemployment and pension benefits.
Reductions in income tax and labour market overhauls were also initiated by Schroeder. The changes have been credited with a boom that transformed Germany.
During Herzog's presidency, Germany was still recovering and was known as the “sick man of Europe.”
These changes have been credited with a boom that transformed Germany into a robust economy.
Political Career: Roman HerzogFrom 1973 to 1978, he represented the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Bonn, the West German capital.
From 1978 to 1980 he was minister of culture and sports in the state of Baden-Württemberg. From 1980 to 1983 he was a member of the Baden-Württemberg Legislature.
As the state’s interior minister, he developed a hard-line reputation.
As a judge on the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe, which he joined in 1983, Mr. Herzog upheld the right of protesters who had converged on a nuclear power plant in Brokdorf, in northern Germany.
He became the court’s president in 1987.
He was not especially well known when Mr. Kohl nominated him to succeed Mr. von Weizsäcker, who had been president of West Germany since 1984 and served on after reunification in 1990.
Herzog stepped down from the presidency in 1999 and was succeeded by Johannes Rau, a moderate Social Democrat.
In 2002, Herzog helped found the Roman Herzog Institute, which works to improve public policy.
Know More About Roman Herzog- Born: Landshut, Bavaria
- Date: April 5, 1934
- Educational Career: Law at Ludwig Maximilian University (1953-1957)
- Teaching career: Taught law and politics at University of Munich, the Free University of Berlin and the University of Administrative Sciences in Spreyer.
- Joined CDU in 1970.
- Served as its chairman from 1978 to 1983.
- Germany's president from 1994-1999.
- He is best remembered for the phrase “Germany needs a jolt.”
- This is from his 1997 Berlin speech “Moving into the 21st century”
