Wilhelm Hoegner

Wilhelm Hoegner
Minister President of Bavaria
In office 1945–1946
Preceded by	Fritz Schäffer
Succeeded by	Hans Ehard
In office 1954–1957
Preceded by	Hans Ehard
Succeeded by	Hanns Seidel
Personal details
Born	(1887-09-23)September 23, 1887 München
Died	(1980-03-05)March 5, 1980 München
Nationality	German
Political party	SPD
Occupation	Lawyer

Wilhelm Hoegner (September 23, 1887 in München - March 5, 1980 in München) was the second Bavarian prime minister (SPD) after World War II (1945-46 and 1954–57) and father of the Bavarian constitution. He has been the only Social Democrat to hold this office.

Life

Wilhelm Hoegner was born in München in 1887, the son of Michael Georg Hoegner and Therese Engelhardt. growing up in Burghausen, he studied law in Munich, Berlin and Erlangen. After graduation, he worked as a lawyer, then Staatsanwalt, a state prosecutor, and in 1920 he also became a member of the SPD. He married Anna Woock in 1918. From 1924 to 1930, he was a member of the Landtag of Bavaria, the state parliament, for his party.

He was involved in the investigation into Hitlers Beer Hall Putsch in 1923 and through this became part of the opposition to the Nazis. He activly opposed Hitler in his time as a member of the German Reichstag from 1930 to 1933. For this reason, he was dismissed from government service after the Nazi takeover in 1933 and had to escape to Austria, and from there, in 1934, to Switzerland.

Upon his return to Bavaria in 1945, he served at the court in Munich. He became prime minister of Bavaria from 1945 to 1946, after the dismissal of Fritz Schäffer, also holding the post of Minister of Justice in this time.

See also

• List of Premiers of Bavaria

Sources

• Universitätsbibliothek Regensburg - Boisls bayrische Biography - Wilhelm Hoegner (in German), page 356