Obituary

Wolfgang Gerhardt: A Great Liberal

About two years ago Wolfgang Gerhardt approached me with an idea. He suggested that our foundation should organise a matinée at Johann Adam von Itzstein's vineyard in Hallgarten in the Rheingau region to commemorate the legendary meetings of the famous liberal Hallgartner Kreis in the Vormärz era and the awakening of parliamentary liberalism. And this is what took place in May 2023, just a few months before Wolfgang Gerhardt's 80th birthday - with prominent guests.

Gerhardt's idea was no coincidence. Like no other politician in Germany today, Wolfgang Gerhardt was deeply rooted in the proud tradition and difficult history of liberalism in the 19th century. Freedom in responsibility and, above all, education and progress - these were the basic civic values that political liberalism in the Frankfurt National Assembly was passionately promoting at that time and at a high level of debate. It does not require much imagination to picture Wolfgang Gerhardt at the lectern of the Paulskirche in Frankfurt in 1848, somewhere between Friedrich Christoph Dahlmann, Heinrich von Gagern and Karl Theodor Welcker - as a representative of a balanced liberalism of the centre, elegantly arguing for a constitution with freedom of opinion, press, assembly and religion as well as unrestricted voting rights. In 1989, Wolfgang Gerhardt, as Hessian Minister for Science and Art, created a commemoration to the Paulskirche by initiating the publication of a splendid book that presents the members of the National Assembly at the time with portraits and biographies as well as their respective memberships: The copy he gave me has a place of honour in my small library at home.

Wolfgang Gerhardt always maintained the highest standards of eloquence and style. Polemics were not part of his repertoire. His clever analyses, well thought-out conclusions and apt choice of words were convincing. His speeches demonstrate this. A selection of them from more than four decades of public activity was published by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation to mark his 80th birthday. It shows him to be a politician who intellectually grasps all the issues he tackles and draws the appropriate conclusions in a liberal spirit. His thematic scope is also striking - no wonder, since as Chairman of the FDP and the FDP parliamentary group in the Bundestag and later as Chairman of the Board of our Foundation, he always held responsible leadership positions in which he had to cover the entire spectrum of politics. He always did this with confident composure and competence, as well as a clear focus on what truly mattered. Anyone who was lucky enough to hear his speeches ‘live’ - be it in the plenary of the Bundestag, in packed halls or, as at party conferences, in huge halls with almost 1,000 people - experienced Wolfgang Gerhardt with that passionate objectivity that captivated all those present and commanded the utmost respect even from political opponents.

Beyond his political speeches, Wolfgang Gerhardt impressed through his practical political actions. The times in which he held responsibility were not easy times for liberalism in Germany. This applies to his party, the FDP, as well as to the parliamentary groups in the Hessian state parliament and the German Bundestag, which he led at various times between 1983 and 2006. It is up to others to report on the history of these years with Wolfgang Gerhardt. I myself was only able to observe him from a distance - and was always impressed by the results, as he was recognisably able to keep the liberal team together, despite the usual tendency among liberals towards individualistic strength of opinion, which was particularly noticeable in those years. Above all, he showed his strength of character when he made way for Guido Westerwelle as a representative of a new generation to be party and later parliamentary group chairman of the FDP. And when, despite good election results in 2002 and 2005, the FDP was not in demand as a governing party and the office of Secretary of State - which was predestined for him - remained out of reach, he accepted this as a gentleman.

In 2006, Wolfgang Gerhardt became Chairman of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation. He immediately placed the idea of freedom at the centre of the foundation more than it had been before. He was the one who added ‘for freedom’ to our name. It was also he who created two new, highly visible events - the annual Speech for Freedom (Rede zur Freiheit) at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and the Freedom Award (Freiheitspreis), which is awarded every two years in Frankfurt's St Paul's Church - which boosted the Foundation's profile, recognition and reputation. And it was he - together with the Chairman of the Board of Trustees Jürgen Morlok - who set the course for modernised foundation work after the FDP left the German Bundestag in 2013. This was also when he asked me whether I would be willing to run for the Foundation's Board of Trustees as Deputy Chairman. I accepted without hesitation.

Over the next four years, we worked closely together on the Board and trusted each other. It was only then that I got to know and appreciate his management style up close. With the new Managing Director Steffen Saebisch and his team, we succeeded in fundamentally reshaping key elements of the Foundation's organisation and public image. This applied to practically all areas - from communication and political education in Germany to international work. Important decisions were taken with caution and consideration, but also with rigour when necessary. Wolfgang Gerhardt's profound sense for the right tone was unwavering, able to push through difficult decisions without causing too much harm.

Others must be the judge whether the liberal family achieved the goals of its modernisation in those years - both in the party we share close ties with, the FDP, and in the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom. When Wolfgang Gerhardt handed over the office of Chairman to me in 2018 and took over as Honorary Chairman, the FDP had returned to the Bundestag in 2017 with a double-digit election result - a success that it then repeated in 2021. The fact that the Foundation had long since become an integral and highly productive part of the liberal family again is largely thanks to the Chairman of the Board, Wolfgang Gerhardt, who led it for twelve years, longer than any of his predecessors.

Wolfgang Gerhardt remained closely associated with the Foundation as Honorary Chairman until his passing. During this time, I always sought his advice on important issues concerning the Foundation. When he was visiting Berlin, we had long, intensive discussions. When he was at home, I called him regularly to get his opinion on the political situation and the Foundation's work. In February, we celebrated his 80th birthday together in Wiesbaden. Joachim Gauck, the Federal President, gave the celebratory speech. It was fitting that a great representative of civic freedom from the East of our country honoured a great civic liberal from the West. Immediately after the fall of the Berlin Wall, on 10 November 1989, Wolfgang Gerhardt, as Hessen's representative in the Bundesrat, had spoken of freedom in responsibility as Germany's ‘calling card’. Wolfgang Gerhardt worked for this freedom in responsibility throughout his political life. We are deeply grateful to him. He and his work will not be forgotten.