| Wolfgang Gerhardt | |
| Office: | Leader of the Opposition |
| Chancellor: | Angela Merkel |
| Term Start: | 22 November 2005 |
| Term End: | 1 May 2006 |
| Predecessor: | Angela Merkel |
| Successor: | Guido Westerwelle |
| Office1: | Leader of the Free Democratic Party in the Bundestag |
| Term Start1: | 5 October 1998 |
| Term End1: | 1 May 2006 |
| Predecessor1: | Hermann Otto Solms |
| Successor1: | Guido Westerwelle |
| Office2: | Leader of the Free Democratic Party |
| Deputy2: | Cornielia Schmatz-Jacobsen Jürgen Bohn Rainer Brüderle Cornelia Pieper Walter Döring |
| Term Start2: | 10 June 1995 |
| Term End2: | 4 May 2001 |
| Predecessor2: | Klaus Kinkel |
| Successor2: | Guido Westerwelle |
| Office3: | Deputy Leader of the Free Democratic Party |
| Leader3: | Martin Bangemann Otto Graf Lambsdorff Klaus Kinkel |
| Term Start3: | 23 February 1985 |
| Term End3: | 10 June 1995 |
| Predecessor3: | Jürgen Morlok |
| Successor3: | Rainer Brüderle |
| Office4: | Deputy Minister President of Hesse |
| 1Namedata4: | Walter Wallmann |
| Term Start4: | 24 April 1987 |
| Term End4: | 5 April 1991 |
| Predecessor4: | Hans Krollmann |
| Successor4: | Joschka Fischer |
| Office5: | Representative of Hesse to the Federation |
| 1Namedata5: | Walter Wallmann |
| Term Start5: | 24 April 1987 |
| Term End5: | 5 April 1991 |
| Predecessor5: | Willi Görlach |
| Successor5: | Ulrike Rieder |
| Office6: | Hessian Minister of Science and Art |
| 1Namedata6: | Walter Wallmann |
| Term Start6: | 24 April 1987 |
| Term End6: | 5 April 1991 |
| Predecessor6: | Vera Rüdiger |
| Successor6: | Evelies Mayer |
| Office12: | Member of the Bundestag for Hesse |
| Term Start12: | 16 October 1994 |
| Term End12: | 22 September 2013 |
| Constituency12: | Free Democratic List |
| Birth Place: | Ulrichstein, Gau Hesse-Nassau, Greater German Reich |
| Death Place: | Wiesbaden, Hesse, Germany |
| Party: |  Germany
|
Wolfgang Gerhardt (31 December 1943 – 13 September 2024) was a German politician and the leader of the Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP) from 1995 until he was succeeded by Guido Westerwelle in 2001.
Gerhardt was born in Ulrichstein, Hesse.[1] He studied pedagogics, political science and German studies and completed his doctorate 1970 in Marburg. He was a member of the Landtag of Hesse from 1978 until 1994. Between 1987 and 1991, he served as State Minister for Science and Culture and Deputy Minister-President in the state government of Minister-President Walter Wallmann of Hesse.[2] [3] In this capacity, he was one of the state's representatives on the Bundesrat.[4]
Gerhardt was member of the Deutscher Bundestag from 1994 to 2013. Gerhardt served as chair of the Free Democratic Party from 1995 to 2001 and also chaired its grouping in the Bundestag from 1998 to 2006.[5]
From 2002 until 2012, Gerhardt was Vice President of Liberal International (LI), under the leadership of successive presidents Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck (2002–2005), John Alderdice (2005–2009), and Hans van Baalen (2009–2011).[6]
Ahead of the 2005 national elections, Gerhard was billed as a possible foreign minister in a new centre-right coalition with the Christian Democrats;[7] instead, newly elected Chancellor Angela Merkel entered a coalition with the Social Democratic Party.[8] From 2006 to 2018, Gerhardt served as chairman of the board of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation.
Gerhardt campaigned for a free pluralistic society and advocated for personal responsibility and independent judgment.[9] He was concerned about fair educational opportunities.[10]
For some of his opponents, Gerhardt was too calm.[11] He was succeeded in his most influential positions as Leader of the Opposition, Leader of the Free Democratic Party in the Bundestag and Leader of the Free Democratic Party by Guido Westerwelle.
Source:[12]
Gerhardt was married and had two children. He died in Wiesbaden, Hesse, on 13 September 2024, at the age of 80.