Gebhard Müller

Gebhard Müller (17 April 1900 – 7 August 1990) was a German lawyer and politician (CDU). He was President of Württemberg-Hohenzollern (1948–1952), Minister President of Baden-Württemberg (1953–1958) and President of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany (1959-1971). He was born in Füramoos and died in Stuttgart.

Early life Gebhard Müller was the fifth child of a teacher from Oberschwaben and lived in his birthplace Füramoos until 1906, from then in his father's new place of work Ludwigsburg. He attended the Catholic elementary school in Ludwigsburg and later the Gymnasium in Rottweil. In the last year of World War I he was drafted and served in the Ludwigsburg barracks without having to march out. In 1919 Müller started studying theology, history and philosophy at the University of Tübingen. He later switched to law and political science and passed his doctoral degree exam in the latter.

On 9 November 1938 the so-called Kristallnacht, Müller filed charges against a Landrat (district chief executive), who had refused fire brigade operation at the burning Göppingen synagoge, he was transferred to the Stuttgart district court. Shortly before the start of World War II Müller was drafted and took part in the campaign in France as a camp office clerk.

Upon the joining of Baden and Württemberg into the significantly larger state of Baden-Württemberg in 1952, Müller's CDU became the predominant party and he replaced liberal Reinhold Maier as the Minister President. Müller retained this post until he returned to his legal career as he was appointed to head the Federal Constitutional Court, now placed relatively close in Karlsruhe. He kept this office for a full tenure of 12 years and subsequently retired. He lived long enough to witness the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, dying barely two months before reunification in 1990.