1. Werner Maihofer was a German jurist and legal philosopher.
11 Facts About Werner Maihofer
1. 2.
Werner Maihofer served as Germany's Federal Minister of the Interior from 1974 to 1978 until he resigned after a scandal involving an illegal wiretapping of Klaus Traube.
3.
An avid speed skater in his youth, Maihofer was a member of the German national team at the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
4.
Werner Maihofer studied law at the University of Freiburg, and received his Doctor of Laws degree in 1950.
5.
Werner Maihofer gained his habilitation in 1953 and eventually obtained a professorship at the University of Saarbrucken.
6.
Werner Maihofer did not join the Free Democratic Party until 1969.
7.
Werner Maihofer was suspected of passing secret information to left-wing radicals.
8.
In 1975, in a covert operation called "Operation Mull", the BND, under the supervision of Werner Maihofer planted a number of wiretaps in Traube's home.
9.
Werner Maihofer resigned from his office in 1978, after taking responsibility for the illegal wiretapping.
10.
Werner Maihofer returned to his chair at the University of Bielefeld which he held since 1970.
11.
Werner Maihofer died on 6 October 2009; he was the oldest German Federal Minister at the time of this death.