His doctoral thesis was directed by Karl Dietrich Bracher and examined US-foreign policy "between idealism and realism".
•
As an opposition leader, he has since then fought, unsuccessfully, against the closure of Tempelhof Airport.
Prominent members are the former foreign minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher, the former President of Germany Richard von Weizsäcker, as well as some other famous German politicians Volker Rühe, Günter Verheugen, Klaus von Dohnanyi, Eberhard Diepgen, Theodor Waigel, Michael Glos, Friedbert Pflüger, Rudolf Scharping, Dieter Schulte, Manfred Stolpe, Rita Süssmuth and Antje Vollmer.