The cultural historian, journalist and politician Christoph Stölzl is dead. Stölzl, who grew up in Munich, established his reputation as an original exhibition organizer at the city museum there.
In 1987, at the instigation of the then Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl, he became Director General of the German Historical Museum in Berlin, which moved to the Arsenal in Mitte after reunification.
In this function, he played a key role in shaping the historical and political debates in the reunified country.
When Stölzl left the German Historical Museum in 1999 with a liberal, cosmopolitan attitude and erudite enthusiasm for himself, an eventful career began for the multi-talented artist.
Without having any journalistic experience, he became head of the arts section and deputy editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper "Die Welt".
Shortly thereafter he followed the call of the Governing Mayor Eberhard Diepgen (CDU) and had himself elected Senator for Science, Research and Culture.
The activity in the Senate also remained an episode; after Diepgen was voted out, Stölzl also had to go;
a few more years as a member of the House of Representatives and even as party leader of the Berlin CDU followed.
He got closer to culture again when he became managing director of the Villa Grisebach auction house in autumn 2006.
However, this activity also ended after a good year.
His last professional station should be of some duration.
From 2010 until the summer of last year, Stölzl was rector of the Franz Liszt School of Music in Weimar.
Stölzl died on Tuesday at his farm in Bavaria at the age of 78.