The Hertie School community mourns the passing of Professor Claus Offe

The Hertie School mourns the passing of Prof. Dr Dr h.c. Claus Offe, Professor Emeritus of Political Sociology, an extraordinary scholar, teacher and colleague whose intellectual contributions and generosity have left a lasting mark on our community and the broader academic world.

Claus Offe was a founding member of the Hertie School, serving as Senior Professor from 2005 to 2010. Through his globally recognised intellectual stature and academic distinction, he helped shape the Hertie School during its formative years and left a lasting imprint on what it has become today. He remained affiliated with the Hertie School in various roles until 2019. His writings, which explored the pressing questions of democracy, capitalism and equality, made him one of the most influential political sociologists of his generation.

“Claus Offe’s work helps explain the crisis of democracy now more than ever,” says Hertie School President Cornelia Woll. “He reminds us that you have to think deeply about social structures if you want to shape a better and more equitable future.” With his wisdom, kindness and sharp analytical mind, he inspired countless students and colleagues.

Before joining the Hertie School, Claus Offe held distinguished chairs at the Bielefeld University (1975–1989), the University of Bremen (1989–1995), and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (1995–2005). He studied at the University of Frankfurt, where he earned his doctorate, and completed his habilitation at the University of Konstanz. His academic journey took him around the world: he served as Fellow and Visiting Professor at the Institutes for Advanced Study at Stanford and Princeton, the Australian National University, Harvard University, the University of California, Berkeley, and The New School in New York, among others.

He completed his doctoral degree under the supervision of Jürgen Habermas, with whom he maintained a close intellectual connection and friendship throughout his career.

Claus Offe will be remembered not only as a brilliant and pioneering scholar but also as a generous mentor and colleague. Many of his former students recall not only his intellectual rigour but also his enduring care, as he guided and encouraged them well beyond their years of study.

Claus Offe entrusted his personal library to the Hertie School, a collection that continues to enrich the academic life of our students and faculty. His legacy lives on in the ideas he shaped, the generations of students he taught, and the community he helped build at the Hertie School.

We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and all who had the privilege to know him.