The Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society mourns the loss of its Honorary Senator Dr. Dieter Wagner, who passed away on 6 December 2023 at the age of 77.
In Dr. Dieter Wagner, HWG LU has lost a highly esteemed personality who has rendered outstanding services to our university for many years.
With his professional and personal expertise, he made a formative contribution to the development of our university, both as an educator and on the University Council, which he chaired since its foundation in 2003. Together with his family, Dr. Dieter Wagner has also donated the "Wagner Family Award" for ten years, which annually honours outstanding theses by students that deal with values and ethical-social behaviour in social contexts in an academically sound manner. His tireless commitment to HWG LU was recognized in 2013 with his appointment as the first honorary senator of our university. In 2016, Dr. Dieter Wagner was awarded the State Order of Merit by Minister President Malu Dreyer for his commitment to the common good. On the occasion of his 75th birthday, HWG LU also honored its long-time companion and valued advisor with a ceremony in September 2021.
Our university will honour Dr. Dieter Wagner's memory with great gratitude. Our sincere condolences go to his family and all those who feel connected to him.
The Executive Board of the HWG LU
Personal details:
Dr. Dieter Wagner, born in 1946, studied chemistry in Erlangen. After completing his doctorate, he joined BASF in 1977, where he held various management positions, including Head of Human Resources in Ludwigshafen and President of BASF in Argentina. In 2000, he became Chairman of the Board and Labor Director of Knoll AG. Following its takeover by Abbott GmbH, Wagner worked there as Divisional Vice President until 2004 and was responsible for the commercial affairs of Technische Werke Ludwigshafen (TWL) as interim CEO from 2007 to 2008. He is involved in voluntary work as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of TU Kaiserslautern, Head of the Finance Committee and Deputy Chairman of the Administrative Board of the Evangelical Deaconesses Speyer-Mannheim. He has been Chairman of the University Council of the Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society since it was founded in 2003. Eight years ago, Dr. Dieter Wagner and his family donated the "Wagner Family Award", which annually honors outstanding theses by students who deal with values and ethical-social behavior in social contexts in a scientifically sound manner. In 2013, Dr. Dieter Wagner was the first person to be made an Honorary Senator of HWG LU for his special services to the university. The state's highest honor followed in 2016: Minister President Malu Dreyer honored Dr. Dieter Wagner for his "extraordinary services to the state of Rhineland-Palatinate" with the state's Order of Merit.
