Wolf Lepenies


Wolf Lepenies is a German sociologist, political scientist, and author.

Biography

Lepenies was born near Allenstein, East Prussia, in 1945 his family fled from the Soviet Army's assault on East Prussia to Schleswig-Holstein and from there to North Rhine-Westfalia. He eventually grew up in Koblenz. He studied sociology and philosophy at the University of Münster in North Rhine-Westphalia and graduated with a promotion in 1967. In 1970 he habilitated at the Free University of Berlin. He traveled abroad, first to the Maison des sciences de l’homme in Paris, then to the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. In 1984 he joined the faculty of the Wissenschaftskolleg in Berlin before becoming a professor of sociology at the Free University of Berlin. He frequently returned to Princeton to conduct research. In 1986 he succeeded Peter Wapnewski as president of the Wissenschaftskolleg. In 2001 he was succeeded by Dieter Grimm. In 2006 he became a professor emeritus.
Lepenies is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
Since 2004 he has been a member of the supervisory board of Axel Springer AG.

Selected Awards and honors