Oliver Lepsius (born 2 February 1964) is a German professor of

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

at the

University of Münster The University of Münster (, until 2023 , WWU) is a public research university located in the city of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. With more than 43,000 students and over 120 fields of study in 15 departments, it is Germany's ...

. His public profile was raised in 2011 by the scandal involving Germany's

Defence Minister A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg Karl-Theodor Maria Nikolaus Johann Jacob Philipp Franz Joseph Sylvester Buhl-Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg (born 5 December 1971), known professionally as Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, is a Germany, German businessman, journalist, podcaster, an ...

. It was determined that the youthful minister's doctoral dissertation, awarded in 2007, had been over-dependent on plagiarism. The university revoked the doctorate and the minister resigned. In public interviews Oliver Lepsius, the university's professor of jurisprudence expressed his anger very powerfully over the affair.

Life

Oliver Nicolai Lepsius was born in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. By the time he completed his school leaving exams () he was attending school at

Weinheim Weinheim (; ) is a town with about 43,000 inhabitants in northwest Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is in the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region, approximately north of Heidelberg and northeast of Mannheim. Weinheim is known as the "Zwei-Burgen-Sta ...

(near

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

). He then undertook his

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

. Moving on, he studied

Jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

, later switching to

which is where he passed the appropriate state professional exams () at both levels. It was also at Munich that he received his doctorate in 1993. By this time his education had also included a year at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, from where he was awarded a Master of Laws (LL/B.) degree. It was also from

that he received his habilitation (higher academic qualification) for work on

property rights The right to property, or the right to own property (cf. ownership), is often classified as a human right for natural persons regarding their Possession (law), possessions. A general recognition of a right to private property is found more rarely ...

public law Public law is the part of law that governs relations and affairs between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of governments, as well as relationships between persons that ...

. Habilitation cleared the way for an academic career, and in 2001 he took a position as professor for

Public Law Public law is the part of law that governs relations and affairs between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of governments, as well as relationships between persons that ...

Heidelberg University Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is Germany's oldest unive ...

. In 2002 he accepted a teaching chair in Public and Comparative Law at

University of Bayreuth The University of Bayreuth (German: Universität Bayreuth) is a public research university located in Bayreuth, Germany. It is one of the youngest German universities. It is broadly organized into seven undergraduate and graduate faculties, with ...

in succession to

Peter Häberle Peter Häberle (born 13 May 1934 in Göppingen, Baden-Württemberg) is a German legal scholar, specialising in constitutional law. Biography Häberle is the son of Hugo Häberle, a medical doctor, and Ursula Häberle (born Riebensahm). Häberle ...

. It was Häberle who had supervised Guttenberg for the latter's 2007 dissertation, but without at that stage spotting the issues that gave rise to the subsequent revocation of the resulting doctorate. Lepsius' academic work is focused in contemporary German administrative and constitutional law and its historical underpinnings. He is also concerned with the philosophy and comparative study of public law.

Personal

Oliver Lepsius is married to (née Degenring), a professor of international jurisprudence at the

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

. His father was the sociology professor Mario Rainer Lepsius (1920–2014). His mother, Renate Lepsius née Meyer (1927–2004), was a journalist, historian and politician.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lepsius, Oliver Jurists from Bavaria German legal scholars University of Bonn alumni Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni University of Bayreuth alumni Jurisprudence academics German scholars of constitutional law 1964 births Living people