FRANKFURT AM MAIN: Hans-Jochen Vogel, the former leader of Germany's centre-left Social Democrats who once tried to take on Helmut Kohl for the chancellorship, died at the age of 94 on Sunday. In a statement, the SPD party hailed Vogel as "a great Social Democrat" who worked tirelessly for "a just world and a unified Europe".

Vogel, who began his career as Munich's youngest mayor in 1960, towered over German politics for decades and was often described as the centre-left's "moral conscience". As a young man he served in Adolf Hitler's Wehrmacht and was captured by the Americans during World War II.

After the war he studied law and joined the SPD. As mayor of Munich, he played a key role in bringing the Olympic Games to the city in 1972. He then switched to national politics and served as minister for regional planning and building as well as justice minister. In the 1983 general election, Vogel was the SPD's candidate for chancellor but he lost to Helmut Kohl of the centre-right CDU.