Höhler was born in Wuppertal, Germany, and is the second of four children of parish priest Heinrich Höhler (1907–1995) and his wife Helene, daughter of the theologian Fritz Horn.[1] The German cardiologist Mia Helene Höhler (1939–2020) was her sister;[2][3] the German architect Ernst Höhler (1942–2019) was her brother.[4]
Höhler graduated from high school in Wuppertal. She then studied literature studies and art history in Bonn, Berlin, Zurich and Mannheim from 1960 to 1966. Her studies were supported by a scholarship from the German Academic Scholarship Foundation.[5] In 1967 she was awarded her doctorate with a thesis on Unruhige Gäste. Das Bibelzitat in Wilhelm Raabes Roman (The Biblical Quotation in Wilhelm Raabe's Novel Unruhige Gäste), and worked at the University of Mannheim.
Career
In 1972, at the age of 31, Höhler was appointed to the founding senate of the University of Paderborn as an academic councilor.
From 1987 to 1989, Höhler was a consultant to Alfred Herrhausen, the chairman of the board of Deutsche Bank.[7] In addition, Carl Hahn engaged her as a consultant for Volkswagen.[8] While working for Deutsche Bank, she served as a consultant for other associations and companies and was on leave from her professorial duties.[9]
Höhler gained international fame through numerous publications as well as media appearances in which she took a stand on current political and economic issues. She also became known to the public for her political consulting activities, such as for Thuringia'sMinister PresidentDieter Althaus[11] and German ChancellorHelmut Kohl.[12][13]
Höhler was host of the sociopolitical talk showBaden-Badener Disput – Kulturgespräch zur Zeit (SWR) from 1988 to 2000, which had a total of 58 episodes.[18]
Höhler published titles such as Wölfin unter Wölfen. Warum Männer ohne Frauen Fehler machen (2000), Warum Vertrauen siegt (2003) sowie Jenseits der Gier. Vom Luxus des Teilens (2005).
In various books such as Die Patin. Wie Angela Merkel Deutschland umbaut (The Godmother. How Angela Merkel is Rebuilding Germany) (2012), Demokratie im Sinkflug: Wie sich Angela Merkel und EU-Politiker über geltendes Recht stellen (Democracy in decline: How Angela Merkel and EU politicians place themselves above applicable law) (2017) or Angela Merkel – Das Requiem (Angela Merkel – The Requiem) (2020) and media appearances she presented herself as a harsh critic of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.[19]
Personal life
During the 1960s Höhler belonged to the left-wing subcultural milieu. She was in a relationship with the German screenwriter and film director Ulf Miehe (with whom she self-published a book of poems in 1962).[20]