Born in
Hamburg on 2 February 1933, Wesel joined the
Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) in 1959, where he was a member until his expulsion in 1974. He had allegedly given "tactical advice" to students of the (KSV) during a lecture at FU, who had been rioting. The lecture was published in the ''''. He defended himself, stating that with his lecture, the KSV recognized the senselessness of its attacks and harassment against the FU professors and the riots ended the next day. He was allowed to rejoin the SPD on 1 September 2008. In 2013, on the 250th anniversary of the foundation of the
C. H. Beck, Wesel wrote a history of the publishing house. His portrayal of Heinrich Beck's leadership during
Nazi Germany was met with some opposition. He described the appointment of
Carl Schmitt as editor-in-chief of the '''', Heinrich Beck's membership in the
Nazi Party, and the publication of legal commentaries on Nazi law as being due to "circumstances of the time". In 2021, he published his autobiography, titled
Wozu Latein, wenn man gesund ist? Ein Bildungsbericht. After his retirement, he worked as a lawyer. Uwe Wesel died in
Berlin on 11 September 2023, at the age of 90. ==Publications==