After graduating from the Schubart-Gymnasium in Aalen, Roth studied economics in Tübingen and at the Free University of Berlin, where he held the office of AStA chairman and Berlin state chairman in the Association of German Student Bodies (VDS) in 1964. He graduated in 1968 with a degree in economics.[citation needed]
Roth joined the SPD in 1962 and initially became involved in the Social Democratic University Association. He was deputy chairman of the Jusos from 1969 to 1972 and then chairman from 1972 to 1974.[3]
Roth was first elected to the German Bundestag in 1976 on the state list of the Baden-Württemberg SPD. He was the SPD's economic policy spokesman there and Deputy Chairman of the SPD parliamentary group from 1981 to 1991. Following his appointment as Vice-President of the European Investment Bank, Wolfgang Roth resigned his seat in the Bundestag on 2 September 1993.[citation needed]