In 1946, Biel was "a captain in the U.S. Army and head of the political division of the staff of the then Colonel, Frank L. Howley, the U.S. commandant in Berlin.
"[1] In 1967 he was running for Berlin assembly against Willy Brandt, who at the time was Foreign Minister and candidate for the Social Democratic Party of Germany.
[1] In this election, Biel saw little to no point in facilitating discussions with the communist leaders of the East, instead, he saw progress coming through a four-power conference on the issue of Berlin.
[1] For eight years, 14 March 1971 to 23 April 1979, he was a member of the Berlin House of Representatives (including service as interim president in the 6th term).
[citation needed] In her book, The Power of Solitude: My Life in the German Resistance, Marion Yorck von Wartenburg recounted that she met Biel at the end of 1946 when he joined his friend, Paulus van Husen, in visiting her house.