From 1976 until 1981, he served as the executive director ("Bundesgeschäftsführer") of the SPD. During his tenure in that position, Bahr drew attention amid the uproar surrounding the expulsion of Klaus Uwe Benneter, who at that time had been serving as the Federal Chairman of Jusos ("JungsozialistInnen in der SPD", or “Young Socialists in the SPD”. Benneter had piqued much political ire by expressing the view that the German Communist Party could be a potential coalition partner for the SPD, a statement that put the status of the youth organization into jeopardy.