Walter Momper

Walter Momper ( born February 21, 1945 in Sulingen, county county Diepholz, Hannover Province ) is a German politician (SPD) and a political scientist. From 2001 to 2011 he was president of the Berlin House of Representatives. From 1989 to 1991 he was the 11th Mayor of Berlin; the turn with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the German reunification fell into his tenure.

Life

Education and work

The school spent Momper in Bremen. After graduation in 1964 he began a study of political science, history and economics at the Westfälische Wilhelms -Universität Münster, Munich and the Free University of Berlin, which he finished in 1969 with a degree in political science.

He became a research assistant at the Institute for Political Science at the Free University Berlin. In 1970 he joined as a research assistant at the Prussian Secret State Archives of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation. From 1972 to 1986 he was a research assistant and director of the Historical Commission to Berlin. After Momper was then only been politically active, he took over from 1992 to 1993 the management of Dr. Elling GmbH. Since August 1993 he has been managing partner of Momper mbH in Berlin. Critics and politicians of other parties criticized several times a closeness of his political and his entrepreneurial activities, such as when he advised the furniture retailer Ikea in its settlement plans in East Berlin.

Political career

Since 1967, Momper is a member of the SPD. From 1986 to 1992 he was state chairman of the SPD in Berlin. From 1988 to 1993 he was also a member of the SPD Federal Executive.

1975 Momper was elected to the Berlin House of Representatives. There he was, from 1985 Chairman of the SPD.

From the election of the Berlin House of Representatives in 1989, the SPD went under Momper top candidate as the winner, while the CDU / FDP coalition under the Mayor Eberhard Diepgen (CDU ) surprisingly suffered a heavy defeat. Was preceded by, among others, the widely discussed in the media scandal around the Charlottenburg for Construction Wolfgang Antes ( CDU).

On March 16, 1989 Momper was elected mayor. He could support ( the then equivalent of the Berlin Greens) to a Red-Green coalition between the SPD and the Alternative List (AL). The Senate Momper were the first state government in Germany more women than men ( eight to six ).

In the night from 9th to 10th November 1989, the Berlin Wall was opened - an event over its preparation by the GDR government Momper by its own account since October 29, 1989 an interview with East Berlin SED leader Schabowski and East Berlin Mayor Erhard Krack was informed and in turn made ​​the appropriate preparations. Momper set " Berlin, now rejoice " went around the world. Momper was known at this time about the borders of Germany. The basis for the unification of the two halves of the city of Berlin and the surrounding area was laid on December 12, 1989: At a meeting with Momper GDR Prime Minister Hans Modrow, the provisional regional committee was established as the first cross-border body.

Major decisions of his red-green Senate were a speed limit (100 km / h) on the hitherto tempolimit free AVUS and the establishment of additional lanes for the BVG, the Berlin public transport.

As Mayor of Berlin Momper was from 1 November 1989 to 31 October 1990 President of the Bundesrat and thus representative of the President.

After the completion of a series of squatting by the evacuation of the Mainzer Straße by the police on 14 November 1990, the AL announced the coalition with the SPD, since both Momper and the competent interior minister Erich Paetzold (SPD ) einstuften this application as politically correct.

Therefore Momper went with a SPD minority Senate in the election of the House of Representatives on 2 December 1990., The SPD remained ten percentage points behind the CDU, whose top candidate Diepgen, Momper predecessor, was then elected mayor again on 24 January 1991. Momper was first SPD regional chairman, but finally declared on 17 August 1992 in connection with its entry into the real estate industry for his resignation. In 1995 he joined on to the internal party primary election of the Berlin SPD for the top candidate for the House of Representatives elections, but lost the social Senator Ingrid Stahmer. In the 1995 election, he retired first out of the House of Representatives. After he had in 1999 in the primary election of the SPD's top candidate, enforced against the chairman of the SPD parliamentary group in the Berlin House of Representatives, Klaus Boeger, Although he was again a member of the House of Representatives, but was defeated, the Governing Mayor Diepgen. However, he was elected Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies. After the SPD had become in the early general elections on 21 October 2001 the strongest party, he was elected President of the House of Representatives and appointed in this position after the election to the Berlin House of Representatives in 2006.

In the election to the Berlin House of Representatives on 18 September 2011 Momper opted not to run again. On September 1, 2011, he ran for the last time a meeting of the House of Representatives.

Klaus Wowereit's re-election

In the election of the mayor on 23 November 2006, the proposed SPD candidate Klaus Wowereit only received 74 of 149 votes. Although the required majority of 75 votes was thus not reached, wondered Momper Wowereit, whether he accepted the choice. After Momper was already below the swearing, as he has been advised by interruptions on his error.

The Berlin opposition parties then demanded his resignation as President of the Parliament - not least because the swearing Wowereit by Momper was not like fail after the successful second ballot. Momper publicly begged pardon, but rejected a resignation from.

Senate

• Senate Momper

Personal

Momper came into the public regularly with a red scarf on, which was called " Momper scarf ".