Citizens of the Ruhr area

The honorary title Citizen of the Ruhr Area has been awarded by the Pro Ruhr Area Association since 1981 . It honors people who have made outstanding contributions to the Ruhr area with their work. The honorary citizens receive a certificate and a steel sculpture designed by Wolfgang Prager with a stylized “R” forged in round steel.

In addition to one person nominated and selected directly by the board of the association, the award has also been given annually to a person from the Ruhr area since 2004, a second is determined in a public tender with changing thematic focuses. A jury selects this honorary citizen from among the citizens' nominations. Every year the association changes the subject areas in which the merits of the proposed should lie, so that it is possible to appreciate achievements from the most varied of areas. For example, in 2008 merits as a contribution to increasing the attractiveness of the Ruhr area for visitors, guests and business travelers and in 2009 merits to the Ruhr area in the field of engagement of immigrants in the Ruhr area for integration were recognized . On this occasion, NRW Integration Minister Armin Laschet took over the chairmanship of the jury this year.

List of citizens of the Ruhr area

• 1981: Alfred Schmidt and Friedrich Mordau (master carpenters)
• 1982: Aletta Esser (writer) and Franz Gutbier (stage manager)
• 1983: Emil Nagel (steel worker) and Günther Gedat (journalist)
• 1984: Willi Gusek (trade unionist) and Gerhard J. Blume (entrepreneur)
• 1985: Willi Wülbeck (athlete) and Karlheinz Weber (choir director)
• 1986: Else Schäfer (showman)
• 1987: Franz Hengsbach (Cardinal, Bishop of Essen) and Manfred Schramm (soldier)
• 1988: Maria Asunción Insautsi Montero (nurse)
• 1989: Josef Reding (writer) and Klaus Steilmann (entrepreneur)
• 1990: Emil Schumacher (artist)
• 1991: Ulrich Schriewer (police officer and artist) and Lothar Sommer (athlete)
• 1992: (no award)
• 1993: Johannes Rau (Prime Minister), Paul Mikat (former Minister of Education) and Heinz Wewering (athlete)
• 1994: Inge Litschke (lecturer) and Otmar Alt (artist)
• 1995: Recep Keskin (entrepreneur) and Karl Ganser (head of the International Building Exhibition Emscherpark)
• 1996: Günter Berns (bank director) and Gerd Niebaum (president BV Borussia aV Dortmund)
• 1997: Werner Schmidt (trade unionist)
• 1998: (no award)
• 1999: Tana Schanzara (actress)
• 2000: Dietrich Grönemeyer (medical doctor)
• 2001: Karl Lange (Chairman of the Association for Transport and Local Lore Oberhausen-Schmachtendorf)
• 2002: Ulrich Feldhoff (NOK board member, President of the German Canoe Association and the World Canoe Association, Vice President of the German Sports Association)
• 2003: Rudi Assauer (manager of Schalke 04)
• 2004: Stephanie Überall & Gerburg Jahnke ( Missfits ), Sister Agnes Bernharda Zepter (nun and teacher from Essen) and Heinrich Wächter (Chairman of the Gelsenkirchen Cooks Club)
• 2005: Roberto Ciulli (Head of the Theater an der Ruhr, Mülheim) and Gerd Pieper (Managing Partner of the Pieper perfumery chain, President of the Bochum Chamber of Commerce)
• 2006/2007: Erich Schumann (managing partner of the WAZ media group) and Klaus Kunzmann (room planner, former University of Dortmund)
• 2007/2008: Manfred Breuckmann (WDR sports reporter and presenter) and Christian Stratmann ( Mondpalast principal) as well as a sponsorship award to Christina Antwerpen and Verena Breuckmann (entrepreneurs and hostel operators Oberhausen)
• 2009: Stefan Soltesz ( Artistic Director of the Aalto-Musiktheater Essen and General Music Director of the Essen Philharmonic), Steven Sloane (General Music Director of the Bochumer Symphoniker), Murat Vural (founder of the Intercultural Education and Support Association for Schoolchildren and Students, Castrop-Rauxel) and Gülseren Celebi ( Head of the family support center for migrant families in IFAK eV - Association for multicultural child and youth welfare - Migration work , Bochum, co-founder of the women's association MONA eV) - additional sponsorship prize of 5000 euros to Murat Vural
• 2010: Norbert Lammert (President of the Bundestag) and Jochen Stemplewski (Chairman of the Board of the Emschergenossenschaft )
• 2011: Rüdiger Frohn (chairman of the Advisory Board of the Mercator Foundation and candidate of the pro Ruhrgebiet board for this award) and Irene Jung (chairwoman of the Bergkamen children's aid association "Die kleine Nana eV", she was determined after a public tender)
• 2012: Berthold Bühler (patron of the residence in Essen) and Klaus Bast (chairman and youth coach of VV Humann Essen )
• 2013: Werner Müller (CEO of the RAG Foundation ) and Annegret Schaber (project manager of Straßen.NRW )
• 2014: Ursula Gather (Rector of the Technical University of Dortmund and Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees of the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen and Halbach Foundation) and Oliver Hermes (Chairman of the Executive Board of WILO SE )
• 2015: Franz Xaver Ohnesorg (director of the Ruhr Piano Festival ) and Reinhard Wiesemann (founder of the Essen Unperfekthaus )

Daniel Marx (left) and Daniel Krahn at the opening of their flagship store and travel agency in Münster

• 2016: Daniel Marx & Daniel Krahn (both founders: Urlaubsguru.de) and Albert Ritter (showman in the 5th generation)
• 2017: Oliver Scheytt (moderator for the successful application "Essen for the Ruhr area. European Capital of Culture 2010") and Hermann Hövelmann, (managing partner of the Hövelmann beverage group )
• 2018: Stephan J. Holthoff-Pförtner ( Minister for Federal and European Affairs and International Affairs of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia ) for his services as chairman of the Political Forum Ruhr eV and Michael ten Hompel (holder of the chair for materials handling and storage at the University of Dortmund and managing director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics )
• 2019: Christoph M. Schmidt (President of the RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research ) and Hannelore Herz-Höhnke

Web links

• Information on the host's website

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Information from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ Information Service Ruhr
3. ↑ as a rule: Rüdiger Frohn and Irene Jung are the "Citizens of the Ruhr Area 2011", May 3, 2011