Eleonore Güllenstern

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Eleonore Güllenstern during the " MüGa " state horticultural show in 1992

Eleonore Barbara Theresia Güllenstern (* October 1, 1929 - December 31, 2017 ) was a German local politician of the SPD . From 1982 to 1994 she was Lord Mayor of the city of Mülheim an der Ruhr . She was the first woman in the office of Mülheim mayor.

Life

Güllenstern was first elected to the Mülheim City Council in 1964 . In 1975 she became chairwoman of the school and culture committee, and from 1979 she was the honorary deputy of the mayor Dieter from Siepen . After his death in May 1982, the then 52-year-old was elected Mülheim's first female mayor with 46 out of 55 council votes. At that time, the Social Democrat was the only woman at the head of a major German city. Until 1994, for a total of twelve years, she directed the fortunes of the city, with the focus of her politics on the areas of education, culture and youth.

The awarding of the State Garden Show in 1992 to Mülheim (“MüGa”) and the construction of the Theater an der Ruhr are positive highlights of her term of office . “Without Eleonore Güllenstern, this theater would not exist like this”, recalled Roberto Ciulli of her main political achievement.

The loss of the absolute majority of the Social Democratic Party at Mülheim municipal level associated with her name after more than 40 years will also be remembered. At the time of the election, the then mayor was blamed for the worst loss of the SPD in the Ruhr area because she had received a private loan from Stinnes manager Barbara Ruske, who was accused of embezzlement and granted on unusual terms. The lending was described by critics as problematic, as the sum of 100,000  DM had been handed over in cash and without a written agreement regarding interest and repayment terms. In addition, the handing over of the money only became public after several weeks of publication by the local press. Their party friends are no longer upholding the blame in this clear form, including the SPD parliamentary group leader Wiechering, who also sees other guilty parties for the loss of power.

On the evening of the election, Güllenstern gave up her mayor's office and the council mandate in 1994, but continued to be civic, for example as chairwoman of the art association and the German-Israeli society . Her successor as Lord Mayor was Hans-Georg Specht .

Güllenstern died on New Year's Eve 2017 at the age of 88.

Honors

Güllenstern was awarded the Order of Merit of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia on November 23, 1992 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b NRZ: Mourning for the former mayor Eleonore Güllenstern
  2. ↑ a b Mülheim's first female mayor . DerWesten.de; NRZ , September 30, 2009
  3. ↑ The end of an era . DerWesten.de; NRZ , October 15, 2008
  4. ↑ Fear of outing - Stinnes manager embezzles millions . focus.de
  5. ↑ Red-green becomes fashion color on the Rhine and Ruhr . In: Berliner Zeitung , October 8, 1994
  6. ↑ resignation to 18.03 . focus.de
  7. ↑ SPD honors Eleonore Güllenstern . The West; WAZ , October 5, 2008
  8. ↑ Merit holders since 1986. State Chancellery of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, accessed on March 11, 2017 .
personal data
SURNAME Güllenstern, Eleonore
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Güllenstern, Eleonore Barbara Theresia
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German politician (SPD), Lord Mayor of Mülheim an der Ruhr
DATE OF BIRTH October 1, 1929
DATE OF DEATH December 31, 2017