Franz Haug

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Franz Haug (2008)

Franz Haug (* 25. January 1942 ) is a German CDU - politician and was from 1999 to 2009 Mayor of Solingen .

education and profession

After graduating from high school in 1963, Haug began studying at the University of Education in Weingarten . In 1964 he changed his subject and studied law, political science and history in Tübingen and Cologne. In 1968 he completed his studies with the first state examination in law. After completing his legal preparatory service at a savings bank and a tax court , he passed the second state examination five years later.

In 1973 Haug was admitted to the bar and worked in a law firm in Remscheid. He has been a specialist lawyer for tax law since 1972 .

Political career

Franz Haug presents the "Sharpest Blade in the City of Solingen" to the Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker (2008)

Haug was from 1975 to 1999 for the CDU member of the city council of Solingen, from 1994 to 1999 as parliamentary group chairman.

In the 1999 direct mayor election of Solingen, Haug achieved a landslide victory against the SPD mayor Ulrich Uibel with 59.3% of the votes cast . The CDU achieved 50.6% in the election to the city council. In the local elections in 2004 Haug defended his office with 53.4% ​​of the votes cast (43.2% for the CDU). In the Mayor election on August 30, 2009, Haug did not run again for election. The CDU politician Norbert Feith was elected as his successor .

Haug has been a member of the Presidium of the German Association of Cities since 2004.

Political issues and conflicts

Haug attracted national attention and criticism when, in his capacity as Lord Mayor, he attended a private reception on January 13, 2007 for the 90th birthday of the Solingen building contractor Günther Kissel . Kissel was known for publicly advocating right-wing extremist and revisionist ideas for decades. According to his own statement, he has donated considerable sums to the NPD several times from the profits of his company . In 1997 the regional court in Wuppertal ruled that Kissel could be called an " Auschwitz denier " and a " popular hater ".

Kissel had enclosed a 39-page speech manuscript with the invitations to his birthday reception, in which he denied, among other things, the war guilt of Nazi Germany and claimed that not six million, but perhaps "only" 500,000 Jews had been murdered in concentration camps . As a justification, he explained: "Then everyone has the opportunity to decide personally in advance whether he will accept my invitation despite this speech that was not made".

Despite massive protests from Solingen citizens, Haug - as well as some other political representatives of the city - accepted the invitation, according to the press release "in recognition of the undisputed entrepreneurial merits in our city" and "the excellent work of management and staff (...), although he strictly rejects the openly expressed political views of the company founder ”. Haug also told the press that he should differentiate “between the building contractor and the political views”. It was particularly criticized that Haug did not leave the event even after a laudation by right-wing extremist publisher Gert Sudholt , in which Kissel's support for research into "nonconforming historical views" was emphasized and he was on a par with the British Holocaust denier David Irving .

When asked by WDR 5 about his intentions, Haug replied in September 2008 that there had long been a consensus in Solingen to differentiate between the Kissel company and the person Günther Kissel and his political views. Many representatives of Solingen's institutions and the city's heads of administration went to milestone birthdays before 2007, albeit with their fists in their pockets. However, he noted that this consensus no longer existed. The angry reactions would have disturbed him and made him thoughtful.

Since the beginning of 2008, Haug has been repeatedly criticized by the DGB and the citizens' initiative “Solingen belongs to us”, which launched a signature campaign against privatization. The reason for this was the construction of the “New Town Hall” (2007–2008) as part of an investor model in which the city had the new building constructed by an investor and has been renting the building since then.

Honors

In 2009 Haug was awarded the Ring of Honor of the City of Solingen.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Source: Press Office of the City of Solingen
  2. ^ Critique of Haug after a visit to Kissel , Rheinische Post , January 15, 2007
  3. ^ A right 90th birthday ( memento from January 15, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), WDR , January 13, 2007
  4. ^ Solingen: Public contracts for right-wing building contractors , Panorama in the ARD, September 12, 1996
  5. ↑ With his “Aufmunterung” Kissel put himself in the ultra-right light , Frankfurter Rundschau , September 10, 1997
  6. ↑ In recognition of the company's performance: Lord Mayor at Kissel's birthday ( memento of the original from September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Press release from the city administration of Solingen, January 11, 2007  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.solingen.de
  7. ↑ Celebration with Holocaust Deniers , Der Tagesspiegel , January 17, 2007
  8. ↑ "Curiosity is enough"  ( 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. , Broadcast on September 17, 2008@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.wdr5.de  
  9. ↑ Honorary Ring Bearer of the City of Solingen ( Memento from May 13, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on March 31, 2017
personal data
SURNAME Haug, Franz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German politician (CDU), Lord Mayor of Solingen
DATE OF BIRTH January 25, 1942