Heinz Ritter (politician, 1930)
Heinz Ritter (born September 16, 1930 in Tworkau , Ratibor district , Upper Silesia province ; † March 26, 2009 in Dorsten ) was a German SPD politician and the first social democratic mayor of Dorsten from 1984 to 1994 .
Life
Heinz Ritter was born in the small town of Tworkau in Upper Silesia as the son of a gardener. After the Second World War the family came to Westphalia . In 1947, Ritter began working as a miner in Wattenscheid . He was terminated twice without notice after he refused to accept the harsh working conditions in the former Ruhr mining industry without criticism. In the following years he attended the miners' school and, after moving to Dorsten in 1954, became the youngest foreman in the Ruhr area in 1955 at the Fürst Leopold colliery there . He was also involved in the works council .
In 1972 Ritter joined the SPD and began to participate actively in Dorsten local politics. In 1984 he successfully applied for the office of mayor of Dorsten and from then on held this office as the first social democrat. He became particularly well-known when, due to a lack of personalized election campaign materials, he began giving away chocolate bars from the Ritter Sport brand to potential voters. In 1989 he was confirmed in office, and with Ritter as the top candidate , the Dorsten SPD won more seats on the city council than the CDU for the first time.
As mayor, Ritter made a particular contribution to founding the Jewish Museum . He also campaigned for the redesign of central parts of Dorsten's inner city to become a pedestrian zone. During his ten-year tenure, international city partnerships were established with Waslala ( Nicaragua ), Ernée ( France ), Newtownabbey ( United Kingdom ), Rybnik ( Poland ) and Hod haScharon ( Israel ).
In the 1994 election he no longer ran as a candidate for mayor, but continued to be involved in numerous clubs and associations, for example as chairman of the shooting club, the men's choir club, the chess club and as head of the search committee for the award of the Dorsten honorary award. In 2005 the Dorsten SPD appointed him honorary chairman .
See also
List of mayors of the city of Dorsten
Web links
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Hans lamps |
Mayor of the city of Dorsten 1984–1994 |
Friedhelm Fragemann |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Ritter, Heinz |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German politician (SPD), Mayor of Dorsten |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 16, 1930 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Tworkau , Ratibor district , Upper Silesia province |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 26, 2009 |
| Place of death | Dorsten |