Henriette Reker

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Henriette Reker with chain of office (2016)Signature of Henriette Reker

Henriette Reker (born December 9, 1956 in Cologne ) is a German lawyer and local politician . She has been the Lord Mayor of Cologne since October 22, 2015 . Before that she was from 2010 Councilor for Social Affairs, Integration and Environment in the city of Cologne . From 2000 to 2010 she was an alderman for the city of Gelsenkirchen .

Reker is independent , but was in the mayoral elections of the city council - parties of the Greens , the CDU and the FDP and the electoral group your friends supported. On October 17, 2015, the day before the election, she was seriously injured in a politically motivated attack with a right-wing extremist background during an election campaign at a weekly market in Cologne .

Life

Origin and education (1956–1990)

Henriette Reker grew up in a middle-class family in the Bickendorf district of Cologne in the late 1950s . Her mother Gretel Martini (1920–2017) was a member of the SPD and came from a social democratic family . Her father was a master cook and confectioner.

Reker went to high school in the Lindenthal district , where he graduated from high school in 1976. From 1976 she studied law at the Universities of Cologne , Regensburg and Göttingen and in 1986, after completing her legal clerkship at the Münster Regional Court, completed her legal training with the second state examination.

Professional career (1990-2015)

From 1990 to 1992 she was a clerk at a trade association in Bielefeld and then until 2000 legal advisor at the state association of guild health insurance funds in Münster . In 1996 she was admitted to the bar at the Münster district court.

In 2000 Reker was non-party councilor for Social Affairs, Health and Consumer Protection of the city of Gelsenkirchen. At the suggestion of the Cologne Greens , she moved to Cologne in 2010 as an alderman for social affairs, integration and the environment.

Candidate for mayor election 2015

Henriette Reker's first public official act after her election - the award of the Heinrich Böll Prize to Herta Müller (l.)

On January 9, 2015, was non-party Henriette Reker of Council faction and party leaders of the party Alliance 90 / The Greens officially as a candidate for the office of mayor of Cologne presented. Your candidacy was supported by a so-called “rainbow coalition” made up of the CDU, FDP, the Greens, the Free Voters and the voting group Deine Freunde .

The election planned for September 13, 2015, in which the successor to Jürgen Roters was to be determined, had to be postponed to October 18, 2015. The names of the non-party candidates on the ballot papers were printed too large in contradiction to Section 75c of the North Rhine-Westphalian municipal election ordinance .

Assassination 2015

On October 17, 2015, one day before the mayor's election, Henriette Reker and four other people were victims of a knife attack at a CDU information desk in Cologne-Braunsfeld . Reker and one of the other people were seriously injured. The 44-year-old perpetrator from Cologne-Nippes was arrested by the police. He named Reker's refugee policy as the reason for the act. He is said to have acted out of xenophobic motives and to be a former member of the former militant neo-Nazi Freedom German Workers' Party (FAP). After the assassination, Reker's election campaign was stopped. Her opponent Jochen Ott also interrupted his election campaign. The election itself took place as planned on October 18, 2015, as the local election law only allows postponement if a candidate dies.

Mayor election 2015

Reker taking the oath of office on December 15, 2015

Henriette Reker won the election as Lord Mayor of the City of Cologne on October 18, 2015 in the first ballot with 52.66 percent of the votes cast, with a turnout of 40.28 percent. At that time she was in an artificial coma as a result of the attack . She signed the declaration of acceptance in the hospital on October 22, 2015 and thus became the first female mayor of the city of Cologne . On November 20, 2015, Henriette Reker started her job in Cologne City Hall . One of her first official acts was to award the Heinrich Böll Prize to the writer Herta Müller . The official inauguration took place on December 15, 2015. She is a member of the supervisory board of the Cologne City Clinics , the municipal company Neurosurgical Rehabilitation Clinic Cologne GmbH (RehaNova Cologne) and Reha Godeshöhe e. V.

New Year's Eve 2015/16

Press conference in Cologne on January 5, 2016 with Henriette Reker (left) and Police President Wolfgang Albers (center)

During Reker's tenure, the sexual assaults took place on New Year's Eve 2015/16 at Cologne Central Station. In addition to the new regulation that in future there should also be security concepts for major events without an official organizer, Reker cited recommendations for behavior for women and girls when asked. As examples, she mentioned that women should keep strangers at least “an arm's length” away, stay within their group and, if necessary, call bystanders for help. In social networks, the press and politicians, this was criticized as insufficient, unrealistic and victim blaming (victim accusation). Reker defended himself that she had been quoted in abbreviated form.

In a press conference on January 5, 2016, together with Cologne Police President Wolfgang Albers , Reker stated that the authorities had no evidence that those involved in the attacks were people from the “refugee group”. Such assumptions are "absolutely inadmissible". On January 8th, she announced in a press release that she had only received “information, in particular about the origin of those identified from the group of perpetrators” from the press, and she terminated Albers' trust, who shortly thereafter was put into temporary retirement .

The North Rhine-Westphalian Ministry of the Interior contradicted Reker's account: Albers had informed the mayor by telephone on January 2nd about the findings available up to that point. At a press conference on January 4th, the police said "that the intoxicated crowd were mainly people from the North African-Arab region". In a conversation on January 5th, Albers Reker informed again about the state of knowledge. In addition, he reported publicly that among the approximately 70 troublemakers checked by the police, among the approximately one thousand people at the station forecourt, many had identified themselves with a “certificate of registration as an asylum seeker”. Reker's explanations are therefore incomprehensible.

Mayor election 2020

Henriette Reker at the presentation of her election program for the mayor election 2020

Reker will stand for re-election as Cologne Mayor on September 13, 2020. After the amendment of the North Rhine-Westphalian municipal electoral law, the constituency layouts were changed: For the 2020 local elections, the number of inhabitants in a council electoral district is no longer decisive, but the number of citizens actually eligible to vote. The next electoral term lasts from 2020 to 2025.

Political positions

As head of social affairs for the city of Cologne, Henriette Reker repeatedly drew attention to the high burden on cities and municipalities when receiving and accommodating refugees, which forces the cities and municipalities to take unusual measures to cope with tense situations. The controversially discussed accommodation of refugees in hotels that were bought and converted for this purpose in the Cologne districts of Marienburg and Braunsfeld , in a converted hardware store branch, in the listed state house at the Rheinpark , on residential ships and in gyms triggered a nationwide media coverage. In addition, she campaigns against discrimination and marginalization of foreign citizens and against racism in Cologne . In March 2020, she advocated the admission of unaccompanied, minor children from Greek refugee camps.

Awards

In June 2016, Reker received the Hildegard Hamm-Brücher Award for Learning and Experiencing Democracy from the Association for Democratic Action for its integrative refugee policy. The London “World Mayor Foundation”, which selects outstanding mayors of the world every two years, placed Reker in tenth place. Even before taking office, the Cologne mayor found “unorthodox measures to accommodate refugees” and fought against discrimination and racism . Even as mayor, her approach is "human and practical" at the same time, she sets "a very positive sign in difficult times".

Personal

Henriette Reker is married to the Australian golf trainer Perry Somers, who lives and works in Germany. After the murder of the Kassel District President Walter Lübcke , Reker also received a death threat in June 2019, which, according to WDR, had a right-wing extremist background. After contact with a person who tested positive for the coronavirus , Reker went into quarantine at home on March 15, 2020 and worked from home.

Trivia

2016 Reker was the first woman since the founding of the carnival association " Red Sparks was included in the so-called active corps" in 1823 and the Rosenmontagszug allowed to appear in the uniform of the traditional club - according to spark Statute a mayor of Cologne automatically acquire membership.

Web links

Commons : Henriette Reker  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Personal details: Henriette Reker. Kölnische Rundschau , December 28, 2010, accessed on January 10, 2015 .
  2. ↑ a b Inge Schürmann: Lord Mayor Henriette Reker has accepted office. City of Cologne - Office for Press and Public Relations, October 22, 2015, accessed on October 22, 2015 .
  3. ↑ Henriette Reker's husband, husband Perry Somers, on her German-Australian love story. express.de from October 16, 2015, accessed on October 17, 2015.
  4. ↑ https://www.bild.de/regional/koeln/koeln-aktuell/koelns-ob-henriette-reker-im-plaetzchen-interview-mit-bild-66883096.bild.html
  5. ↑ Lawyer with diverse experience. In: Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger online. December 22, 2014, accessed October 17, 2015 .
  6. ↑ Head of Department Reker is about to move to Cologne. derwesten.de, accessed on March 30, 2015.
  7. ↑ I'm not ducking away. In: Kölnische Rundschau , January 10, 2015, p. 38.
  8. ↑ Now it's up to the members. Kölnische Rundschau , January 10, 2015, p. 38.
  9. ↑ The FDP also wants to support Reker. In: Kölnische Rundschau , January 10, 2015, p. 38.
  10. ↑ Henriette Reker: The woman who suffers from her city In: welt.de of October 17, 2015.
  11. ^ The big city trauma of the CDU. Faz.net, accessed March 30, 2015.
  12. ↑ Non- party could be Roter's successor. focus.de, accessed on March 30, 2015.
  13. ↑ Local election regulations (KWahlO) , Ministry of the Interior and Local Affairs of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, accessed October 18, 2015.
  14. ↑ OB election in Cologne is to be postponed - due to wrong font size. süddeutsche.de, September 2, 2015, accessed October 18, 2015.
  15. ↑ New date after ballot slip , wdr.de, accessed on September 4, 2015.
  16. ↑ Investigators see xenophobic motives for knife attacks. In: Zeit Online . October 17, 2015, accessed October 23, 2015 .
  17. ↑ Jörg Diehl: Assassination attempt on Cologne's OB candidate: Knife stabber has a right-wing extremist past. In: Spiegel Online . October 17, 2015, accessed October 23, 2015 .
  18. ↑ OB candidate seriously injured in knife attack. In: Zeit Online . October 17, 2015, accessed October 23, 2015 .
  19. ↑ City of Cologne ( Memento of the original from October 20, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Results of the mayor election on October 18, 2015.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / wahlen.stadt-koeln.de
  20. ↑ Cologne's Lord Mayor Reker takes up service. In: domradio.de. November 20, 2015, accessed November 20, 2015 .
  21. ↑ Video from Rekers press conference , January 5th, 2016. Journalist question and Rekers criticized answer from 4:00 pm.
  22. ↑ Ronald Larmann, Jens Meifert: Riot about #armlaenge: An arm's length off. In: rundschau-online.de. January 7, 2016, accessed January 9, 2016 .
  23. ↑ #einearmlaenge: Lord Mayor Reker annoyed with behavioral tips for women
  24. ↑ Assaults in Cologne Women, hide yourselves! , FAZ , January 6, 2016
  25. ^ Daily Express, German mayor blames WOMEN for being assaulted by 1,000 immigrant men on NYE in Cologne , January 6, 2016
  26. ↑ Dutch cabinet, MPs angered by Cologne mayor's mass sex assault remarks , NL Times, January 6, 2016, accessed January 19, 2016
  27. ^ "Reker defends behavioral tips for women" , Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , January 6, 2016.
  28. ^ Press conference with Henriette Reker and Wolfgang Albers , Phoenix (excerpt from YouTube), January 5, 2016.
  29. ↑ Assaults in Cologne: Ministry of the Interior rejects Reker's allegations to the police , Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, January 18, 2016.
  30. ↑ Serious allegation after New Year's Eve: North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry of the Interior: Reker knew about the perpetrators before , Focus, January 28, 2016.
  31. ^ New Year excesses in Cologne. Ministry of the Interior charges Cologne Mayor Reker , Die Welt , January 18, 2016, accessed on January 19, 2016
  32. ↑ "I'm an expert for Cologne". Henriette Reker would like to become mayor again. In: Kölner Stadtanzeiger. Retrieved September 5, 2019 .
  33. ↑ When municipalities make federal politics. Deutsche Welle, accessed March 30, 2015.
  34. ↑ “What should we do?” - Interview with Henriette Reker. The time retrieved March 30, 2015.
  35. ↑ Famous property becomes emergency shelter. welt.de, accessed on March 30, 2015.
  36. ↑ City informs about refugees in the school center. welt.de, accessed on March 30, 2015.
  37. ↑ Crisis management in focus. welt.de, accessed on March 30, 2015.
  38. ↑ Where refugees live at the military training area. welt.de, accessed on March 30, 2015.
  39. ↑ Irkçılığa ve ayrımcılığa karşı mücadele gewkli (One must fight against racism and discrimination), Hürriyet , March 29, 2015, accessed on March 30, 2015. (translated from Turkish)
  40. ↑ Cologne Chocolate Museum for Refugee Children. report-k.de, accessed on March 30, 2015.
  41. ↑ DER SPIEGEL: Federal Government: Mayor Admission of Underage Refugees from Greece - DER SPIEGEL - Politics. Retrieved March 6, 2020 .
  42. ^ Acting democratically - Hamm-Brücher-Förderpreis - Prize winners 2016. In: Demokratie-handeln.de. October 22, 2015, accessed June 22, 2018 .
  43. ↑ Ranking: Henriette Reker is the tenth best female mayor in the world. In: rundschau-online.de. February 23, 2017. Retrieved June 22, 2018 .
  44. ^ Velderhof Perry Somers coach of the golf school.
  45. ↑ Biographical on Perry Somers.
  46. ↑ Susanne Happe: Clear and without frills , Kölnische Rundschau , January 10, 2015, p. 38.
  47. ↑ Michael Stempfle: After the murder of Lübcke: New death threats against politicians. www.tagesschau.de, June 20, 2019
  48. ↑ Lord Mayor Henriette Reker in quarantine. t-online.de, March 16, 2020, accessed April 6, 2020 .
  49. ↑ Roland Nelles: Oscars, Donald Trump, Martin Schulz, Mobile World, Rosenmontag , Der Spiegel, February 27, 2017
personal data
SURNAME Reker, Henriette
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German lawyer and local politician
DATE OF BIRTH December 9, 1956
PLACE OF BIRTH Cologne , Germany