Manfred Ruge

Manfred Otto Ruge (born October 7, 1945 in Erfurt ) is a German local politician ( CDU ) and was Lord Mayor of the Thuringian capital Erfurt from May 1990 to 2006 .

Life

After graduating from high school, Ruge studied theoretical electrical engineering at the Technical University of Ilmenau until 1970 . He then worked as a graduate engineer in various areas of what was then VEB Optima Büromaschinenwerk Erfurt . Since 1987 he was entrusted with the construction of a new oil mill in the VEB Erfurt oil mill as technical manager. He only became politically active in 1989 in Erfurt during the peaceful revolution in what was then the GDR . Until then, he joined the New Forum and then the CDU.

In 1990 Ruge ran successfully for the first time for the office of Mayor of Erfurt, to which he was then re-elected twice. In particular, he advocated the expansion of the Erfurt industrial site and the renovation of the old town. For this, the city of Erfurt has already received awards from the German Foundation for Monument Protection twice.

After violent internal party disputes, Ruge announced that he would not run again in the May 2006 election. His successor was Andreas Bausewein from the SPD . Manfred Ruge switched to a newly created position as 3rd managing director of the Erfurt municipal utilities, which led to severe criticism of himself ("self-service in office"). After further protests this position was abolished.

Ruge is currently the head of five subsidiaries of the group. Among other things, he is Managing Director of TFB Thüringer Freizeit und Bäder GmbH. In this role he was jointly responsible for the closure of the Erfurt North Baths in 2006 and for the demolition of the listed entrance building in 2008. On June 24, 2010, the completely new facility was reopened. The construction cost was estimated at 9.3 million euros.

Manfred Ruge was a member of the Presidium of the German Association of Cities and Vice President of the World Association of Sister Cities .

In 2017 Ruge was made an honorary citizen of Erfurt by the city council under the leadership of his successor Andreas Bausewein .

Ruge has been married to Barbara Ruge, nee Kraft, since 1969. He has four children with her.

literature

• Steffen Raßloff : The Lord Mayor of Erfurt since 1872. In: City and history. Zeitschrift für Erfurt 35 (2007), pp. 25-27.
• Andreas Herbst :  Ruge, Manfred . In: Who was who in the GDR? 5th edition. Volume 2. Ch. Links, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-86153-561-4 .

Web links

• Erfurt Mayor on www.erfurt-web.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Erfurt has a new honorary citizen , press release on erfurt.de of March 13, 2017