Marie-Luise Smeets

Marie-Luise Smeets (born February 27, 1936 in Düsseldorf ), mostly called Marlies Smeets , is a former German local politician of the SPD . She was Lord Mayor of Düsseldorf from 1994 to 1999 .

After graduating from secondary school in 1954, Marlies Smeets was the first woman to complete vocational training as an industrial clerk at Rheinbahn and joined the SPD in 1955. From 1969 onwards she was a member of the Düsseldorf City Council for 35 years . In 1984 she took over the chairmanship of the SPD parliamentary group. In 1989, along with two CDU representatives , she became one of three honorary mayors of her party friend and Lord Mayor Klaus Bungert . After the local elections in North Rhine-Westphalia in 1994, she elected the first - ever formed red-green coalition in the city council as Bungert's successor and first woman in this office as the new mayor of Düsseldorf.

In 1999, in the direct election for the now full-time mayor's office, which was held in Düsseldorf for the first time after an electoral reform , she lost it in a necessary runoff election by only 2,300 votes to Joachim Erwin (CDU). As a result, Smeets became honorary mayor again, as had been the case from 1989 to 1994. For reasons of age, she did not run for the 2004 local elections and resigned from all offices. A short time later, the city council appointed her "honorary mayor".

Awards

1983 - Federal Cross of Merit on ribbon
1994 - Jan-Wellem-Ring of the city of Düsseldorf for 25 years of membership in the city council of Düsseldorf
1998 - Federal Cross of Merit, First Class
2004 - On December 16, 2004, the City Council of Düsseldorf appoints her "Honorary Lord Mayor"
2007 - Order of Merit of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia

literature

Antje Kahnt: Düsseldorf's strong women - 30 portraits Droste, Düsseldorf 2016, ISBN 978-3-7700-1577-1 , pp. 163–168.

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c Press office of the state capital Düsseldorf (ed.): Who, what, how, where in the town hall . July 1993.
↑ ^a ^b ^c "Uns Marlies" says goodbye. Interview. In: Rheinische Post . July 29, 2004, accessed November 18, 2014 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c Marlies Smeets becomes the first honorary mayor. In: Rheinische Post . April 25, 2005, accessed November 18, 2014 .

personal data
SURNAME	Smeets, Marie-Luise
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Smeets, Marlies
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German politician (SPD), Lord Mayor of Düsseldorf (1994–1999)
DATE OF BIRTH	February 27, 1936
PLACE OF BIRTH	Dusseldorf

[rathaus-1] Press office of the state capital Düsseldorf (ed.): Who, what, how, where in the town hall . July 1993.

[rp0-2] "Uns Marlies" says goodbye. Interview. In: Rheinische Post . July 29, 2004, accessed November 18, 2014 .

[rp1-3] Marlies Smeets becomes the first honorary mayor. In: Rheinische Post . April 25, 2005, accessed November 18, 2014 .