Reinhard Kaufmann

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Reinhard Johann Kaufmann (born June 7, 1937 in Hirschberg / Saale ) is a German biologist and FDP local politician in Giessen .

Life

science

Reinhard Kaufmann studied zoology, botany and geology / paleontology at the Justus Liebig University in Giessen (JLU) from 1956 to 1964 . From 1964 to 1972 he took over the development and management of the branch of the JLU Tropical Institute in Santa Marta , Colombia , initially as a research assistant, later as curator, academic councilor and academic senior councilor. As a marine zoologist, he published on the biology and systematics of mollusks , cirripedes and sea ​​turtles . During this time, Kaufmann was a member of the Marine Turtle Specialists Group within the IUCN . After returning to Giessen in 1972, he worked at the Center for Regional Development Research at JLU, was appointed Academic Director in 1975 and took over management of the center, which was later renamed the Center for International Development and Environmental Research (ZEU). He was particularly interested in questions of rural development and resource conservation in Latin America. In this area he worked on various occasions as an appraiser for the German Society for Technical Cooperation (now the German Society for International Cooperation ). In 2000 the university said goodbye to him and retired.

politics

Since 1972, Kaufmann has been involved in Gießen as a local politician for the FDP for around 30 years. From 1981 to 1997 he was city ​​councilor and chairman of the FDP city council group. In 2001 he was appointed to the magistrate as an honorary city councilor and in this function took over the cultural department of the university town from 2002, and in 2004 the area of ​​town twinning was added. In addition, Kaufmann was chairman of the supervisory board of Stadttheater Gießen GmbH from 2001 to 2009 . As head of the cultural department, he established the Gießener Liebig Scholarship, named after Justus Liebig , for outstanding students in the Liebig subject areas of chemistry, agriculture and nutrition at the University of Gießen. He expanded the popular “Musical Summer on the Schiffenberg ” with the classical chamber music series of the “Basilica Concerts”. With his own city map "Gießen historically", which initially opened up 50 historical buildings with explanatory boards, and with busts of important "Gießen heads" created by artists in the urban space, Kaufmann brought the history of the city of Gießen to the attention of residents and visitors. In 2009, Kaufmann went into “political retirement”.

Further volunteer work

In addition to his work as a local politician, Reinhard Kaufmann campaigned for culture in the city and region in a variety of ways. From 1991 to 2004 he was chairman of the Gießener Meisterkonzerte association and, from 2001 to 2007, was a board member of the Hein Heckroth Society in Gießen. In addition, Kaufmann has been CEO of Heimatvereinigung Schiffenberg e. V. as well as founding and board member of the Criminalium Association and the Friends of the Antikensammlung Gießen e. V. Kaufmann has been chairman of the foundation board of the Giessen Cultural Foundation since 2005.

Awards

In 1993 Kaufmann received the letter of honor from the State of Hesse and the bronze honorary plaque of the university town of Gießen, in 2006 the silver honorary plaque of the city and the honorary title of city ​​elder . In 2008, Kaufmann was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany with the Order of Merit . In 2009 he received the Golden Badge of Honor from the city of Giessen. The university awarded him the Justus Liebig Medal in 2009 for his services to the cooperation between the university and the city. The FDP honored Kaufmann for special services with the Theodor Heuss Medal .

Web links

Sources and individual references

  1. ↑ "Serving member of a whole" honored . In: Gießener Anzeiger . October 16, 2008
  2. ↑ The best there ever was . In: Gießener Anzeiger . March 27, 2009
  3. ^ Justus Liebig University Giessen: Dr. Reinhard Kaufmann receives Justus Liebig Medal Press release in: Information Service Science . September 8, 2009
personal data
SURNAME Merchant, Reinhard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kaufmann, Reinhard Johann (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German biologist and politician (FDP)
DATE OF BIRTH June 7, 1937
PLACE OF BIRTH Hirschberg (Saale)