Bärbel Dieckmann ( Pritz, born 26 March 1949) is a German politician who was elected mayor of

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

in 1994 and was in office until 2009. She is the first woman and Social Democrat to become

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of Bonn.

Early life and education

The daughter of a

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

, Dieckmann was born in

Leverkusen Leverkusen () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the eastern bank of the Rhine. To the south, Leverkusen borders the city of Cologne, and to the north the state capital, Düsseldorf. With about 161,000 inhabitants, Leverkusen is on ...

in 1949.Bärbel Dieckmann
citymayors.com, Retrieved 26 March 2016 Dieckmann graduated from

Erzbischöfliche Liebfrauenschule Bonn The Erzbischöfliche Liebfrauenschule Bonn (), often referred to as the Liebfrauenschule Bonn, is a Roman Catholic gymnasium school for girls in the Südstadt quarter of Bonn, North Rhine-Westfalia, Germany. History In 1876, a private Catholic ...

in 1967. From 1967 until 1972, she studied philosophy, history and social sciences at the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine U ...

for a teaching degree. She was a teacher for twenty years.

Political career

In 1972 Dieckmann joined the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the ...

(SPD). From 1994 until 2009, Dieckmann served as mayor of Bonn. During her time in office,

United Nations Volunteers The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is a United Nations organization that contributes to peace and development through volunteerism worldwide. Volunteerism is a powerful means of engaging people in tackling development challenges, and i ...

(UNV) moved its headquarters to Bonn in 1999. Internationally, Dieckmann served as executive president of the

Council of European Municipalities and Regions The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) is the largest organisation of local and regional governments in Europe. Its members are 60 national associations of towns, municipalities and regions from 41 countries that are part of the ...

(CEMR) between 1999 and 2003. From 2005 she chaired the

World Mayors Council on Climate Change The World Mayors Council on Climate Change (WMCCC) is an alliance of mayors who have made a commitment to the protection of climate change. Since 2012, the Chair is Park Won-soon Park Won-soon ( ko, 박원순; March 26, 1956July 9, 2020) was ...

(WMCCC); the office was established after the

Kyoto Protocol The Kyoto Protocol was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that (part ...

came into force. In 2005, Dieckmann became vice federal chairwoman of the SPD under chairman

Matthias Platzeck Matthias Platzeck (born 29 December 1953) is a German politician. He was Minister President of Brandenburg from 2002 to 2013 and party chairman of the SPD from November 2005 to April 2006. On 29 July 2013 Platzeck announced his resignation fro ...

, but left office two years later.

Life after politics

From 2008 until 2018, Dieckmann served as president of

Welthungerhilfe Deutsche Welthungerhilfe e. V. – or Welthungerhilfe (literally: World Hunger Help) for short – is a German non-denominational and politically independent non-profit and non-governmental aid agency working in the fields of development coopera ...

. In 2019, she was appointed by Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development

Gerd Müller Gerhard "Gerd" Müller (; 3 November 1945 – 15 August 2021) was a German professional footballer. A striker renowned for his clinical finishing, especially in and around the six-yard box, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalsco ...

as co-chair (alongside

Gerda Hasselfeldt Gerda Hasselfeldt (born 7 July 1950) is a German politician of the Christian Social Union (CSU) who served as deputy chairperson of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group and chairwoman of the Bundestag group of CSU parliamentarians. Following her dep ...

) of a commission in charge of drafting recommendations on how to address the causes of displacement and migration.

Other activities

* Internationaler Demokratiepreis Bonn, Member of the Board of Trustees * German Foundation for Peace Research (DSF), Ex-Officio Member of the Board (since 2009) * Deutsche Post Stiftung, Member of the Scientific CouncilScientific Council
Deutsche Post Stiftung * German Society for the United Nations (DGVN), Member * Stadtwerke Bonn, Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board (2004-2009)

Recognition

In 2005 and 2006 Dieckmann was a finalist for

World Mayor World Mayor is a biennial award organized by the City Mayors Foundation since 2004. It intends to raise the profile of mayors worldwide, as well as honour those who have served their communities well and who have contributed to the well-being of c ...

Personal life

Dieckmann is married to

Jochen Dieckmann Jochen is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Jochen Asche, East German luger, competed during the 1960s * Jochen Böhler (born 1969), German historian, specializing in the history of World War II *Jochen Babock (born 1953), East ...

, former

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

, and Chairman of the

SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the ...

Northrhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabi ...

. They have four children, including

Christoph Christoph is a male given name and surname. It is a German variant of Christopher. Notable people with the given name Christoph * Christoph Bach (1613–1661), German musician * Christoph Büchel (born 1966), Swiss artist * Christoph Dientzenho ...

and

Markus Dieckmann Markus Dieckmann (born 7 January 1976 in Bonn) is a retired professional beach volleyball player from Germany, who represented his native country at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. There he ended up in ninth place in the overall-ranki ...

Articles

Dieckmann, Bärbel
"Food and Development Go Hand in Hand"
Digital Development Debates, Issue 16 "Food & Farming", 2015.

References

External links

Leverkusen who's who page

WMCCC website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dieckmann, Barbel 1949 births Living people People from Leverkusen Mayors of places in North Rhine-Westphalia Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians Women mayors of places in Germany 20th-century German women politicians 21st-century German women politicians University of Bonn alumni German schoolteachers