Martin Kilian (21 May 1928–2 July 2014) was an

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

bobsledder Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...

and politician of the Socialist Unity Party. He served as president of both the

Deutscher Turn- und Sportbund The Deutscher Turn- und Sportbund (DTSB; ''German Gymnastics and Sports Federation'') was a mass organization of the German Democratic Republic from 1957 until shortly after German reunification. Membership in the organization included nearly fo ...

and the

Deutscher Schlitten- und Bobsportverband The Deutscher Schlitten- und Bobsportverband (DSBV) was the governing body for the sports of luge and bobsleigh in the German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, cit ...

in the final decade of the GDR and served as mayor of

Wernigerode Wernigerode () is a town in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until 2007, it was the capital of the district of Wernigerode. Its population was 35,041 in 2012. Wernigerode is located southwest of Halberstadt, and is picturesquely s ...

for almost thirty years.

Biography

Martin Kilian was born in 1928 in

Lower Silesia Lower Silesia ( pl, Dolny Śląsk; cz, Dolní Slezsko; german: Niederschlesien; szl, Dolny Ślōnsk; hsb, Delnja Šleska; dsb, Dolna Šlazyńska; Silesian German: ''Niederschläsing''; la, Silesia Inferior) is the northwestern part of the ...

, then still a part of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. After the expulsion of Germans from Silesia during and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Kilian settled in Nachterstedt and was employed as a miner before moving to Wernigerode. He joined the newly-formed

SED sed ("stream editor") is a Unix utility that parses and transforms text, using a simple, compact programming language. It was developed from 1973 to 1974 by Lee E. McMahon of Bell Labs, and is available today for most operating systems. sed w ...

in 1948. In 1950, Kilian became active in

bobsledding Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...

and began working as a schoolteacher the following year. By the end of the decade he was made principal of the Wilhelm Rabbe High School. Upon the death of mayor Gustav Strahl, he became mayor of Wernigerode in 1962. In 1982 he became the president of the German Sled and Bobsleigh Association (DSBV), in which capacity he served until shortly before the dissolution of the GDR. In 1990, shortly before

German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

, he served as the final president of the German Gymnastics and Sports Federation. He was also the Vice-President of the

International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF), originally known by the French name ''Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing'' (FIBT), is the international sports federation for bobsleigh and skeleton. It acts as ...

. Kilian passed away on 2 July 2014 at the age of 86. In 2016, a large pedestrian bridge he helped create in Wernigerode was renamed in his honor.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kilian, Martin 1928 births 2014 deaths People from Namysłów People from Wernigerode East German sportsmen German male bobsledders Socialist Unity Party of Germany politicians East German bobsledders Silesian-German people Politicians from Saxony-Anhalt Sportspeople from Opole Voivodeship German sports executives and administrators Sportspeople from Saxony-Anhalt Mayors of places in Saxony-Anhalt People from Bezirk Halle Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit