Thomas Nitzsche (born 1 December 1975 in

Zeulenroda Zeulenroda-Triebes is a German town in the district of Greiz in the state of Thuringia. Zeulenroda-Triebes is situated in the south of Greiz in the mountains of the Thuringian Slate Mountains (Thüringer Schiefergebirge), on the border with Saxon ...

) is a German politician ( FDP) and the Mayor of

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a po ...

since 1 July 2018.

Career

Nitzsche attended the Hubert Westhoff Polytechnic High School in Zeulenroda from 1982 to 1991 and the Carl-Zeiss-Gymnasium in Jena from 1991 until achieving his Abitur in 1994. In 1995 he began studies in English and political science at the

Friedrich Schiller University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

. He remained in Jena until graduation apart from a year in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and a quarter-term in

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Herit ...

. While at FSU Jena, Nitzsche was a research assistant to Klaus Dicke, later Rector of the university. For his graduate thesis in 2007 he wrote about the Spanish liberal politician

Salvador de Madariaga Salvador de Madariaga y Rojo (23 July 1886 – 14 December 1978) was a Spanish diplomat, writer, historian, and pacifist. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature, and the Nobel Peace Prize. He was awarded the Charlemagne Prize in 1 ...

. From 2008 until he took office as mayor, Nitzsche was a subject specialist (''Fachreferent'') at the Thuringian University and State Library (ThULB).

Politics

In 2003, Nitzsche became district chairman for the Young Liberals in Jena and in 2007, he became district chairman for the FDP. Since 2009, he earned a place on the city council of Jena. In the 2012 Thuringian municipal elections, he ran for the position of Mayor of Jena for the first time and received 2.4% of the vote. In the

2013 German federal election Federal elections were held on 22 September to elect the members of the 18th Bundestag of Germany. At stake were all 598 seats to the Bundestag, plus 33 overhang seats determined thereafter. The Christian Democratic Union of Germany/ Christian ...

, he ran for the FDP in the constituency Gera - Jena - Saale-Holzland-Kreis. Nitzsche is presently the acting chairman of the FDP Thuringia. In the city council of Jena, he was chairman of committees on youth welfare and school development and of the

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...

sub-committee. Until his election, he also headed the advisory board for motor vehicle traffic in Jena and was a knowledgeable citizen member of the Urban Development Committee. In the 2018 Thuringian municipal elections, Nitzsche ran a successful campaign as the FDP candidate for the position of Mayor of Jena. In the first ballot on 15 April 2018, he received at 26.9% the most votes of any of the nine candidates. In particular, he outperformed the incumbent mayor Albrecht Schröter, a result which was considered surprising to most observers. In the subsequent runoff ballot of 29 April 2018, Nitzsche defeated Schröter with 63.3% of the vote.

Personal

Nitzsche has been married since 1998 and has a daughter and a son.

Publications

* Thomas Nitzsche:
Salvador de Madariaga: Liberaler – Spanier – Weltbürger. Der Weg eines politischen Intellektuellen durch das Europa des 20. Jahrhunderts
'. Univ.-Diss., Jena 2007 (in German).

External links

Mayoral website of Thomas NitzscheOfficial profile from the City of Jena

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nitzsche, Thomas 1975 births Free Democratic Party (Germany) politicians Mayors of Jena Living people