Dieter Salomon (born 9 August 1960 in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia) is a German politician of Alliance '90/The Greens who served as

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 ...

of Freiburg im Breisgau for two terms from 2002 until 2018.

Biography

Salomon grew up in the German

Allgäu The Allgäu (Standard German: , also Allgovia) is a region in Swabia in southern Germany. It covers the south of Bavarian Swabia, southeastern Baden-Württemberg, and parts of Austria. The region stretches from the pre-alpine lands up to the A ...

. He received his Abitur in 1979 in

Oberstdorf Oberstdorf ( Low Alemannic: ''Oberschdorf'') is a municipality and skiing and hiking town in Germany, located in the Allgäu region of the Bavarian Alps. It is the southernmost settlement in Germany and one of its highest towns. At the&nbs ...

, and moved to Freiburg to study

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

Public Finance Public finance is the study of the role of the government in the economy. It is the branch of economics that assesses the government revenue and government expenditure of the public authorities and the adjustment of one or the other to achiev ...

, and Roman

Philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

. He received a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

degree from the University of Freiburg in 1991. During his time as a student, he became active in the local chapter of the Alliance 90/The Greens. Salomon was married to Helen Hall-Salomon, and has one child from a previous marriage. Since 2011, he lived separated from his wife. At the end of 2015, he married his new partner in Melbourne, Helga Mayer.

Political career

From 1990 until 2000, Salomon was a member of Freiburg

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

, and was a member of the

Landtag of Baden-Württemberg The Landtag of Baden-Württemberg is the diet of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It convenes in Stuttgart and currently consists of 154 members of five political parties. The majority before the 2021 election was a coalition of the All ...

from 1992. From April 2002, he was the head of the Baden-Württemberg Green Party fraction, and lead candidate for state elections. Salomon became mayor of Freiburg on 1 July 2002, after receiving 64.4% of votes on the second ballot held on 5 May 2002, thereby becoming the first Green mayor of a large German city, and only the second or third in the whole of Germany. Once elected mayor of Freiburg, he resigned his position in the Landtag. Within the Green Party, he is considered a Realo. Salomon was defeated in the mayoral election of 6 May 2018 by surprise winner Martin Horn. The second round voting result was Martin Horn 44,3% - Dieter Salomon 30,7%. Martin Horn won by the 2nd round simple majority rule. In a post declaration interview with the media Salomon announced his retirement from politics. Salomon served as a Green Party delegate to the Federal Convention for the purpose of electing the

President of Germany The president of Germany, officially the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: link=no, Bundespräsident der Bundesrepublik Deutschland),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international corres ...

in 2012.

Other activities

Corporate boards

* Abfallwirtschaft und Stadtreinigung Freiburg (ASF), Ex-Officio Chairman of the Supervisory Board (2002-2018) * Badenova, Ex-Officio Chairman of the Supervisory Board (2002-2018) * Freiburger Stadtbau (FSB), Ex-Officio Chairman of the Supervisory Board (2002-2018) * L-Bank, Member of the Supervisory Board (2002-2018) * LBBW Immobilien, Member of the Supervisory Board * Messe Freiburg, Ex-Officio Chairman of the Supervisory Board (2002-2018)

Non-profit organizations

* Grüner Wirtschaftsdialog, Member of the Advisory Board (since 2021) * Association of German Cities, Deputy Member of the Presidium (2004-2018) * Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law, Member of the Board of Trustees *

Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics The Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics (German: ''Max-Planck-Institut für Immunbiologie und Epigenetik'') in Freiburg, Germany is an interdisciplinary research institute that conducts basic research in modern immunobiology, dev ...

, Member of the Board of Trustees *

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemb ...

, Member of the Advisory BoardAdvisory Board

Written Works

* *

References

External links

Personal website (offline)Dieter wählen - personal mayoral election website (offline)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salomon, Dieter 1960 births Living people Mayors of Freiburg Australian people of German-Jewish descent Australian emigrants to Germany Alliance 90/The Greens politicians Members of the Landtag of Baden-Württemberg People from Melbourne University of Freiburg alumni