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

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

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 corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

of Bonn.

Early life and education

The daughter of a

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

, 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. The city is part of the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan ...

in 1949.Bärbel Dieckmann
citymayors.com, Retrieved 26 March 2016 Dieckmann graduated from Erzbischöfliche Liebfrauenschule Bonn in 1967. From 1967 until 1972, she studied philosophy, history and social sciences at the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

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 ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together w ...

(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 ...

(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 th ...

(CEMR) between 1999 and 2003. From 2005 she chaired the World Mayors Council on Climate Change (WMCCC); the office was established after the

Kyoto Protocol The 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 global warming is oc ...

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, Minister President of Brandenburg from 2002 to 2013 and party chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, SPD from November 2005 to April 2006. ...

, but left office two years later.

Life after politics

From 2008 until 2018, Dieckmann served as president of Welthungerhilfe. 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 association football, footballer. A prolific Forward (association football)#Striker, striker, especially in and around the six-yard box, he is widely regarde ...

as co-chair (alongside Gerda Hasselfeldt) 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, 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 ...

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

, and Chairman of the SPD in Northrhine-Westphalia. They have four children, including Christoph and Markus Dieckmann.

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 Politicians from North Rhine-Westphalia