Ulf Kämpfer (born 16 June 1972) is a German politician of 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) who has been serving as the

Lord Mayor Lord mayor is a title of a mayor of what is usually a major city in a Commonwealth realm, with special recognition bestowed by the sovereign. However, the title or an equivalent is present in other countries, including forms such as "high mayor". A ...

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

since March 2014.

Education and early career

Kämpfer was born

Eutin Eutin () is the district capital of Ostholstein, Eastern Holstein county located in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein. As of December 2022, the town had some 17,000 inhabitants. History The name Eutin (originally Utin) is of Slavic ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. After his graduation in

Plön Plön (; ) is the district seat of the Plön district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and has about 8,700 inhabitants. It lies right on the shores of Schleswig-Holstein's biggest lake, the Great Plön Lake, as well as on several smaller lakes, ...

, he studied jurisprudence and philosophy at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

and the

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) () is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called '' constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under the Irish Universities Act 1908, and signifi ...

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

. For two years, he worked as a research assistant in the

German Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the lower house of the German federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag was established by Title III of the Basic Law for ...

. After further studies at

Humboldt University The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public university, public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III of Prussia, Frederick W ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, he graduated with a doctorate in 2004 with his

comparative law Comparative law is the study of differences and similarities between the law and legal systems of different countries. More specifically, it involves the study of the different legal systems (or "families") in existence around the world, includ ...

thesis ''Self-determination people wishing to die: Euthanasia in German and American Constitutional Law'' (''German'': Die Selbstbestimmung Sterbewilliger: Sterbehilfe im deutschen und amerikanischen Verfassungsrecht) in Berlin. At the same time, he passed the second state examination. From 2004 to 2008, Kämpfer worked in the state ministries for environmental issues, agriculture and justice of

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

. In 2008, he entered the judicial service and was appointed a judge of an

Amtsgericht An ''Amtsgericht'' (District Court) in Germany is an official court. These courts form the lowest level of the ' ordinary jurisdiction' of the German judiciary (German ''Ordentliche Gerichtsbarkeit''), which is responsible for most criminal and ...

in Kiel in 2010. Prior to his appointment as Secretary of State in the cabinet of Minister-President

Torsten Albig Torsten Albig (born 25 May 1963) is a German politician from the Social Democratic Party of Germany. From 2012 until 2017 he served as the 13th Minister President of Schleswig-Holstein. Early life and education Albig grew up in Ostholstein and ...

on 12 June 2012, he was also an associate to the Higher Regional Court of Schleswig.

Political career

From 2012 to 2014, Kämpfer served as State Secretary in the State Ministry of Energy Transition, Agriculture, Environment and Rural Areas of Schleswig-Holstein, under the leadership of minister

Robert Habeck Robert Habeck (; born 2 September 1969) is a German politician (Alliance 90/The Greens) and writer who served as Vice Chancellor of Germany, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action in the cabinet of Chancellor Olaf Scholz and ...

. Following the resignation of for the selection committee of the

SPD 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 wi ...

, Greens, and the

South Schleswig Voters' Association The South Schleswig Voters' AssociationOther translations include ''South Schleswig Voter Alliance'', ''South Schleswig Voters' Committee'', ''South Schleswig Voter Federation'', ''South Schleswig Voters Group'', ''South Schleswig Voters League'', ...

, on 20 November 2013, Kämpfer was proposed as a candidate for the office of mayor in Kiel. General meetings of the three parties agreed on 14 December 2013. At the general meeting of the SPD, he was chosen with three abstentions and no votes against. The Greens and the SSW elected him unanimously with no abstentions and votes against. On 23 March 2014, he was elected with 63.1% of the vote as new mayor of Kiel.''OB-Wahl Kiel: Kämpfer zieht ins Rathaus ein''.
/ref>

Other activities

* Förde Sparkasse, Ex-Officio Chairman of the Supervisory Board * ''

Kiel Week The Kiel Week () or Kiel Regatta is an annual sailing event in Kiel, the capital of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is considered to be one of the largest sailing events globally, and also the largest summer festivals in Northern Europe, ...

'', Ex-Officio Chairman of the Supervisory Board *

MVV Energie MVV Energie AG () is a publicly listed company based in Mannheim and one of Germany's leading energy suppliers, operating in both Germany as well as Europe. The value chain of MVV Energie AG covers: generation, trading, distribution via propr ...

, Member of the Advisory Board * Stadtwerke Kiel, Member of the Advisory Board

Personal life

Kämpfer lives with his wife,

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

politician , and their son in the Hassee district of

References

External links