Klaus Wowereit facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Klaus Wowereit
Wowereit in 2009
Governing Mayor of Berlin
In office 16 June 2001 – 11 December 2014
Mayor	Wolfgang Wieland Klaus Böger Gregor Gysi Karin Schubert Harald Wolf Ingeborg Junge-Reyer Frank Henkel Michael Müller
Preceded by	Eberhard Diepgen
Succeeded by	Michael Müller
President of the Bundesrat
In office 1 November 2001 – 31 October 2002
First Vice President	Kurt Beck
Preceded by	Kurt Beck
Succeeded by	Wolfgang Böhmer
Deputy Leader of the Social Democratic Party
In office 12 November 2009 – 14 November 2013 Serving with Hannelore Kraft, Manuela Schwesig, Olaf Scholz
Leader	Sigmar Gabriel
Preceded by	Andrea Nahles
Succeeded by	Ralf Stegner
Leader of the Social Democratic Party in the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin
In office 10 October 1999 – 16 June 2001
Deputy	Hermann Borghorst Kirsten Flesch Christian Gaebler Irana Rusta
Preceded by	Klaus Böger
Succeeded by	Michael Müller
Parliamentary constituencies Member of the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin In office 26 October 2006 – 27 October 2011 Preceded by Peter Kurth Succeeded by Claudio Jupe Constituency Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf 5 In office 30 November 1995 – 26 October 2006 Preceded by multi-member district Succeeded by multi-member district Constituency Tempelhof-Schöneberg
Personal details
Born	(1953-10-01) 1 October 1953 (age 71) Tempelhof, West Berlin, West Germany (now Germany)
Political party	Social Democratic Party of Germany (1972–)
Domestic partner	Jörn Kubicki (1993–2020)
Residence	Berlin
Alma mater	Free University of Berlin
Occupation	Politician Jurist Civil Servant
Signature

Klaus Wowereit (born 1 October 1953) is a German politician. He was the Governing Mayor of Berlin from 2001 to 2014. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).

In the 2001 state elections, his party won the most votes. He also served as President of the Bundesrat in 2001/02. The Bundesrat is a very important part of Germany's government.

His SPD party formed a government with other parties. They were re-elected in 2006. After the 2011 elections, his party changed its main partner. Sometimes, people thought he might become the leader of Germany, but this did not happen.

Early Life and Education

Klaus Wowereit was born in West Berlin. He went to the Ulrich-von-Hutten-Oberschule until 1973. After high school, he studied law at the Free University of Berlin. He finished his law studies in 1981 and 1984.

Political Journey

After finishing his studies, Wowereit worked for three years in the city's government office. He then ran for election as a local council member in the Tempelhof area. At 30 years old, he became the youngest council member in Berlin.

He worked as a district council member for eleven years. In 1995, he was elected to the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin. This is like Berlin's state parliament. In December 1999, he became the leader of the SPD group in this parliament.

Mayor of Berlin: Leading the City

Since June 2001, Klaus Wowereit served as the Governing Mayor of Berlin. This is the top leader of the city. Before this, his party, the SPD, had left a big partnership with another party. This led to new elections.

After the elections, Wowereit formed a new government with the Party of Democratic Socialism.

Berlin's Global Image

Wowereit used a special phrase to help promote Berlin around the world. This helped bring in many tourists. It also attracted artists, writers, and musicians. Later, technology companies also came to Berlin.

However, some people worried about rising rents and changes in neighborhoods. This was a concern for both long-time Berliners and new people moving to the city.

Re-elections and New Partnerships

In the elections on 17 September 2006, Wowereit's SPD was again the strongest party. They continued their partnership with the Left party. On 23 November 2006, Wowereit was re-elected as Governing Mayor.

In the elections held on 18 September 2011, his party was once more the strongest. After this election, the SPD formed a new partnership with the Christian Democratic Union.

Focus on Integration

During his time as mayor, there were many discussions in Germany about people moving to the country. In 2011, Mayor Wowereit published a book called Mut zur Integration (Courage for Integration). This book talked about how people from different backgrounds could live together.

He also appointed Dilek Kolat, a politician of Turkish origin, to a high position in the city government. In 2012, he named Şermin Langhoff as the artistic director of a famous theater.

National Role and Resignation

In 2013, after national elections, Wowereit helped his party talk with other parties to form a new government for Germany. He led the SPD group that discussed culture and media.

On 26 August 2014, Wowereit announced he would step down as mayor. He left office on 11 December 2014. At that time, he had been the longest-serving leader of a German state.

Berlin Brandenburg Airport Challenges

Klaus Wowereit was involved in the project to build the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport. He was on the airport's supervisory board from 2003. In 2006, he became the chairman of this board.

However, the airport faced many delays and cost increases. On 7 January 2013, Wowereit stepped down as chairman because of these problems. The prime minister of Brandenburg took over. Wowereit faced criticism for the airport issues. He was accused of not seeing problems early enough.

Wowereit said that the airport delays were the "biggest failure" of his time as mayor. He announced his resignation at the end of 2014 partly because of these issues.

Life After Politics

After leaving his role as mayor, Klaus Wowereit continued to be active. From 2015 to 2016, he helped lead a group that looked into unfair treatment based on gender in Germany. In 2017, he helped settle a pay disagreement between an airline and a flight attendant union.

Other Activities

Klaus Wowereit has been involved in several other organizations:

• He was the chairman of the Supervisory Board for Berlin Schönefeld Airport.
• He is a member of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
• He was the chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Berlin Central and Regional Library.
• He was the chairman of the Board of Trustees for the 2011 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships.

Personal Life

Klaus Wowereit is the youngest of five children. He grew up without his father. His brother helped him with his studies. Later, Klaus took care of his brother, who was paralyzed after an accident. He also cared for his mother, who had cancer.

Wowereit is known for being an openly gay politician in Germany. Before the 2001 mayoral elections, he famously said, "I'm gay, and that's a good thing." He wrote in his book that he decided to say this publicly because he felt newspapers were about to write stories about his private life. He wanted to share the news himself.

He said these words during a meeting of his political party. After a moment of surprise, people cheered and applauded to support him. In 2010, he told Time that being open about his identity might have even helped his election campaign.

His election made Berlin one of the few major European cities with an openly gay mayor. At that time, the mayors of Paris and Hamburg were also openly gay.

In September 2007, Wowereit published his autobiography. It was titled "...und das ist auch gut so." after his famous quote.

Klaus Wowereit had a partner named Jörn Kubicki, who was a neurosurgeon. They were together from 1993 until Kubicki passed away in March 2020.

Awards and Honors

• 2001: Ix-Xirka Ġieħ ir-Repubblika (an honor from Malta)
• 2004: Honorary member of Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold (a German democratic organization)
• 2011: Grand Cross with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (a high German award)

Images for kids

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  Klaus Wowereit's signature

See also

• List of LGBT heads of government
• Timeline of Berlin, 2000s–2010s
• List of people from Berlin