Flensburg - Politics

Politics

The town council was led for centuries by two mayors, one for the north town (St. Marien) and the other for the south town (St. Nikolai and St. Johannis). The council members and the mayors were chosen by the council itself, that is, retiring officials had their successors named by the remaining councillors in such a way that both halves of the town had as many members. These councillors usually bore the title "Senator".

This "town government" lasted until 1742 when the "northern mayor" was made the "directing mayor" by the Danish King. From this position came what was later known as the First Mayor. The second mayor simply bore the title "mayor" ("Bürgermeister"). After the town had been ceded to Prussia, the mayors were elected by the townsfolk as of 1870, and the First Mayor was given the title Oberbürgermeister, still the usual title in German towns and cities. During the Third Reich, the town head was appointed by those who held power locally at the time.

In 1945, after the Second World War, a twofold leadership based on a British model was introduced. Heading the town stood foremost the Oberbürgermeister, who was chosen by the town council and whose job was as chairman of council and the municipality. Next to him was an Oberstadtdirektor ("Higher Town Director") who was leader of administration. In 1950, when Schleswig-Holstein brought its new laws for municipalities into force, the title Oberbürgermeister was transferred (once again) to this latter official. At first, and for a while, he was chosen by the council. Since that time, the former official has been called the Stadtpräsident ("Town President"), and is likewise chosen by the council after each municipal election. However, since 1999, the Oberbürgermeister has been chosen directly by the voters as once before.

The first directly elected Oberbürgermeister Hermann Stell died on 4 May 2004 of a stroke. On 14 November of the same year, the independent candidate suggested by the CDU Klaus Tscheuschner was elected to replace Stell with 59% of the vote. In the municipal election in 2003, Hans Hermann Laturnus was elected Stadtpräsident.

In the municipal election of 2008, the local list WiF (Wir in Flensburg) was elected largest group in the Council Assembly of Flensburg, with its 10 city councillors out of 43, closely followed by the South Schleswig Voter Federation (Südschleswigscher Wählerverband) (9 councillors) and the CDU (9 councillors). Also elected was the SPD (seven councillors), the Greens (3 councillors), the Left (3 councillors) and the FDP (2 councillors). Nevertheless, since the WiF-group was divided into two different caucuses, the SSW-group has been the largest group in the Council Assembly. The current City President is Dr. Christian Dewanger (WiF).

In the mayoral election of 2010, Simon Faber (SSW) was elected Lord Mayor of the town in a run-off election with 54,8% of the vote. He is the first person from the Danish Minority to occupy this office since the end of World War II.